Practical Applications of Browser-based, Mobile Classroom Response

Practical Applications of Browser-based, Mobile Classroom Response Audience Response System – iClickers/WebClickers Nellie Modaress, MS University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Teaching and Learning Technologies

Who am I? • Educational Technologist • Master’s Degree from Kansas State University • Have been working at University of Kansas Medical Center ~ 16 years • Part of the Teaching and Learning Technologies Department • One Programmer, Angel Administrator, three Liaisons (School of Health Professions, Nursing, and Medicine), three eLearning Specialists • I’m Liaison to Medicine (KUMC, Wichita, and Salina) – Susan Bailey – my eLearning Specialist

Liaison to Medicine - Support • Medical School (Graduate – students have already obtained a four year degree) • Clerkships • Residencies and Fellowships (GME) • Health Policy and Management (KUMC & Wichita) • Preventive Medicine (KUMC & Wichita) • Department of Biostatistics (KUMC) • Susan and I support approximately 500 core faculty/staff • Overarching ~ 1000 (with three campuses - this number will increase)

Phases of Adoption • Needs Assessment – Fall 2009 • Spring Pilot 2010 • Roll-out for August 2010 Class of 2014 (First year and Second year Medical students) • SoM Expands for Fall 2011

Needs Assessment - Participants • Faculty from: • Schools of Allied Health, Nursing, and Medicine (15 faculty and staff) • Researched 16 possible vendor solutions and brought in three to evaluate – iClickers being one

Needs Assessment - Criteria • Platform Independent • Increases Participation • Tracks Participation – registers users • Tracks Attendance • Measures Comprehension of Content • Intuitive vs. Clunky • Not Time Intensive to Learn/Create • Compatibility with Current Systems • Ability to Create Questions/Slides on the Fly • Comfortable/Simple Data Import • Multiple Question Types • Cost to Student/Institution • Integration with Angel Gradebook • Able to Modify Answer

WebClickers?????? • School purchases HP Tablets – duration of 4 years (receive as M1) – PC based campus (ssshhhh – we do have Mac users) • Online curriculum • Microsoft Office Suite • Podcast – Camtasia Relay • Online Microscopy (Aperio) - Students create own Atlas using Microsoft OneNote (sometimes share) • Angel LMS and O: drive (shared drive – access) • WebClickers – great fit

WebClickers • Students: • Mobile device (iPhone/iTouch/most smartphones) • No batteries/replacement/lost/stolen – no worries • Students login, click on class/instructor– ready to vote!

WebClickers • Faculty: • Can use any content (website, .pdf, images, powerpoints – no limitations) • Can survey class anonymously • Can create questions on the fly • Can grade WebClicker learning activities (igrader.exe) – wonderful tool • Can import grades into LMS (Angel) • VERY EASY TO USE

Spring Beta Pilot – WebClicker • Medical School pilot – 360 students!!!! • Initially it started out with our Second Year students (Infectious Diseases) – 180 students • Success with Second Year – let’s include First Year too (Renal and Endocrine) – 180 students • iClicker provided us 360 temporary (180-day accounts) – carried the students through the Spring pilot.

Registering Students for Pilot • Created how-to handout (3 pages with screen shots) • Students registered themselves and all were issued the same trial code (activation code) • Two weeks before Infectious Module (M2) and Renal (M1) – information was emailed to students. They were to be registered by first day of the modules for Spring Semester.

Instructions Sent to Students Created by Susan Bailey

Lessons Learned from Pilot • It was a success for both M1 and M2 students, faculty, and us • Shortcomings of Pilot: • No grading involved – no learning activity to be graded – assumed students registered as instructed (followed hand-out) – didn’t need to sync registrants • Only two classes to add to two bases – had to activate one course on each base – smooth sailing (duplication of classes possible/USB) • One class per USB and activate one class at a time

In the interim - Market WebClickers • Received 20 demo accounts already activated and ready to use • Six months activation - in six months we demonstrated WebClickers to faculty at staff meetings, department meetings, curriculum meetings, and set up workshops

Fall 2010 : Roll-out • School of Medicine purchases 360 WebClicker accounts for M1 and M2 students. • Chad Moeller and Cheryl Carpenter from iClicker – sent spreadsheet with activation codes (couldn’t wait for printed cards) • Susan Bailey – mail-merged email with instructions and activation codes supplied • Students registered themselves • Two clicker bases tethered in two auditoriums (First and Second Year classes) and one classroom (pre-matric program) Received “free” per 100 accounts – we purchased 360 accounts (3 complimentary bases)

The Classroom Environment • Wahl Hall East – First Year Medical Students • Rieke – Second Year Medical Students • 1015 Orr Major – Pre-Matric Students

Network Infrastructure in Classroom – Campus Wireless • WHE – 6 Access Points • Rieke – 6 Access Points • Designed to support the room capacity of the auditorium (~ 200 students in each auditorium) • Each “station” has built in ports and outlets for hard-wiring purposes as back-up.

iClicker Support • Chad Moeller had a team ready to assist us – one-time support (been flying solo ever since) • Advantage of mail-merge – we knew which student should have which activation code – Susan and I - first line of support • Chad and his team were prompt as we emailed them student issues – most were resolved quickly and solutions were emailed to the students by Chad and his team – very impressive

Lessons Learned from Fall Roll-out • Students share codes • Students don’t necessarily follow instructions • First year students did not know zip code of campus, their username, etc. The expectation to pre-register before school starts unrealistic • Some Second year students did not upgrade activation code – Spring Beta codes still worked 

Faculty Impressions • I used WebClickers for 5-10 min MCQ review sessions on the material taught the previous day, before moving on to new material. My goal was to encourage the students to keep on top of the material, to provide some kind of mental 'reward' if they did, and to expose them to the style of questions that they would encounter on the exam. The technology was easy to use, and feedback from the students regarding this exercise was very positive.

Faculty Impressions • I find that the webclickers provide an efficient method for measuring how well my students understand key concepts. It gives me a chance to review the question and answers and in so doing I review the critical concept that students may not understand. It also assists with student ability to tackle multiple choice questions (MCQs) and develop strategies for successfully answering MCQs. • I like the webclickers for review sessions where I can move quickly through topics and concepts that are well understood and spend more time on areas of confusion. It is a very effective medium for assessing class understanding. • The webclickers are used by many of the students in my classes. The students seem to enjoy the ability to respond to questions and to know they have mastered important concepts. • The webclickers add an active learning component to even large lectures. The anonymity increases student interest and participation and is a tremendous advantage.

Fall 2011 - SoM Expansion • Received Cards instead of spreadsheet with codes – oops! • Decided to transfer the codes to a Spreadsheet format for mail merging capability to students • Three Campuses (Salina, Wichita, and KUMC) to distribute the accounts to – cards might get lost, students might lose the cards – support will fail • Case would be different if students purchased the accounts and were responsible for registering themselves

Solution for Fall 2011 • Register the students ourselves • Receive roster from Registrar • Register students with username/student ID (password) • Drawback – marriage – name change!!!!

Preventive Medicine, Health Policy Management, & Biostatistics • Purchased iClickers – not WebClickers • Interested in gauging student comprehension – will not be tied to grade • Having mobile devices not required for students (reason for choosing iClickers) • Compared to medical students – student class size much smaller • Faculty/Students – successful in using the system

Support from Administrators • My opinion: • Implementation of educational technologies are normally more successful when approved and pushed by Deans, Chairs, and other top Administrators • (case with iClickers/WebClickers)

Data – Next Phase • Will focus on surveying students once the dust settles • Like to find out student/faculty impressions • Would like to write articles and present with SoM faculty on how the technology is used within the curriculum

Practical Applications of Browser-based, Mobile Classroom Response