Using interactive technology in a short java course

Abstract

Keeping students alert and responsive during lectures is a challenge even for experienced teachers in small group settings. Research has shown the importance of student participation and involvement in the learning process. Many ideas and strategies have been proposed to promote these two vital education elements [5]. Among them is the use of interactive technology where the instructor asks a question to the class and each student answers individually. These answers are tallied and the professor can get immediate, quantitative, and real-time feedback information that can be used to detect and address comprehension problems and to adapt the lecture plan accordingly. In this paper we report our experiences using a wireless interactive system named the Classroom Performance System (CPS) [9] in a fast-paced, short but comprehensive Java programming course. We present the challenges we faced and the lessons we learned in designing and delivering lectures using this type of technology.