Handhelds Replacing Upheld Hands

The latest innovation on college campuses is the use of small handheld Personal Response System transmitters. Especially popular at State schools with large-enrollment classes – where it is hard for a professor or TA to keep track of hundreds of undergraduates – the devices can take attendance electronically, allow students to request the floor for questions or comments, and measure audience interest. Especially useful, according to professors – sprinkling their lectures with multiple-choice questions students must answer via PRS. The results appear instantly on the professors laptop, telling her what percentage of the class “gets it”

from the Boston Globe