"In most courses on experimental design, students get no practice designing experiments,
although from home work assignments, they do get practice analyzing data." (Hunter, 1977)
Most homework exercises in back of textbooks on experimental design are, in fact, exercises in analysis of data. The experiment has already been run, the data collected, and all that is necessary is the analysis of the data.
But how do students get experience in the actual DESIGN of experiments? Hunter (1977) and others suggest that students should perform actual experiments to collect their data. However, there are logistical difficulties in doing this.
In its place, Hunter (1977) suggests using simulated data where "each student receives data based upon the design he or she chooses ... if the teacher uses simulated data creatively, students can learn many important aspects of design and analysis in a most effective way ... the untapped potential is enormous ."
This project implements the above suggestion. A instructor creates a control file where the parameters of the "experiment" are described. Then this is submitted to a "construction" machine which generates a web page suitable for student usage. Each student designs an experiment using the web page and receives individualized responses.