Faculty Spotlight - Dr. Eric Nord

Eric on his bike
Eric
Nord
  Contact

Eric
Nord

Online Courses
STAT 484 STAT 485
Areas of Interest

I am a physiological plant ecologist interested in phenotyping and genotype x environment interactions. I also teach in the area of ecology, environmental science, and introductory biology.

Introduction

I am from many places (4 countries and several US states). I currently live in south-central Illinois, but I still think of central PA as home. I have two children, the oldest of whom is beginning to look at colleges (!). I ride bikes as much as I can.

How did you get started with teaching online for Penn State?

By accident. As a post-doc in 2010, I organized a seminar introducing R for Grad students in Horticulture. Someone in the Stat department heard about it and invited me to develop an introduction to R as an online course.

What do you like best about teaching online?

A majority of my class is usually MAS (Masters of Applied Statistics) students, and they are my favorite part of teaching online. The variety of experiences they bring makes each class an adventure.

How do you engage online students with statistics?

I do 3 things:

  1. Introductions in every class, with photo and “2 truths and a lie". This is a fun way to get to know everyone a little bit.
  2. I try to respond really quickly on the online Q&A for the class.
  3. Video screencasts aim to create the feel of “looking over my shoulder while I am doing something and explaining it".
What is your best advice to students in order to be successful in an online statistics course?

Schedule time for class work into your week – in online classes, staying on top of the material is essential.