Classroom Response Systems Featured in Local Newspaper

Classroom response systems were featured in recent article in the Ocala newspaper, The Star-Banner. Since the beginning of the school year, students at a local high school are using the system in various mathematics courses. Teachers have integrated interactive wireless response systems into their classrooms to replace everything from worksheets and FCAT preparation reviews to quizzes and tests. The student has a response pad that looks similar to a calculator, and they use the tool to wirelessly respond to questions the teacher projects in a slide presentation. Depending on the model, answers the pads can handle range from simple multiple choice to numerical answers. In one class, students have paper versions of geometry tests to see the questions, but instead of writing down answers, they use the response pads to feed the answers to the teacher’s computer, which allows her to monitor each student's progress and almost instantaneously grade the assignments. Another good example of the usefulness and integrations of such systems.

http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/NEWS/204130340/1001/NEWS01

Faculty-led Virtual Seminar on Classroom Response Systems Update

Yesterday, I attended an online guest lecture (or seminar) that focused on Classroom Response Systems. This lecture was sponsored by the textbook publisher John Wiley & Sons with a presentation by David Marx at Illinois State University. Dr. Marx spoke on the teaching and learning benefits of Classroom Response Systems, and in particular how to write meaningful questions. Overall, this lecture was very informative. It started out with the benefits of using such a system to include transforming a passive classroom to a much more interactive classroom. He also provided data from a research study at the University of Indiana showing the benefits of such a system (including an improvement in student learning and substantial impact on pre- vs. post-test results). He then spoke of the benefits that he has seen and gave interactive examples of things you can do with clickers in the classroom (including quizzes, feedback, testing, peer instruction, and interactive demonstrations). Dr. Marx then concluded with suggestions on how to write effective interactive questions and logistical strategies. Overall, a very informative seminar. Not only did I enjoy this seminar, but I plan to attend others in the near future. If you would like more information on such seminars visit www.wherefacultyconnect.com.

Interactive Engagement Using Classroom Response Systems

This article deals with interactive engagement using classroom response systems. The author is a professor at Christopher Newport University (Virginia) using the system in his introductory science for non-majors course. As a science instructor that frequently teaches such as a course, I was very interested in reading this article.

Introductory science courses for non-majors are often among the larger courses taught at most colleges. Their very size and nature often pose a challenge for properly assessing student learning and engagement with the material. The instructor is aiming to integrate technology into the curriculum to generate discussion among students and to engender a sense of shared inquiry.

After posing a question on the screen, the instructor asks students to engage in peer instruction in which they turn to their neighbor and try to convince them to change their answer to theirs. This period usually lasts 60-90 seconds. The instructor then polls the class again using the same question. Depending on the outcome of this poll, the instructor may chose to revisit the topic, clarify a point, or simply proceed with the lesson. A 50-minute lecture broken into 3 segments of 10 minute direct instruction followed by one or two "clicker" questions keeps students engaged and provides the instructor with useful formative assessment data. Overall, the instructor found the clickers to be excellent tools for teaching and learning because of their data generation capabilities. It was very interesting to read another science instructor’s perspective and lessons learned with such a system.

http://www.academiccommons.org/ctfl/vignette/Chaudhury-interactive-engagement

Student Response Systems at the University of Missouri

This site is part of the educational technologies department at the University of Missouri. It is a concise and to the point article on using student response systems in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) format. Questions include:

· WHAT IS A STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM?
· DO STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS IMPACT TEACHING AND LEARNING?
· ARE STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS FOR ME?
· DO STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS IMPACT TEACHING AND LEARNING?
· HOW CAN I EFFECTIVELY PLAN & USE STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS?
· WHAT IF STUDENT FEEDBACK ISN'T WHAT I EXPECTED?

I most enjoyed the section or question on effectively using such systems in the classroom. The site gives very good advice to the instructor to include starting as early as possible to learn the system. The site also advises to practice in advance, plan and organize how you will use the system in class, and identify your purpose for using questions. Other suggestion are to be patient and to prepare students to use the technology during the first week(s) of class. A good site for the new instructor considering using student response systems.

http://web.missouri.edu/~umcprovostedtech/toolbox/doconline/studentresponsesystems.htm

Teaching and Learning with Interactive Student Response Systems

Below is a link for a good paper that is addressed to the college or university faculty member contemplating adoption of an evolving form of classroom technology – the interactive student response system (SRS). Marketed under a variety of brand names, this student-polling technology is designed to maximize student participation, especially in large-enrollment lectures. The article looks at the components and operation of the two most common types of student response systems, wireless keypad and Web-based input devices. Also provided is a brief survey of four decades of published research assessing the generally positive impact of student response systems on teaching and learning.

This paper discusses the usefulness of such systems to include improving student learning (including clearer comprehension, more active participation in class, and better increased peer or collaborative) as well as to improve teaching effectiveness (including availability of immediate feedback). The article also considers the drawbacks to include the cost as well as compatibility or support issues when different SRS products are installed in the same classroom or when students are asked to purchase and carry around competing keypads or other input devices.

Faculty considerations are also noted to include starting slowly with the use of such systems and to determine its compatibility with other software (such as PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) that you may use. Besides technological issues, faculty will want to give serious attention to pedagogical issues and may want to start by visiting a teaching-with-technology resource center on your campus. A must read article for any faculty member considers adoption of such a system.

http://people.uncw.edu/lowery/SWSSA%20ms.pdf

New Initiative Grant To Purchase I-Clickers

I wanted to update my blog on my experience so far with the i-clickers. So far I have still enjoyed using them. Student like the use of the remotes and I like the ease of use. I like the fact that they can be utilized with any presentation application (PowerPoint, Excel, etc). I also like the ability to display and graph students’ responses (correct/incorrect answers) which encourages thoughtful discussion. Using the i-clickers, the students' participation levels have increased and further class discussion and debate have been stimulated as a result. Due to the flexibility of this system, it could also be used for attendance and for credit assignments to include quizzes. There are many teaching and learning opportunities available with this system. I have enjoyed using it so much that I have written a “new initiative” grant at my college to purchase a set of 100 clickers (and base). This system (as are all similar systems) is not cheap. It will cost about $3000 for this set. I will not know until May if the grant is funded, however, I will keep my fingers crossed.

My Experience Using I-clickers

Today, I tried out the i-clickers that I have on loan for the first time. I only have 25 clickers and about 40 students in my class so students had to share. I was surprised at how easy they are to use. I simply connected the base to the computer in my classroom using a USB plug. I opened the program on the computer, turned the clickers on, and I was ready to go. I used questions that I already had in my PowerPoint lectures and wrote 4-5 choices on the board (in the future these will be added to each slide). Students had 60 seconds to solve the problem and enter their value with the clicker. I like the way the clickers transformed a passive learning environment into an active one. I did not register the clickers (so there is no credit or score tabulated for each student’s choice). The clickers are a simple method to get all (or in my case most) of the students involved instead of just sitting there in a passive mode. Once the allotted amount of time was over (60 seconds), I could click on the display button and graph the students’ response to the current question. I could easily see the number of student that picked each choice which led to discussion. It was a great first try and I look forward to using them again soon!