Statistics 101, 201, and 202: Three Shiny Apps for Teaching Probability Distributions, Inferential Statistics, and Simple Linear Regression

📅 2026-03-30
📈 Citations: 0
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🤖 AI Summary
This work addresses the lack of intuitive, programming-free interactive tools for introductory statistics learners by developing three open-source web applications built with R and Shiny, focusing respectively on probability distributions, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, and simple linear regression. These applications innovatively integrate dynamic visualizations, real-time statistical computations, and inline mathematical derivations within a unified interface, structured according to pedagogical progression to enable learners without programming experience to simultaneously grasp conceptual and operational aspects. High-quality rendering of graphics and equations is achieved through ggplot2 and MathJax. All applications are freely accessible online, and their source code is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license, thereby effectively supporting the teaching and learning of core statistical concepts.

Technology Category

Application Category

📝 Abstract
Statistics 101, 201, and 202 are three open-source interactive web applications built with R \citep{R} and Shiny \citep{shiny} to support the teaching of introductory statistics and probability. The apps help students carry out common statistical computations -- computing probabilities from standard probability distributions, constructing confidence intervals, conducting hypothesis tests, and fitting simple linear regression models -- without requiring prior knowledge of R or any other programming language. Each app provides numerical results, plots rendered with \texttt{ggplot2} \citep{ggplot2}, and inline mathematical derivations typeset with MathJax \citep{cervone2012mathjax}, so that computation and statistical reasoning appear side by side in a single interface. The suite is organised around a broad pedagogical progression: Statistics~101 introduces probability distributions and their properties; Statistics~201 addresses confidence intervals and hypothesis tests; and Statistics~202 covers the simple linear model. All three apps are freely accessible online and their source code is released under a CC-BY-4.0 license.
Problem

Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.

statistics education
interactive web applications
probability distributions
inferential statistics
simple linear regression
Innovation

Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.

Shiny apps
interactive statistics education
ggplot2 visualization
MathJax integration
open-source teaching tools
A
Antoine Soetewey
HEC Liège, ULiège, Rue Louvrex 14, 4000 Liège, Belgium