Increasing student participation in a networked classroom

Many students own notebooks, and many lecture halls are equipped with a wireless local area network, so student notebooks provide a convenient platform for various in-class activities. We report here on a simple tool that uses this platform to increase student participation. An instructor can perform instant in-class assessments, solicit questions about the material, or gauge the student´s perception of the lecture´s speed. Responses are collected without revealing the student´s identity and stored on the instructor´s machine or a remote server. If appropriate, the responses are electronically tabulated (e.g., multiple-choice questions or self-confidence surveys). The instructor always maintains control and decides when an assessment or query is posted, how long the students are given to respond, and if summaries are shared with the class. Also, even in the most computer-savy environment, not all students bring a computer to class, and we discuss how to deal with this issue.