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Issue 35, Winter 2006
by Rob Galbraith
ATUS is in the process of upgrading the technology behind the classroom response systems in Western’s classrooms, leading to a much more effective and easy-to-use system for both faculty and students. Classroom response systems (CRS) allow instructors in large-enrollment classes to provide interactive strategies such as quizzes, ad-hoc questions, opinion polls and surveys during lectures. Students respond using individual hand-held remote control units dubbed “clickers” or “transmitters.” The student responses are picked up by receivers in the room and uploaded into software resident on the classroom computer. Collective results can then be displayed for large group viewing on the classroom projection screen.
Western first installed classroom response systems (sometimes called “audience response systems” and “personal response systems”) in 2000. These initial wireless systems, installed in 31 classrooms, were based on infrared (IR) technology.
The current infrared (IR) systems have
several disadvantages:
- They are difficult and often expensive to install, requiring multiple receivers which need to be wired and installed into the ceilings of the rooms. The larger the room the more receivers required.
- The student “clickers” must have line-of-sight access to the receivers, which can be as tricky as properly aiming your IR remote control with the TV at home.
- The receivers can overload and not pick up all of the responses, causing students and the instructor to keep trying until all responses are registered.
- The process of creating associations between individual students and specific clickers has been too cumbersome to employ.
Recently, new Classroom Response Systems based on radio frequency (RF) technology have come to market.
These systems have several distinct advantages over their predecessors:
- They are easy to install, requiring only one receiver directly connected to the classroom
computer, obviating the need for installation of expensive wiring and multiple receivers.
- They are able to handle a very large number of simultaneous student responses without overloading. This means that even in our largest classrooms will be able to use a single RF system by simply connecting a single receiver to the computer’s USB port.
- Software used by faculty has advanced significantly, increasing the options for uses of
these systems and enhancing the output and display of the data.
ATUS and the Purchasing Department are engaged in a request for proposals (RFP) from vendors for the purchase of an RF based classroom response system, including clickers, receivers and software. This new CRS system will become the campus standard for future installations. We expect to complete evaluations of these systems and select a product in February 2006. The initial purchase will be for the newly remodeled classrooms in Bond Hall, followed by installation of such systems in newly renovated classrooms this coming spring and summer. With the selection of an RF product, we aim to transition away from our existing base of IR based response systems toward standardization on a single RF based product that can be easily employed in all classrooms.
We currently employ a model of central purchase of clickers which are then made available on a reservation basis for faculty and student use. This has meant that clickers have not been assigned and registered to individual students, limiting instructional use to anonymous mode.
Our RFP requests information on the option and costs of clickers purchased and owned by individual students. We want to allow faculty to consider this as an alternative for those instructional situations requiring the registration of a clicker to each student for an entire quarter or longer. This could open up many uses by allowing responses to be associated with particular students. We will make every attempt to keep costs to students to an absolute minimum, making sure individual clickers cost no more than a typical course fee or book.
If you have questions or are interested in participating in the RFP evaluation, please contact me at 650-3368.
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