Success and failure of audience response systems in the classroom

ABSTRACT

Williams College has been working with audience response systems or "clickers" for three years. Initial experiments with the clickers had mixed results in both performance and faculty enthusiasm for the technology. In the last two years, Williams moved from an infrared system to a radio system that was more portable. After some favorable demos, key faculty tried the technology in their classes. Clicker use spread and is now used in classes as small as 10 students and as large as 180 students.

The primary functionality of the system is to collect and present live data collected in the classroom. In its simplest form, faculty could use the system to review student comprehension of content. At Williams though, faculty have used the system in a variety of interesting ways. The system has been used for psychology research, peer instruction, student presentation feedback, and in class discussion.

The process of adapting audience response systems to the classroom and the support of faculty using these systems has evolved over time. While some challenges remain, this technology has changed the way some faculty teach at Williams College.

REFERENCES

• 1: Bruff, Derek. (2008) Classroom Response System ("Clickers") Bibliography. Website. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/resources/teaching_resources/technology/crs_biblio.htm
• 2: Crouch, C. H., & Mazur, E. (2001). Peer instruction: Ten years of experience and results. American Journal of Physics, 69(9), 970--977. Website. http://web.mit.edu/jbelcher/www/TEALref/Crouch_Mazur.pdf
• 3: eInstruction, Website. http://www.educue.com/.
• 4: Journal of Chemical Education, Website. http://www.jce.divched.org/JCEDLib/QBank/collection/ConcepTests/
• 5: North East Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP) Website. http://www.nercomp.org/events/event_single.aspx?id=40
• 6: Swoap, Steven.(2007) Polling Students in Class with the Clickers. PowerPoint presentation, Williams College. November 2, 2007.
• 7: Turning Technologies, Website. http://www.turningtechnologies.com/.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
          Subjects: Computer-managed instruction (CMI)

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors, Management, Performance, Reliability, Standardization

Keywords:
PRS, PowerPoint, TurningPoint, audience response system, classroom, clickers, educational technology, personal response system, turning technologies