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How can I get all my students to engage in a large group?
How can I get all of them to answer?
How can I do this without expensive electronic voting devices,
detectors, software and displays?
Answer: Give them all a CommuniCube!
Students rotate their cube to show a different colour for every
answer they could give (1 of 5 options).
How do I know the result of voting?
Count
the coloured squares you see, or estimate percentages with larger numbers.
It's quicker than you think.
Won't they be too small to see or too bulky to handle?
These
purpose-designed, 10cm cubes are small enough to handle but large and
bright enough to be visible to the teacher even in large groups and
lecture theatres.
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Won't students show the wrong colour?
The students don't need to know the colours, the cubes have a number
map - they just read the number of their choice!
Won't it waste time teaching students how to use them?
It
takes 2 minutes to train students.
What about colour blind or blind students?
Students don't use the colours. Cubes with Braille or touch bumps are
available for blind students.
How do the students know how everyone voted?
Feedback their response, either:
- tell them or, if a detailed numerical feedback is needed,
- use an Excel sheet with ready-made pie charts (free with cubes).
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Student learning requires intellectual activity, they need to pay
attention, and they need feedback on their performance.
In a small groups, a teacher can engage attention by requiring
responses from everyone.
In large groups, few students volunteer. To interact with everyone in a large group
needs some technology.
Electronic personal response systems (PRS) provide interactivity but
they are expensive
they need technical support
they need training for the teacher
a teacher is dependent on the technology, including a power supply.
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CommuniCubes
support interactivity and are
* simple, cheap, and effective
*
safe
* independent of a power
supply or a computer
* reliable, won't let you down
* used in
universities,
colleges and schools
* fun - students say so!
CommuniCubes are available as robust, fold-up cards at £1.50 each, plus
VAT, plus 15p each for postage in the UK - unless you collect. International postage
charged at cost.
Contact: Dr. Stephen Bostock
stephen@keele.org.uk |
