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Web-based audience response system for quality feedback in first year engineering

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Conference

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Atlanta, Georgia

Publication Date

June 23, 2013

Start Date

June 23, 2013

End Date

June 26, 2013

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

FPD 4: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part I: Multimedia, Large Classes, and TAs

Tagged Division

First-Year Programs

Page Count

15

Page Numbers

23.1364.1 - 23.1364.15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--22749

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/22749

Download Count

438

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Paper Authors

biography

Brian M Frank Queen's University

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Brian Frank is an associate professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he has taught courses in electronics and wireless systems. He is the DuPont Canada Chair in Engineering Education Research and Development, and the Director of Program Development in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science where he works on engineering curriculum development, program assessment, and developing educational technology. He is a co-founder of the Canadian Engineering Education Association and is currently coordinating the Engineering Graduate Attribute Development Project, working with National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science and the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, to develop national guidelines and resources for outcomes assessment in engineering education.

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Abstract

Instructor and student perceptions of a web-based audience response systemInstructors seeking to improve engagement in lectures turn to a variety of approaches includinginvolving both collaborative activities and technology. Audience response systems (ARS) havebeen widely used and their impact on engagement and learning has been presented widely.Handheld dedicated transmitters, often known as clickers, are the most commonly used ARStechnology due to their simplicity and early development. Examples include TurningPoint andiClicker. These systems present limitations to the instructor, including inability or difficulty inallowing students to provide text responses, and to initiate discussion.Clickers have been used for several years in several required courses in the first-yearundergraduate engineering program at a medium-sized Canadian university. This year first-yearstudents are using two systems in different courses: two courses are using handheld clickers thatallow multiple choice and true/false responses, and one is piloting a web-based response system.that allows students to use their laptops, tablets, smartphones, and SMS to interact with theinstructor. The system relies on WiFi and/or cellular networks.The paper will present an instructor’s perspective on using a web-based response systemcompared to a dedicated clicker system, including interaction with students, perceived impact onstudent participation in class, and ability to facility feedback to and from students. Studentsperceptions comparing the two systems will be reported by criteria including ease of use,usability, and value some functionality provided by web-based systems including open-textresponse, ability to initiate questions, and flag concerns about speed or difficulty with concepts.

Frank, B. M. (2013, June), Web-based audience response system for quality feedback in first year engineering Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--22749

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