Classroom Communication System Research Articles

Distance Learning Classroom Communication System Based on Cloud Computing

The centralized model of B / S structure is adopted in the current distance education learning classroom, there are some drawbacks of this model, like the resource duplication, crowded user access, poor system scalability and so on. Adoption of cloud computing technology can collect all the distance learning classroom resources to build a "cloud" platform, students can easily access the resources they need by using different terminal devices locally. By analyzing the meaning of cloud computing, application mode and characteristics of cloud computing, the building contents and methods of distance classroom "cloud" is proposed.

Unpacking and repacking the factors affecting students' perceptions of the use of classroom communication systems (CCS) technology

This exploratory study investigated the relationships between students' perceptions of their classroom experiences and instructional and contextual factors involved with the use of Classroom Communication Systems (CCS) technology. A mixed methods approach was employed to examine these relationships using data collected from 931 students enrolled in one public university. Thematic analysis explored students' perceptions of the use of CCS. Three logit models with a sound predictability and model fit were established using logistic sequential regression. These models identified crucial instructional and contextual factors and examined the degree to which each of these factors was associated with student perceptions of classroom experiences with CCS. This study found that positive student perceptions of classroom experience with CCS were closely associated with the use of specific types of questions, formative feedback and assessment approaches, and the pedagogical training of the classroom instructors. These findings elucidate specific aspects of CCS use that are related to how students perceive the effectiveness of this technology, and may ultimately assist instructional designers and faculty developers in designing and implementing CCS to enhance students' classroom experiences.

Facilitation of Formative Assessments using Clickers in a University Physics Course

Introduction Faculty in the science education community are being charged to replace traditional methods of teaching in the large lecture hall with more learner-centered, student-engaged, interactive strategies informed by what is now known about how many students learn (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). While the traditional methods of teaching have long been associated with disconnecting the students from both the instructor and course material, causing students to assume more passive role in the process, encouraging memorization over conceptual understanding of course material, and treating students as if they learn course material at the same time and in the same way, these methods are common in many of today's lecture halls (Mintzes & Leonard, 2006; Sunal, Wright, & Day, 2004). In better preparing students for the skills needed for success in the 21st century (Floden, Gallagher, Wong, & Roseman, 1995; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2010), using new technologies during instruction that are interactive have shown to assist faculty in creating active environments whereby students learn by doing, receive feedback during the trajectory, construct new knowledge and improve skills, and continually refine their understandings of course material (Bereiter & Scardamalai, 1993; Hmelo & Williams, 1998; Mintzes & Leonard, 2006). While supporting research has shown increased student achievement and improved behavioral outcomes for students who are actively engaged with the course content and increased dialogue and interaction with the instructor and peers (Crouch & Mazur, 2001; Mintzes & Leonard, 2006; Slater, Prather, & Zeilik, 2006), a key instructional implication from the research on is that students need multiple opportunities to think deeply and purposefully about the content and to gain feedback on their learning (Ueckert & Gess-Newsome, 2006, p. 147). Options available to instructors that have been used to engage students and promote an active environment in the large lecture hall are Audience Paced Feedback, Classroom Communication Systems, Personal Response Systems, Electronic Voting Systems, Student Response Systems, Audience Response Systems, voting-machines, and zappers (MacArthur & Jones, 2008). Each of these systems has also been referred to as 'clickers' (Duncan, 2005; MacArthur & Jones, 2008). In the most fundamental sense, clickers are radio-frequency, battery powered, hand-held devices that are part of an electronic polling system. The predominant research about the clicker use has been shown to promote student discussion, increase engagement and feedback, and improve attitudes toward science (Cutts, 2004: Draper & Brown, 2004; Duncan, 2005; Latessa & Mouw, 2005). However, an extensive 2009 review of the literature revealed paucity of empirical peer-reviewed evidence to support the claims that the technique can be used to improve student achievement (Mayer, et al., 2009). Although several research efforts report positive effects of clicker use on students' achievement (Addison, Wright, & Milner, 2009; Hoffman & Goodwin, 2006; Kennedy & Cutts, 2005; Watkins & Sabella, 2008), the empirical evidence suggested by Mayer et al. (2009) that is needed to corroborate existing results and substantiate any claims for using clickers requires additional studies. This study aims to provide evidence from university physics classes. Review of Related Literature General Clicker Device Features and Uses In general, clicker devices have keypad (alpha, numeric, or alpha/numeric buttons) resembling television remote control device or small electronic calculator. Using presentation software, the instructor poses question (multiple choice or true-false formats). Students respond by selecting their answer choice and using the corresponding button on their devices. …

Examining gender differences in attitudes toward interactive classroom communications systems (ICCS)

An interactive classroom communication system (ICCS) involves the use of remote devices that permit all students in a class to respond to multiple choice questions displayed on a LCD projector. After responses are clicked in, the results are instantly aggregated and displayed in chart form. The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in attitudes toward ICCSs for 659 secondary school students. The initial results suggested that male students had significantly more positive attitudes than female students with respect to student involvement, assessment, and perceived learning. However, a number of these differences disappeared when computer comfort level and type of use were added as covariates. Male students still perceived that ICCSs improved the overall learning process more than female students regardless of computer comfort level or type of use.

A review of literature reports of clickers applicable to college chemistry classrooms

The use of clickers (also referred to as Audience Paced Feedback, Classroom Communication Systems, Personal Response Systems, Electronic Voting Systems, Student Response Systems, Audience Response Systems, voting-machines, and zappers) has grown in college chemistry classrooms within the last decade. This review summarizes the pedagogic applications of research on clickers as well as insights from their practical use. Fifty-six publications reporting on the use of clickers in college-level science classrooms are categorized as practical application or research studies, and reviewed. Publications on the practical use of clickers suggest that students have a positive attitude towards the technology and that many benefits and few drawbacks are associated with its use. Research studies show that the use of clickers results in measurable increases in student learning in some cases and inconclusive results in other cases. In every published report of student improvement with the use of clickers, the course included student collaboration of some form.

Electronic voting systems for lectures then and now: A comparison of research and practice

<span>Research and practice in the use of electronic voting systems has developed over the last five years. Electronic voting systems, also known as personal response systems, audience response systems or classroom communication systems, use handsets to elicit responses from students as part of structured teaching sessions, typically lectures. The use of this information has implications for pedagogy; they are associated with the introduction of interactive, discursive and more segmented approaches to teaching. The pedagogic and organisational implications of adopting such systems are summarised, along with the perceptions that staff and students hold. Comparisons are drawn between practice up to 2002 and between 2002 and 2006; these reveal how both practice and research on this topic has matured, highlighting (for example) the development of models that seek to abstract and share practice. The paper concludes by outlining the ways in which such tools can be used to improve lecturing, and identifies an agenda for future work in this area.</span>

Experiences with Formative Assessment in Engineering Classrooms

AbstractAssessment in many engineering courses is mostly summative in nature. We have introduced an electronic Classroom Communication System (CCS) into undergraduate engineering courses to provide students with formative assessment on a regular basis. Experiences with the system are presented, including both student and instructor evaluations. Students like it because it is anonymous and lets them know in a timely manner when they have difficulty understanding new concepts. The system also helps inform the instructor about student comprehension of various concepts, well in advance of an examination, resulting in better retention of fundamental concepts. The system can help an instructor adjust the pace of the course to match the aptitude of the students. Therefore, instructors might reduce the variance in students' conceptual understanding of fundamental concepts early in the course, allowing for more uniform coverage of advanced topics later in the course.

An investigation of the effectiveness of electronic classroom communication systems in large lecture classes

<span>Since 2002 we have been investigating the use of an electronic classroom communication system in large first year lecture classes. Handheld keypads were distributed to teams of students during a lecture class. Students used the keypads to answer two step multiple choice problems after a discussion within their group. The questions were generated using students' answers from previous exams. We have evaluated our use of the classroom communication system using a survey about how comfortable students are with this type of interaction. In addition, we have tried to determine if the use of the classroom communication system can be linked to student performance on exams. Our results show that students are comfortable with this technology and feel that, on the whole, interactive lectures are useful. At a first glance, there is an improvement in students' exam performance, but there are too many competing factors to clearly say that this improvement is solely due to the use of the classroom communication system. Even though this paper is based in physics and a physics example is used to illustrate points, the technique can be applied to other discipline areas.</span>

Peer Instruction versus Class-wide Discussion in Large Classes: A comparison of two interaction methods in the wired classroom

Following concerns about the poor conceptual understanding shown by science students, two US research groups have been experimenting with the use of 'classroom communication systems' (CCSs) to promote dialogue in large classes. CCS technology makes it easier to give students immediate feedback on concept tests and to manage peer and class discussions. Improvements in conceptual reasoning have been shown using these methods. However, these research groups have each piloted different discussion sequences. Hence, little is known about which sequence is best and under what circumstances. This study compares the effects of each sequence on students' experiences of learning engineering in a UK university. The research methods included interviews, a survey and a critical incident questionnaire. The results demonstrated that the type of dialogue and the discussion sequence have important effects on learning. The findings are discussed in relation to social constructivist theories of learning and in relation to the implications for teaching in wired classrooms.

Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings

Teaching methods that promote interaction and discussion are known to benefit learning. However, large class sizes make it difficult to implement these methods. Research from the United States has shown that an electronic classroom communication system (CCS) can be used to support active discussion in large lecture classes. This investigation extends that research and it evaluates students' and teachers' experiences of CCS technology in the context of two different modes of discussion — peer-group and classwide discussion. With CCS technology, students' answers to multiple-choice concept tests are collated in real time with the class results fed back as a histogram. This information serves as the trigger for each mode of discussion. This paper explores the unique contribution of CCS technology, the relative strengths of peer- and class-wide discussion and some practical implementation issues.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110305

Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings

Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings

Bringing management reality into the classroom ‐ the development of interactive learning

Gaps between theory and practice are most acute in the management aspects of education in manufacturing engineering. Techniques and technologies can be taught as principles prior to application, whereas the management processes and their complications have to be experienced to be sensed prior to a theory being needed. Analyses the various approaches which have been tried to bring practice and theory together. Shows that management reality in the classroom is not dependent on reproducing the complexity of detail, but rather the need to attempt to solve problems under the pressure of time, inadequate information and group interactions. Demonstrates how this reality can be recreated through an interactive classroom communication system applied to two classic problems in decision making and continuous improvement. The development of the method or theory thus emerges interactive with practice. States that the schemes have been most powerful in their use inside companies for managers to develop their own theories of their current work practices, habits and assumptions, following on from the experience of this educational process.

Classtalk: A classroom communication system for active learning

TRADITIONAL METHODS for teaching science courses at the post-secondary level employ a lecture format of instruction in which the majority of students are passively listening to the instructor and jotting down notes. Current views of learning and instruction challenge the wisdom of this traditional pedagogic practice by stressing the need for the learner to play an active role in constructing knowledge. The emerging technology of classroom communication systems offers a promising tool for helping instructors create a more interactive, student-centered classroom, especially when teaching large courses. In this paper we describe our experiences teaching physics with a classroom communication system calledClasstalk. Classtalk facilitated the presentation of questions for small group work as well as the collection of student answers and the display of histograms showing how the class answered, all of which fed into a class-wide discussion of students’ reasoning. We foundClasstalk to be a useful tool not only for engaging students in active learning during the lecture hour but also for enhancing the overall communication within the classroom. Equally important, students were very positive aboutClasstalk-facilitated instruction and believed that they learned more during class than they would have during a traditional lecture.