Week 2 of 540

This week's activities saw us extending our knowledge of statistical information, along with beginning to understand how to collect data.  For example, a majority of our group/individual work revolved around defining terms, and checking out data collecting software.  This was informative, as we learned the meanings of some terms, along with being able to play with some features of the software.  My favorite part of the lesson was the continuation of dealing with statistical terminology.  After listening to the recording of class from last week (had a varsity baseball game that night), I feel I finally have an understanding of standard deviation.  I have heard the term a couple of different times, but I now feel I truly understand its purpose.  Essentially, I view the standard deviation as the average of the distances of each value from the actual mean.  This tests how strong the mean value is, telling whether it is indicative of the numbers as a whole.  I also enjoyed using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet features to complete the guided practice worksheet (what a time saver)!