MANAGING ICT
Don’t waste your vote
Are response
question creation is very quick for our teachers. Staff
had expressed a concern about the amount of time it
systems being
may take to create their questions before lessons.
As we have learned over the years, any technology
that demands too much investment in time by teachers
used effectively
will, unsurprisingly, be kept in the cupboard and not
embedded into practice.
in schools?
therefore investing in a technology that makes
minimal demands on teachers’ time is an important
Assistant principal David
consideration to make. our teachers go on to use
the same questions year after year with very little
Cregan
amendments needed.
asks the question
Successful use of response systems is enhanced by
the amount of effort the teachers put in to create the
questions and activities. Value can only be realised
lthough A relatively new when consideration is paid to the type, and wording of
A
classroom technology, interactive the question.
response systems, or as they are As a humanities teacher myself, I use the response
sometimes referred to, electronic system to take snapshots of the lessons or to introduce
voting systems or audience or summarise a topic. Specific subjects have really
clickers, have experienced a rapid benefited from the response systems as well, in
adoption by schools across a wide particular maths and science, where questions tend to
range of subjects. be more closed.
however, are they being used effectively in Brenda Neburagho, head of science at St Matthew
classrooms? Academy, is one teacher who has carefully considered
the application of interactive response systems in and planned the structure of the questions she uses.
the learning environment has been broad but they are She explained: “Interactive response systems have
commonly used to support two key aspect of learning. become an integral part of my lessons and since
First, they engage all students, even those less using the resource, class participation has increased
confident to contribute, and second, they support a significantly, with students who normally shy away
personalised approach to learning. from giving responses having the chance to make their
taking their ability to encourage children to answers count.
contribute, they have proven to be an excellent resource “We use them for ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?”
to engage students in the class regardless of their type quizzes which give the student a clue to the correct
inclination to speak out. answer. other questions could be opinion-based, for
As we are all aware, students need to feel that their example, ranging from reviewing school trips to in-
thoughts and views count, and that they are being depth class debates.
listened to and monitored in a proactive manner. “on a recent class trip to visit a disease outbreak
there are always a number of students in any class session held at the National history Museum, students
who do not naturally share their feelings and opinions had a series of interactive discussions around the topic;
and are not the ones who put their hand up to answer their answers provided teachers with an understanding
questions. of each student’s level of knowledge, their ability
Response system technology invites the opinions to absorb information, and interest in the visit. the
response system’s effectiveness at maintaining student
of all without the need to highlight the comments of focus was very apparent.”
any one child. In addition to using the data effectively and
Voting systems can also help to support the considering the question structure, it is very important
achievement of a personalised approach to learning, at the procurement phase that schools decide which
which can be challenging and time-consuming without version of the response system is most appropriate for
the use of technology. their students from the range available.
It is, of course, about the teacher having the In the early days of interactive response systems, it
right information on each child’s development and was a case of one-size-fits-all. however, today schools
understanding, so that they can fully support their can buy tailored systems to match the needs of the
academic career. student that it is going to be used with.
As we all know, students, like adults, have different Although we use the technology across the school,
skills and strengths and we have certainly found from key stage 1 to 4, with our youngest students, we
that the response system we use at my school, St use a version of our particular system that has been
Matthew Academy in london, provides teachers with specifically designed for young learners or students
the information they need to identify these strengths with SEN.
and to identify those that need more assistance. By having simple and colourful buttons the clickers
Recognising students’ skills and level of encourage the student to respond to a variety of
understanding is of course the first step to assessment. question types using easy-to-understand symbols.
once that information has been obtained, we can Equally, for our older students, a more advanced
identify, adapt and support each child. version enables assessment without remotes, with
this data is easily acquired from response systems, automated assessment in 1:1, computer-enabled
which track the students’ performance and record classrooms. Instead of handheld remotes, our students
results through reports. use their computers to answer the questions.
to date, I have not found another technique that Whichever format of response system schools invest
is so effective in capturing this type of data in such a in, I strongly recommend considering the audience that
detailed way. you are to use the technology with in advance.
After each lesson, our teachers use the reports We have really seen the effectiveness of these
to record each child’s progress and their individual systems, including protecting the anonymity of students
developmental needs. this disciplined approach is at all times.
invaluable in reaping the benefits of the technology. like many schools, we teach struggling learners and
to really ensure the effectiveness of the resource, the gifted and talented. Interactive response systems
using the data is a must. Reports are downloaded mean that students can be frank and open with their
as and when required – sometimes if a student has answers without having their identity revealed.
dramatically improved or their grades have dropped, Sensitive issues in certain subjects, such as PShE,
their results can be traced back to an approximate time, are overcome but with teachers still receiving the
which helps when talking to the student themselves or information they need, and being able to display
their parents. the results, if they desire, as a graph or pie chart
St Matthew Academy originally invested in summarising the whole class’s opinion.
response systems for the two key reasons outlined over recent years, there has been much debate
above. however, we cannot get away from the fact around the amount of testing in schools. however we
that our students today live in a technology-focused, recognise that mock tests at gCSE provide invaluable
multimedia environment, and it is therefore vital to information for the teachers on areas of weakness
enrich each student’s classroom experience to stimulate in each student and therefore skills that need further
their learning. development.
the commitment we expect from students should For cost-effectiveness, a personal recommendation
be reflected in our presentation of their learning of only two or three response system sets per school
experience, and interactive response systems certainly is ideal, as some subjects might use them every lesson
achieve this. I believe that there is no question that whereas other subjects may just want to take snapshots
the technology engages and motivates even our most of lessons and use the clickers for revision.
challenging students to connect with the learning Not a fad, but when used effectively we believe this
activity. technology is an added value asset to teaching for any
to achieve effectiveness in using interactive school. SecEd
response systems, I strongly recommend considering
the right system for purpose. • David Cregan is assistant principal at St Matthew
We invested in our particular system because Academy in London, which uses Smart Response
it linked with our existing resources meaning that system technology.
10 SecEd • March 18 2010
10-11 Managing ICT .indd 10 15/3/10 14:51:53
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