Interaction Lies at the Heart of Student Response Systems
Engaging children and getting the best response from them should be central to the educational process at every school. Not every pupil acts in the same manner so it is not as if taking an across the board approach to education can help every pupil but there are things that teachers should be doing to get the best from their pupils. Anything which can put the children at ease and make them feel confident in their work has to be a good thing and student response systems will definitely help in this regard.
First of all, the technology used by pupils utilising student response systems will likely be familiar to many gadgets that they have at home. Using this response system is very similar to using a remote control at home and this is something that the vast majority of pupils will have a great deal of experience in using. Therefore, when it comes time for a pupil to use one in the classroom, it should not be a daunting experience. Answering by pressing buttons is likely to be less nerve-racking that talking in front of a class so it should be a good way to help children develop their learning abilities and their confidence.
Another great reason for using student response systems in the classroom is the fact that it should allow pupils to be more truthful in their answers. The system allows for anonymity when providing answers which means pupils do not have to worry about what their friends will think. Peer pressure is a major factor for many pupils so knowing that the answers are collated on a database with the teacher having direct access to them is likely to help a child give a more truthful and straightforward answer to any question that is asked in the classroom.
Student response systems are also going to be of benefit to pupils because they can help to speed up the learning process. Teachers can waste a lot of their time marking exams and papers and this is time they could use on other matters. Many teachers find that they struggle to put together a learning plan because of the length of time they have to spend creating lesson plans so the student response systems provide a great degree of support and assistance in this regard. This means that pupils should find they are given more time with their teacher, which will hopefully give them a greater likelihood of learning and understanding the topics they are studying.
As one of the more recent forms of technology in the classroom, student response systems have a multitude of applications from tests and surveys to being able to take questions from the class anonymously.
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