In English for Librarians with Jonathan

McFarland (http://medicalenglishblog.com/)

Nancy R. Glassman (2015) Texting During Class: Audience

Response Systems, Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical

Libraries, 12:1, 59-71

AN OVERVIEW OF

THE LIBRARIANS TEACH…

in many different environments.

BUT…

It is often difficult for librarians to gauge whether

students are benefiting from training.

WE HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR ALL

“CLASS,

PLEASE DON’T

TAKE OUT

YOUR

SMARTPHONES

OR TABLETS!”

LET'S GO AND USE AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS (ARS)

• Students often feel self-conscious or uncomfortable asking

and answering questions in class.

• This is now changing thanks to audience (classroom)

response systems (ARS), which allow participants to reply to

instructors questions with their mobile devises.

• ARS make it easy for presenters to get immediate feedback

from students who have the ability to respond anonymously.

LET'S GO AND USE AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS (ARS)

• The current interest in ARS arose from the need for instructors to find

new ways to engage students. Lecturing is not always the most

effective way to share information or impart new skills.

• Librarians can use ARS to make the best use of limited class time by

getting immediate feedback from participants during the sessions and

adjusting the pace and content of training accordingly.

• ARS is not a new technology. It has been around since the 1990’s.

CLICKERS

Clickers are small hand held devices that resemble remote

controls used by the audience to give feedback to a presenter.

Advantages1. Internet access is not

required.

2. Clickers serve only for one function, so they create less of a distraction to students than other types of devices.

Disadvantages1. Old versions had just

a few buttons and could only accommodate multiple choice or true/false.

2. If the class has to relocate to another location, the receiver must to be moved.

3. They aren’t cheap.

CLICKERS

WEB-BASED AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS

• No special equipment is required, only mobile devises or

computers and Internet access.

• In the last Horitzon 2014 report explains that this systems

have become so popular, because Web-based ARS allow

participants to respond to questions using features of their

device with which they are already familiar.

• There are a number of systems on the market, four that offer

free versions.

POLL EVERYWHERE

SOCRATIVE

QUESTIONS DISPLAY FOR STUDENTS IN SOCRATIVE

POLL RESULTS DISPLAY IN SOCRATIVE

PINGO

PINGO

MENTIMETER

DISTANCE LEARNING

• Feedback from participants is particularly useful for distance

learning.

• Some web conferencing programs provide mobile apps and

include polling features, such as:

• Adobe Connect

• Webex

• GoToMeeting

• Web-based ARS can also be used during webinars if the

presenter is sharing his or her PowerPoint presentation or

web browser.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• The best way to deal with uncertainties of using new technologies in

the classroom is to practice, practice, practice – in both the role of

presenter and student.

• Spend a few minutes at the beginning of the session demonstrating

how to respond to questions, perhaps with a “pretest” or practice

question.

• Have a few tablets or laptops on hand for students who do not have

mobile devices.

• It is important to have an objective for the use of ARS.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Using ARS during training sessions might yield unexpected

benefits. Other faculty or staff might take notice, and recognize

the librarian as a leader in educational technology.

IN CONCLUSION...

A TOUCH OF CURIOSITY

A LITTLE PLANNING

A LOT OF PRACTICE

INTERACTIVE

AND EVEN FUN!!