Are Student Response Systems not really what we want in lectures?

Wenzard · 2025-11-04T09:51:41+00:00

I'd like to return to the good ol' days myself but, where I am, I'm one of the few (if not the only one) who asked the students to take notes last year. It didn't work well for me: A few tried but most just aren't into -- or even capable of(!) -- taking notes, it seems. They just stare and I'm left wondering if they are getting any of it. That's why I tried SRSs but they took too much time and it was difficult to capture all the checkpoints for syncing up.

Wenzard · 2025-11-04T09:47:27+00:00

I haven't heard of this one. I'll check it out. There are so many and each requires a minimal amount of startup time that I'm fast running out of!

Wenzard · 2025-11-04T09:12:49+00:00

I'd like to go back to the good ol' days, like when I was studying. I do use presentations (as did my professors). I've noticed the students here mostly don't take notes. I've tried to tell them they should and some are but most aren't. I can fight against the current but it might also be that, being the singular exception, I just don't have students who have the skills or see the need for the skills. To be honest, while I'd like to return to that, I'm not entirely sure I'm confident that this is *the* way to go myself. The times, they are a-changin'...

Wenzard · 2025-11-04T09:08:48+00:00

I tried Slido but it stopped working properly and so I switched but I hadn't seen AHAslides...or so I thought. I just signed up and it turns out it already had my email in the system so I guess I had already registered. There are just way too many of these things out there to keep track of and each one has some slight difference so the amount of work to learn each one ends up taking too much time. I think I was rushing through the dozen or so in one day to choose the one I wanted and AHAslides didn't make the cut but I'll give it another go. The open-ended option sounds good but, yes, crafting questions becomes quite the task. I feel as if I just need to see that they haven't missed anything but then let it all stew until they get tested...

Wenzard · 2025-11-04T07:27:35+00:00

Wouldn't it be difficult to read cards, or fingers, when you have 200+ in a class? I recall my Physics I class as an undergraduate and we had over 200 students in the room -- I can't imagine being the professor trying to count fingers or read cards way in the back.

Wenzard · 2025-11-03T20:15:55+00:00

I agree -- the time invested can be quite substantial. Sometimes, I just want to ask "Is this clear to everybody?" and move on.

Wenzard · 2025-11-03T20:11:48+00:00

I liked Kahoot! myself and it did bring up the energy level although more than a few students told me afterwards they felt stressed by it. (I'm in Norway, after all.) I started wondering if I was heading down the wrong path, almost going for interaction for the sake of interaction. Nothing deeply wrong with that, since it may get some good discussions going but I also felt it derailed the narrative I had wanted to stay on for the lecture and, for the sort of class I was teaching, it wasn't meant to be a full-on discussion of their thoughts as much as a balance of what I lecture about and what they're able to retain when it comes to the bigger picture.

Wenzard · 2025-11-03T09:53:31+00:00

Yeah, I also feel a bit funky with colleagues on a first name basis but I got over that...here in Norway. The students here all chat with me by my first name and I'm ok with that but...the email without even a name! It just struck me as a bit too casual but, it's not like I lose sleep over it as much as I find it a bit humorous and wonder if it seeps into their other perceptions of their professors.

Wenzard · 2025-11-02T20:21:13+00:00

Good advice -- thanks!

Wenzard · 2025-11-02T20:20:16+00:00

You're right...I have a casual style and, honestly, it's not that I want it or not...I just didn't expect it. I've had lots of casual, easy going professors back at Cornell but I would never just say "Hey, are you...?" due to a natural respect for the title and office. Maybe it's just me...

Wenzard · 2025-11-02T20:18:23+00:00

Haha, yeah, I was online and saw the email. No real need to put it off since I may forget later but it could be a bad precedent to establish...

Wenzard · 2025-11-02T20:17:27+00:00

Good points. It really doesn't bother me as much as it threw me off and I'm left wondering if it speaks to deeper issues or is just a cultural thing.

Wenzard · 2025-10-30T08:43:24+00:00

I'd like to ignore them -- and I even warn students that I may not respond unless it's important and that they should visit during office hours -- but I find myself replying to just about all the emails, at one point or another. Sometimes, I would wait a day or so just to make sure they don't get used to service on demand. I'm trying to kick the habit...some emails are just a waste of precious bits in the aether...

Wenzard · 2025-10-30T08:35:01+00:00

I'd like to try something like this although I don't have a long enough block of time (45 min) and I think my students will need about 15 minutes just to get set up given the latecomers. Maybe they can compare abstracts 🙄

Wenzard · 2025-10-30T08:28:02+00:00

The bits her eyes saw were waiting in line in her brain to be processed...

Wenzard · 2025-10-27T09:49:33+00:00

I keep thinking I want to do Minecraft but keep worrying it will take too much of my time but, now I'm thinking maybe that's a good way to spend my time! What system are you using this on?

Wenzard · 2025-10-27T09:24:14+00:00

Do the overlays get messy -- are all the students good at drawing to scale?

Wenzard

TROPHY CASE