Purdue

1
Purdues System-Wide Deployment of a Classroom
Response System
By Steven M. Lichti Teaching and Learning
Technologies Information Technology at Purdue
2
Introduction

• About Purdue University
• Land-grant institution founded in 1869
• 38,000 students at West Lafayette campus
• 24,000 students at regional campuses

3
Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP)

• Responsible for planning and coordinating central
  computing and telecommunications systems
• Teaching and Learning Technologies
• Classrooms, computer labs, course-management
  system, faculty consulting, instructional
  development, classroom response system

4
History of Technology in the Classroom (TIC)

• TIC program began in 1998
• Began with two classrooms (Electrical Engineering
  and Physics)
• Grown to 219 classrooms w/tech. in Fall 2007
• TIC Management
• Support classroom computing across campus
• Support faculty enhance learning through
  technology

5
How CRS Began at Purdue

• Critical mass of faculty interested in a
  classroom response system
• Technology was researched, multiple vendors
  investigated
• Pre-Purchase evaluation
• Evaluated eInstruction and EduCue (now iPRS)
• Cost / Benefit
• Technology (IR vs. RF)
• User Friendliness software?
• Supportability would we require a small army?
• Scalability could we make it available
  everywhere?

6
Product Evaluation

• Deciding upon a vendor
• Decision stakeholders
• IT staff, faculty, students
• Collaboration with eInstruction
• Working together, solving problems

7
Funding

• Received initial funding through grant from the
  Provost for Educational Technology
• Maintenance included in contract
• Institutionally absorbed student registration fees

8
Pilot Study

• Conducted pilot study in 13 classrooms with 15
  professors across 8 disciplines encompassing
  3,000 students
• Chemistry, Communications, Computer Technology,
  Electrical and Computer Engineering, Forestry and
  Natural Resources, Management, Organizational
  Leadership and Supervision, and Physics
• Class sizes range from 18 to 900

9
Technology in the Classroom

• Standardized Computer Equipment
• 3.4GHz PC w/17 LCD
• Gyration wireless mouse receiver and charging
  cradle
• eInstruction CPSRF receiver
• A/V Equipment
• Crestron Control Systems

10
Wide-Scale Deployment

• Deployed receivers into 200 classrooms
• Wide availability, classroom independent, large
  or small classes

450 Students
200 Students
11
Challenges (Hardware)

• Hardware Integration
• Prior limited experimentation with IR devices
• Difficult to scale multiple receivers required
• Great improvement using RF devices
• RF signal multi-directional / IR signal
  line-of-sight

12
Challenges (Registration)

• Response Pad Registration
• Occurred via CPSOnline (eInstruction.com)
• Students responsible for entering correct
  information
• Nicknames, non-university email accounts,
  incorrect response pad serial number

13
Development of the Proxy Tool for WebCT/Vista

• eInstruction developed WebCT-based registration
  tool at Purdues request
• Used to decrease registration difficulty create
  single point of registration
• Official name, email address and correct course
• Increase student privacy (FERPA)
• Grade upload capability

14
Future of the Classroom Response System

• Second-generation system
• New response pads (with LCDs)
• Automatic joining
• New receivers
• Upgraded software and power point integration

15
Usage Statistics Fall 2006
Campus Courses Seats Unique Users
Calumet 17 840 511
Fort Wayne 16 840 792
North Central 1 29 29
West Lafayette 68 16,984 9,567
16
Usage Courses per Semester
17
Usage Seats per Semester
18
Suggestions for Future Users

• Convince administration that classroom response
  technology would be valuable to teaching and
  learning
• Development concise directions and documentation
• Work closely with vendor to establish efficient
  procedures
• Provide regular training to faculty

19
Suggestions for Future Users (continued)

• Keep in contact with faculty to ensure their
  needs are met
• Keep faculty and departments informed of any
  changes
• Inform bookstore textbook managers there is a
  campus standard
• Understand political and security implications of
  communicating student data between
  university-hosted and vendor-hosted systems

20
Acknowledgements

• Many thanks to Ed Evans, Director of Learning
  Spaces for providing a great deal of historical
  data