Tech Module: Using Personal Response Systems in the Classroom

Introduction

In high school classrooms, teachers are often confronted with blank stares and apathetic students. Many teachers strive to find the secret to student engagement and participation. While the use of personal response systems (PRS) in the classroom is not a panacea, its employment in secondary classrooms has resulted in increases in student motivation and achievement.

A PRS is not only fun for students to use, but it is a quick assessment tool. Teachers often wonder if their students are learning the concepts. With the PRS educators can receive immediate feedback on students’ comprehension, and based on the students’ responses they decide when to move on with the material or when it is necessary to reteach a concept.

I am exploring the PRS to see if it is something I would like to use in my classroom in the future. My interest in the technology stems from a need to find ways to motivate students to do their English reading assignments at home. I wish to create a student-centered classroom, which can only be achieved if my students come to class prepared. My focus for this module is to investiagte how to use a PRS, weigh the pros and cons of its usage, and decide if it is something I want to use.

What is a PRS?

The PRS goes by many names, such as clickers, classroom personal system, and audience response system. In my research I did not limit myself to the PRS, but looked at how several of the systems worked.

Typically a PRS package contains one receiver and, on average, thirty remotes. The remotes resemble small television remotes, and each student in the class gets one to use. On the face of each remote are numbers (usually from 1-10), letters, and depending on the brand, buttons for students to indicate the level of certainty. In action the PRS is used in the following manner: the teacher projects a question for the students, and all of the students point their remotes at the receiver and hold down the button that corresponds to their choices. The receiver records all of the answers, and when the time limit is up, the answers are displayed graphically on the screen. The teacher and the students can see how many students picked which answer. However, no one, except for the teacher, knows who selected which answer. The teacher can go into the program after the questions have been answered to see who chose which answer. The PRS involves 100% of the students; if the class has twenty-five students and only twenty-four answers have been recorded, the teacher knows someone is not participating and can figure out who it is by looking for the missing remote number.

The PRS comes with software that allows you to assign remotes, write questions, score answers, and record responses in a gradebook. Each remote has its own serial number. Before using a PRS in the classroom the teacher needs to assign a remote to each student, so that she/he can match students with answers. There are two ways to write questions. The teacher can either write the questions and answers using the PRS software or questions and answers can first be constructed in PowerPoint and then made compatible with the PRS software. The question formats used for PRS quizzes/reviews are multiple choice or true/false. During its use the PRS keeps track of what selections individual students make, and the teacher can manually enter this data into the gradebook section of the software.

The PRS is most often used for reviews, quizzes, and taking attendance. For example, in an English classroom a PRS can be used at the end of a unit to review material. In a short story unit review, a teacher can use the PRS to go over concepts such as character, plot, setting, etc. The right and wrong answers students choose for each question are a good indicator of what material they need to emphasize while studying before the test, and the results also tell the teacher what needs to be retaught before the exam. The PRS can also be used for quizzes that gauge students' reading comprehension. Giving students quizzes with the PRS is one way to hold them accountable for their reading assignments.

Tutorials:

Video Tutorial for Interwrite PRS

This website contains eight video clips on how to use Interwrite's PRS. On the site you can watch how to launch the PRS software, set up the transmitter in your room, and how to use the software (create lessons, assign students to remotes, record students' grades, etc.). The clips' lengths range from one minute to three minutes.

http://www.interwritelearning.com/support/PRSvideotutorials.html

eInstruction Tutorial for CPS

This web page includes a link to download a user's guide to eInstruction's CPS, thirteen video tutorials, information about receiving live instruction from someone at CPS online, and information about seminars on the CPS. The user's guide covers many topics, including how to get started and how to create, engage, and report functions. eInstruction's video tutorials include topics such as creating questions, aligning questions to standards, and adding graphics to questions.

http://www.einstruction.com/Solutions/K12/Training/

Both websites' video tutorials show in slow,step-by-step detail what a user needs to do to set up a CPS.

Classroom Examples

“Fun Clicker Games Liven Up Reviews”

This site shares five PRS games, gives tips on how to tell students they’ll be using the PRS in an upcoming class, and posts links to other ideas for PRS games. Only one game is specified as being for a specific content area (English): the dictionary game. For each round "the teacher chooses a word that no one can define and writes the definition on an index card. Each student (or group of students) makes up their own definition and writes it on a similar index card. The teacher then reads the definitions and students vote using clickers to determine the definition that got the most correct votes. Players earn 1 point if they pick the correct definition, and they also earn a point for every vote their definition gets". It is difficult to make vocabulary acquisition exciting as well as useful. Students are much more likely to remember the definition of new words playing this game than if they looked up the definition in a dictionary and wrote it down. Several of the games included on the site are based on real game shows or games, such as 1 versus 100 and bingo. These games are used mostly for reviews.

http://www.engaging-technologies.com/clicker-games.html

“Clickers, Chords, and Counterpoint: Two Music Applications Using TurningPoint Technology”

The second part of this file details how a music teacher in a junior high used a PRS in his class. The students in the class needed to know basic music terminology and names for different parts of instruments. He needed to monitor students' comprehension and provide immediate feedback, and the PRS allows him to do so. The teacher thought incorporating the technology into his class was wise considering the large size of his class; he can get an accurate idea of how well his students are understanding the material without having to grade a hundred tests.

http://coach4technology.net/_Media/turningtechabstract.pdf

“Share Your CPS Success Story”

On this site several teachers have posted their successful experiences with a CPS. The best account is by Patty O’Flynn (the second entry from the top). She uses a CPS in her math classrooms, and she has provided an example of how she uses the system, which can be accessed by clicking on “Mathcast.” Her account shows in detail and real time how a CPS can be used in the classroom. Students are often anxious about answering questions in math class because usually there is only one correct answer. The CPS allows everyone to participate and submit an answer, but the students do not have to worry about the consequences of getting a problem wrong. Because the CPS is akin to games, its use in math classrooms may motivate more students and get them excited about math.

http://www.engaging-technologies.com/CPS-success-stories.html

“Testimonials”

On the eInstruction site several teachers, administrators, and students have created video testimonials about their experiences with a CPS. One of the best accounts on the site is Scott Webster’s, a foreign language teacher. He became interested in the CPS after taking a technology integration class, and he chose the system as the topic of his thesis. Webster shares many of his research findings about the CPS. His testimonial is second from the far left.

http://www.einstruction.com/WhatisCPS/Testimonials/index.cfm

“Students Click, and a Quiz Becomes a Game” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/education/28neck.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=technology

“CPS and Learning by Remote”

http://teachers.net/gazette/JUN03/boyd.html

Several sites provide teacher and administrator examples that corroborate with these affordances. One site is “Get Out the Vote.”

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=11612

“How Best to Use Clickers (CPS) As an Assessment Tool”

http://www.lychock.com/portfolio/Documents/final%20report.pdf

“Students Click, and a Quiz Becomes a Game”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/education/28neck.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=technology

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This work is licensed by Jennie Mokodean under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.

Last edited by Jennie Mokodean on Nov 24, 2008 9:06 am -0600.