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!

The Media Equation

I enjoyed reading the article on “The Media Equation”. It was interesting to read that psychological studies have shown that people treat computers, television and new media as real people and places. I also found it interesting that people are polite to computers; that they treat computers with female voices differently than male-voiced computers; and that motion on a screen affects physical responses in the same way that real-life motion does.

As for the relationship to my blog, I am focusing on using technology to increase student participation in the classroom (and in particular the use of clickers). According to this article, keeping the user engaged and interested is an important objective. As people respond socially to computers, this can be used in software development for improving engagement and motivation. This knowledge can help to better design and evaluate media technologies. It is important when designing software to make it polite, friendly, and arousing.

I see some of these aspects in the design of i-clickers. While pleasant voices and other techniques are not used to make the software more social, the designers are attempting to make the software easier to use and more fun. While instructors may use i-clickers (or similar systems) to assess student learning, to get instant feedback, and to engage students in large, impersonal lecture halls, students seem to like their use because they make the classroom fun. Students like the social aspect of almost playing a game similar to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” or “Jeopardy” in class. Students seem to believe that it is more enjoyable punching a button on a clicker than just sitting in the traditional lecture. In designing the clickers, it is apparent that the designers attempted to make the clickers more enjoyable or game-like as well as easy to use. Students would not have fun using them if they were difficult to operate or required tedious training. Clickers are designed to engage student in learning the subject matter and make the classroom a more sociable setting. This is especially important as many students are shy or unwilling to participate in class discussion. If students do not enjoy using them, then instructors are probable not going to use them in class. In addition, designers make the software friendly in that students’ responses are brightly graphed to again appeal to the students. These are only a few of the ways that i-clickers are related to “The Media Equation”.

Reeves, B., & Clifford, N. (1996). "Ch 1, The Media Equation," pp. 3-18 in The Media Equation. Cambridge University Press.

Clickers Featured in USA TODAY again!

This is another article from USA TODAY on the use of clickers. It focuses on high schools in Fargo, North Dakota and their use of clickers or remotes. Using their Personal Response System (as with similar systems), students punch in a number that corresponds to a multiple-choice answer projected on a screen. All of the answers are collected and results are summarized on bar graphs.

One physics professor is using it in his class and stated, "I use it to see if they understand a concept. It's like a game show, only nobody gets put on the spot." The system is also being used in large lecture halls at colleges and universities such as North Dakota State University. This college requires students to purchase the device for dozens of classes.

Students stated that they also liked the technology. One student stated, "If there's something I'm not understanding, someone else in the group will get it. It encourages us to talk to each other." Another student noted "We can see results (to questions) right away, so we can discuss the answers if we don't get it". Another good article on the use of clickers in the classroom.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-11-24-quiz-show_x.htm

Use of Clickers at Ohio University

This is a concise and simple to read article on the use of clickers at Ohio University. It clearly defines what is a student response system and it what it allows the instructor and student to do.

For instructors it allows them to
· engage students through interactive question and answer sessions.
· get individual responses from hundreds of students at once.
· collect instant feedback from every one of his/her students.
· instantly assess students' understanding of the subject matter.
· survey a class and get instant data for analysis.


For students it allows them to
· participate actively in class.
· volunteer answers and opinions in class without fear of intimidation or embarassment.
· get instant feedback on how well they are understanding the material early on
· see how they are measuring up to the rest of the class.


It also provides good links to how to integrate into one’s course (instructional sequence), how the system works, what to do if you are just getting started, the benefits of such a system, and the classroom equipment needed. A short, yet to the point, article on student response systems.

http://www.citl.ohiou.edu/index.cfm?pageID=29

Faculty-led Virtual Seminar on Classroom Response Systems

I have just registered to attend an online guest lecture (or seminar) in chemistry that focuses on Classroom Response Systems. This lecture is sponsored by the textbook publisher John Wiley & Sons with a presentation by David Marx at Illinois State University. Dr. Marx is an experimental solid state physicist and Professor of Physics, who in addition to teaching and researching, has authored Classroom Response System questions. He will speak on the teaching and learning benefits of Classroom Response Systems, and in particular how to write meaningful questions. He will offer suggestions on how to successfully implement a CRS system in a quantitative science classroom. I look forward to learning from this lecture and will update my blog after the lecture on April 18.

Factors that Influence Participation in Online Learning

In this article entitled: “Factors that Influence Participation in Online Learning” researchers explored what factors influenced learner participation in two sections of a graduate online course at a Midwestern university. Findings indicated that online learner participation and patterns of participation are influenced by the following factors: technology and interface characteristics, content area experience, student roles and instructional tasks, and information overload. Effective online learning requires interdependence for a shared understanding of learning goals in a learning community. Monitoring student participation and patterns of participation closely can help instructors identify student needs and scaffold learning accordingly. The authors note that further research about group processes, how groups develop and roles emerge—such as leadership in an online group—and influence effective participation, may help instructors to understand group dynamics in online courses and to structure their courses accordingly.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/32/2e/94.pdf

Clickers Featured in USA TODAY

Below is an article from USA TODAY on student response systems (or clickers) in the classroom. According to the article, clickers are increasingly finding their way into college classrooms and are being used on hundreds of campuses. Users say they change the classroom dynamic, providing a way to get feedback and engage students in large, impersonal lecture halls. Clickers also provide a way around students' fear of giving a wrong answer in front of their peers, or of expressing unpopular opinions. For example, they are beneficial when it comes to sensitive topics such as affirmative action. Clickers are often used to gauge understanding by posing multiple choice questions and to solicit students' opinions. No matter the use, students are required to get involved.

While clickers make students get involved, professors noted that it's still too early to say whether students who used the clickers were doing better on standardized tests. However as noted in the article, clickers give everyone an equal voice instead of a few dominating the discussion.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/computing/2005-05-09-interactive-classrooms_x.htm