Clickers - PRS

I'm currently looking into a number of Personal Response Systems (PRS), also known at Audience Response Systems (ARS) or 'Clickers', with a view to piloting them at Royal Holloway.

There are a number of issues to address, and as ever in e-learning, these can be divided technologically and pedagogically although there is always an overlap to consider.

Pedagogical:

- Does this really add interactivity to lectures or seminars?
- Will such interactivity really be meaningful?
- Can such interactivity and the results gathered be acted upon in the lecture hall?
- Are we mistaking student-centred learning design with interactivity
- Will the students have access to the software and hardware - or is this yet another unilateral, uni-directional e-learning tool?
- Will this cause a rethink in lecture design?


Technological:

- Can existing materials e.g. PowerPoint presentations be easily repurposed?
- How straightforward is the workflow in creating an interactive presentation in this way?
- What is the training/support requirement for staff/students, or should that be presenters/audience
- Does the system support 'turn-up-and-teach' or does a presenter have to book equipment in advance, mobilise AV help and abdicate responsibility for success to others/room booking lottery?
- Can the results be easily captured, shared, represented, re-used, compared?
- Can electronic whiteboards be ued in conjunction with Clickers?

Labels: (ARS), Audience Response Systems, blended learning, Clickers, e-learning, interactivity, Personal Response Systems, PRS

posted by Martin King @ 10:58 AM   0 Comments