Abstract:

It has been proven that active learning obtains results. Studies show that the chances of failing increase by 1.5 when students are taught using traditional methods and exam results improve by 6% when active learning methods, such as the use of Response Technology, are employed.

Traditional teaching methods where a professor gives a lecture to a large group of students in an auditorium results in many students switching off and not paying attention. The use of Response Technology – voting using “clickers” or mobile devices – allows students to participate and be active in their learning process.

Voting on key questions / subjects allows for discussions to be sparked as the results of the votes are automatically displayed on the screen, it promotes exchange between the professors and the students and amongst the peers. It also ensures the learning process is all inclusive as every student must participate, not just those who are interested.

Clicker use has been a success for many years now but there are more and more advantages of such technology for Universities. Alongside motivation and participation, Response Technology offers extensive reports on each students’ progress, it allows for exams to be taken in the students own time, automatically graded on completion, negating the need for time consuming marking processes, it supports pedagogical theories such as competition based learning and peer instruction and it easily integrates with LMS like Moodle and Blackboard making the system an essential part of University teaching.

In this presentation, I will expand on how the use of clickers and mobile devices within a University setting can make learning a more enjoyable and fulfilling process for the student and how it can ease workload and offer many benefits to the University professor.