Dr. Hannah Scott does math for the benefit of students through UOIT's first licensing agreement
March 11, 2009
Wiley & Sons Canada will offer professor's tutorial films to students in statistics courses
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology's (UOIT) Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC), in conjunction with Dr. Hannah Scott, an associate professor with the Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, has announced it has secured the university's first licensing agreement, a partnership with Wiley & Sons Canada.
The agreement is for a series of multimedia interactive tutorial films created by Dr. Scott to support students enrolled in university programs that require statistical analysis in the social sciences.
The films were developed with support from the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization (OPIC), a network of seven universities from across the province with similar and complementary technology transfer goals and capabilities, and the UOIT Teaching Innovation Fund, which helps faculty implement new web-centric teaching strategies, apply innovative instructional practices and develop pioneering educational content.
They are designed to help students learn the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a leading analytical software program that many undergraduate and graduate students are required to learn as part of psychology, sociology, education, criminology, nursing and business programs.
Wiley & Sons Canada, a leading educational publishing company, will use the films through WileyPLUS, the online component of its business. WileyPLUS combines course management tools with interactive teaching and learning resources - including online versions of textbooks - all under one system.
"I am thrilled by this licensing agreement with Wiley & Sons Canada both personally and on behalf of the university," said Dr. Scott. "It is a clear demonstration of our commitment to linking the research expertise and knowledge here on campus to issues of importance in Durham Region and beyond. This licensing agreement will enable many students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to access a study tool designed specifically to help them learn SPSS, a program that many universities require students to master before they are able to graduate."
Using technology to ease difficult analytical tasks, SPSS analyzes different kinds of data. This includes data on people's opinions, attitudes and behaviours, which are key components of UOIT's Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice program.
The films will provide students with comprehensive, self-directed tutorials about various components of SPSS. Offering students a way to study the software outside of the classroom will enable them to learn it in less time and with less stress, all while improving their grades.
Accompanying business and marketing statistics textbooks entitled Business Statistics by Ken Black and Marketing Research Essentials by Carl McDaniel, the films will be available for download via the WileyPLUS website.
"OTTC is dedicated to generating economic and social benefits by applying UOIT research and scholarship toward solutions for real-world problems," said Mike Szarka, manager, OTTC. "Statistics is one of the most challenging university courses and UOIT is excited to provide students in Durham Region and beyond with an opportunity to meet this academic challenge and find success."
A founding UOIT faculty member, Dr. Scott is also a widely published researcher who specializes in victimology, statistics, homicide and crime prevention through environmental design. In addition, she is the author of The Female Serial Murderer: A Sociological Study of Homicide and the Gentler Sex, which was published by Mellon Press in 2005.
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology's (UOIT) Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC), in conjunction with Dr. Hannah Scott, an associate professor with the Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, has announced it has secured the university's first licensing agreement, a partnership with Wiley & Sons Canada.
The agreement is for a series of multimedia interactive tutorial films created by Dr. Scott to support students enrolled in university programs that require statistical analysis in the social sciences.
The films were developed with support from the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization (OPIC), a network of seven universities from across the province with similar and complementary technology transfer goals and capabilities, and the UOIT Teaching Innovation Fund, which helps faculty implement new web-centric teaching strategies, apply innovative instructional practices and develop pioneering educational content.
They are designed to help students learn the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a leading analytical software program that many undergraduate and graduate students are required to learn as part of psychology, sociology, education, criminology, nursing and business programs.
Wiley & Sons Canada, a leading educational publishing company, will use the films through WileyPLUS, the online component of its business. WileyPLUS combines course management tools with interactive teaching and learning resources - including online versions of textbooks - all under one system.
"I am thrilled by this licensing agreement with Wiley & Sons Canada both personally and on behalf of the university," said Dr. Scott. "It is a clear demonstration of our commitment to linking the research expertise and knowledge here on campus to issues of importance in Durham Region and beyond. This licensing agreement will enable many students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to access a study tool designed specifically to help them learn SPSS, a program that many universities require students to master before they are able to graduate."
Using technology to ease difficult analytical tasks, SPSS analyzes different kinds of data. This includes data on people's opinions, attitudes and behaviours, which are key components of UOIT's Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice program.
The films will provide students with comprehensive, self-directed tutorials about various components of SPSS. Offering students a way to study the software outside of the classroom will enable them to learn it in less time and with less stress, all while improving their grades.
Accompanying business and marketing statistics textbooks entitled Business Statistics by Ken Black and Marketing Research Essentials by Carl McDaniel, the films will be available for download via the WileyPLUS website.
"OTTC is dedicated to generating economic and social benefits by applying UOIT research and scholarship toward solutions for real-world problems," said Mike Szarka, manager, OTTC. "Statistics is one of the most challenging university courses and UOIT is excited to provide students in Durham Region and beyond with an opportunity to meet this academic challenge and find success."
A founding UOIT faculty member, Dr. Scott is also a widely published researcher who specializes in victimology, statistics, homicide and crime prevention through environmental design. In addition, she is the author of The Female Serial Murderer: A Sociological Study of Homicide and the Gentler Sex, which was published by Mellon Press in 2005.
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