Audience Response System [ARS]

Following the successful launch of the Audience Response System (ARS) pilot project during the 2008/2009 academic year, the e-Learning team has recently purchased an additional 200 TurningPoint RF ResponseCards (or ‘clickers’), thereby doubling the capacity of the system. This is in response to an increased number of bookings for the ARS, which in turn has been driven by students commenting on how useful and engaging they find the increased level of interactivity the system brings to their learning.

The ARS consists of a set of handheld voting pads which allow students to interact in a variety of learning and teaching contexts through responding to questions and viewing the aggregated results. The uses at the University of Bath include giving students feedback on their learning, and allowing students to feedback on the teaching.

Following this recent investment, the ARS at the University of Bath now totals 400 clickers, which are available in bags of 40 or 80 handsets, accompanied by 1 USB RF receiver per bag. For use as a mechanism for giving effective and immediate feedback to students during teaching sessions, this system can be booked through the Audio Visual team. The ARS can also be used for anonymous, formative assessment as well as to promote deep learning by students within a face to face context. Indeed, some colleagues in the Department of Computer Science presented their findings on a small study on the use of the ARS to enhance feedback at the Plymouth e-Learning Conference 2009.

Peter Nuttall, a Lecturer in the School of Management, is delighted to see this increased capacity in the ARS: “The Audience Response System is designed with the audience firmly in mind. Exceptionally easy to use immediately following its introduction to the class, the system adds a dynamic to the lecture which prompts greater creativity and imagination on behalf of the lecturer and enhanced interest and engagement among students. Used strategically, the device replaces the need for breaks during class and maintains a fluent focus on the content and learning outcomes of the lecture.”

If you would like further details on the ARS pilot project, including session reports and information about how you can start to use them in your teaching, please visit http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/ars/. Alternatively, get in touch with Nitin Parmar, the Project Lead, on 01225 384 392 or at e-learning@bath.ac.uk.

Following discussions with colleagues in the BUCS Windows Team, I am pleased to report that the TurningPoint 2008 software is now available on all PCs in GTA rooms and in the Library. This excludes the Sun Ray machines dotted around the campus, however.

The software can be accessed from the Start button in Windows XP, in the following way,

Start > Programs > Departments > e-Learning > TurningPoint 2008

On a related note, both the software and hardware was tested in 8W 1.1 this morning – in all corners of the room! – without any problems.

For further information on the Audience Response System (ARS) pilot project, and/or if you wish to use the hardware to support your teaching, please do feel free to get in touch with me at: e-learning@bath.ac.uk

I handed over the 200 unit ARS solution over to Audio Visual (AV) today. So, it is done!

Some of the outcomes from the discussion included [that we need to include in our ARS FAQs] as follows,

• Information about how staff and students can get the ARS software downloaded and installed
• What versions of Microsoft PowerPoint to use – BUCS officially supports 2003; this is installed on AV laptops
• How to manage the channels that the hardware runs on,
• Links between the AV website and ARS blog, which will highlight up where people will need to go for support
• The need to consider the issue of time to hand back the clickers after lectures, within our staff development seminars, workshops etc.

We have also agreed to pass information between the two units about who is using the ARS, and which colleagues, departments and groups might use them in the future.

The 200 unit turning point audience response system that was purchased using the TQEF money has been delivered. This system can be divided into small units. We have up to 5 USB receivers.

The hardware will be bookable via the AV Unit, and supported in terms of effective design by the e-learning team. For more information then email e-learning@bath.ac.uk

The order for the 200 handsets has been placed (at the end of August 2008). The funding for this was from the e-learning TQEF money. The support for this purchase was based on a discussion in the Learning and Teaching Committee, when reviewing the most recent TDF bids.

We are expecting the systems to be delivered by mid September. I’m hoping that they’ll be avaiable for booking during October after further discussion and training with AV.