Virtual Learning Environments for Statistics Education and Applications for Official Statistics

In our fast-moving information and knowledge society, skills and know-how rapidly become outdated. Virtual learning environments play a key role in meeting today's growing demand for customized educational and vocational training and lift-long teaming. The scope of multimedia-based and web-supported education is illustrated by means of an interdisciplinary multimedia project 'New Statistics' funded by the German government. The project output contains more than 70 learning modules covering the complete curriculum of an introductory statistics course. All modules are based on a statistical laboratory and on a multitude of Java applets, animations and case studies. The paper focuses on presenting the statistical laboratory and the applets. These components present the main project pillars and are particularly suitable for international use, independently from the original project framework. This article also demonstrates the application of Java applets and other multimedia developments from the educational world to official statistics for interactive presentation of statistical information.