Report on progress in using a wireless keypad response system

We are continuing to experiment with methods for increasing student participation in the lecture environment using commercial wireless keypads and commercial software. The commercial nature of the materials has reduced the cost of funding and developing the system. In addition, flexibility and economy can be realized since the system is totally portable. During class, students are asked to answer questions using the wireless keypad. The questions are woven into the lecture and the purpose of a question can vary; i.e., are the students paying attention, do the students remember facts, are the students thinking, do the students recognize concepts, can the students do numerical exercises, what do the students say about the pace of lecture. Frequently problems are solved on a cooperative basis to make use of peer instruction. Each student enters answers on his assigned individual keypad and the data is wirelessly transmitted to a computer which both displays the results to the class within a few seconds and also stores the data of each individual student for later analysis and for use as part of the term grade. Our progress and experience in using this system in several classes is reported.