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Research Methods ResourcesCAST for Africa |
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What is CAST? |
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CAST stands for Computer-Assisted Statistics Teaching. It is an electronic textbook on a CD-ROM. But it is much more fun than just a textbook. It is highly interactive and contains many dynamic graphics that explain concepts that are otherwise difficult to understand. The approach is data-focused based on many real world datasets. It covers all topics in introductory statistical methods courses and many topics that are taught in more advanced courses. CAST was written by Douglas Stirling, a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Information Sciences and Technology at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. You can find more information on the full version on the CAST website http://cast.massey.ac.nz/ On this CD you find a special version of CAST that was developed to teach statistics in Africa. It consists of two textbooks: displaying data and inference. |
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Parin Kurji, head of Biometrics of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Nairobi got in touch with Douglas Stirling, the developer of the original CAST, and convinced him to develop a version adapted to Africa, including datasets and examples from research carried out in Africa. The work was partly funded through a grant to enhance statistics support given by the Rockefeller Foundation. Parin Kurji now uses CAST for Africa extensively when teaching her students at the University of Nairobi. You can contact her to exchange ideas how to use it for teaching or to suggest additional African datasets that can be included in CAST for Africa by email parinkurji*yahoo.com or pkurji*uonbi.ac.ke |
Read more about BUCS (pdf 292 Kb) |
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The special version of CAST on this CD-ROM also contains four more textbooks designed to accompany a first course in Statistics for researchers and workers in climatology. These textbooks were prepared in collaboration with Roger Stern from the Statistical Services Centre at the University of Reading, England. Customisation was partly funded by the UK Met Office and Department for International Development. You can contact Roger Stern by email at r.d.stern*reading.ac.uk
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How to install CAST for Africa |
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Run the installer CAST3.exe. When asked, choose where you want CAST to be stored on your hard disk. The installer creates a folder called CAST3 that contains all of CAST. |
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Run the installer CAST3.exe |
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Once you have installed CAST you can start it by opening the file !-StartHere.html with Internet Explorer. Double-clicking the file should do this. You will find this file in the CAST3 subfolder that was created. |
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CAST makes extensive use of the Java programming language but some installations of Windows do not support Java well or at all. The initial CAST page makes some checks about whether your system contains an adequate version of Java. If your operating system does not have a recent enough version of Java, you can install a recent version. |
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Run the JAVA installer jre-1_5_0_04-windows-i586-p.exe |
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Alternatively you can download the latest version directly from the Sun web site http://java.com using the button on the top right. Be aware that it is a large download.
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You need a PIN code to run CAST |
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If your computer passes these initial tests, you should see a green rectangle on the !-StartHere.html page. |
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This means you can now click the Login button at the bottom of the page. |
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Everything is set to start using CAST but you still have to obtain a PIN code. African users can get a PIN code (for free) by sending an email to Parin Kurji, head of Biometrics of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Nairobi. Explain who you are (student, lecturer, researcher, from which country, ...) and she will send you a PIN code. This PIN code usually expires at the end of the year after which you have to send an email again. By allowing the free use of CAST for Africa through a PIN code, the developers want to keep track of its use and interact with users about needs for future development. |
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African users can request a PIN CODE from |
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CAST for Africa is free to use for teaching in Africa but is copyrighted |
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CAST is not freeware and full copyright is retained by the author, W. Douglas Stirling. CAST contains a collection of Java applets (small programs) embedded in a series of html pages that also contain textual material. The complete CAST package must not be modified, even if it is downloaded to a local hard disk, file server, or web server. No parts of CAST may be used outside the CAST package without the author's prior permission. If you read this but you are not based in Africa, go to the CAST website to find out about other versions of CAST http://cast.massey.ac.nz/
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