TurningPoint Student Response System

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TurningPoint Student Response System

8/11/2004

By Victor Edmonds

Do audience response systems enhance presentations in classrooms and lecture halls? This week's Opinion comes from the director of Educational Technology Services at the University of California-Berkeley. Victor Edmonds reflects on his experience with the systems.

Audience response systems have been around for years but had a reputation for being complex, expensive, and slow. Three years ago, Professor Alex Pines and Mark Kubinec, the teachers of the large introductory chemistry course at Berkeley, were looking for techniques to make their already lively classes more interactive. They found not only that the technology had become more user friendly and could be implemented for not much money, but that it had a surprisingly positive effect on the class environment.

The technology is taking off here on campus. Installation of receivers in classrooms is not difficult, but is best done by or at least in cooperation with the classroom technology people. We ran into trouble with one receiver unit that interfered with our assistive listening system until we moved things around. The tricky part would be the hand held units. How would we get one in the hands of each student in a large lecture hall? Permanently mounted units would get destroyed and passing them out and collecting them would take up class time. We settled on selling them to each student through the bookstore, and bundled them with the textbook. The students, used to the high prices, took it in stride. Some sold back the unit at the end of the semester; some kept it for use in another class. I have heard reports that some students have reused their units for two more classes.

It is hard to imagine the effect of these units unless you have seen them used well. You would think you could get the same information by asking students to raise their hands, but that is not a good comparison. First there is the instructional dimension. The instructor prepares class thinking about what the students know, what kinds of questions might be asked, what kinds of results might be shown. It is a perfect example of technology encouraging better teaching. One professor said he prepares one question to ask at the end of each class, and that simple discipline has focused his teaching while the instant feedback tells him what he needs to do next time. Our chemistry professors have devised a system of quizzes that has students theorizing and working out ideas in small groups. When the professor then presents the material, they are ready to understand and remember.

Secondly, the social dimension is bigger than one would imagine. Putting up your hand in class is pretty complex thing, kind of dangerous, socially and academically. But everyone is willing to give anonymous answers. Everyone is equally involved and the answers are honest. And fast. The professor is working with everyone's contribution, which is quite different than working with the idea of that one hand raiser. This leads to the third factor. This is fun. Something about pushing the buttons and seeing your answer made part of a big graph in the front of the room is fun. Students are smiling. The class becomes less formal and the atmosphere much more student centered.