Introducing Backchannel Technology into a Large Undergraduate Course.

Backchannel technology can be used to allow students in large lecture courses to communicate with each other and the instructor during the delivery of lecture content and class discussions. It can also be utilized by instructors to capture, summarize, and integrate student questions, ideas, and needs into course content both immediately and throughout the course. The authors integrated backchannel software in one of two sections of a course, leaving the other section as a control; combined, the two sections contained a total number of 871 students. Data was gathered comparing both groups using online surveys and semester grades; results showed that the section using backchannel software had higher class satisfaction and perception of engagement, used their mobile devices more for accessing class content, felt more comfortable participating in class discussions, and had a higher grade average than the section that did not. The authors also explore their own experiences of finding, integrating, and maintaining backchannel technology. La technologie d’arriere-plan peut permettre aux etudiants de grands cours magistraux de communiquer les uns avec les autres et avec l’instructeur durant le cours et les discussions en classe. Les instructeurs peuvent aussi l’utiliser pour saisir, resumer et integrer les questions, idees et besoins des etudiants dans le contenu du cours, et ce, immediatement et pendant toute la duree du cours. Les auteurs ont integre un logiciel d’arriere-plan dans l’une des deux sections d’un cours, faisant de l’autre section son groupe temoin. Ensemble, les deux sections comprenaient 871 etudiants. Des donnees ont ete recueillies pour comparer les deux groupes a l’aide de sondages en ligne et des notes du trimestre. Les resultats ont demontre que la section utilisant le logiciel d’arriere-plan avait une plus grande satisfaction et une meilleure perception de l’engagement, que ses etudiants se servaient de leurs appareils mobiles pour acceder a davantage de contenus, se sentaient plus a l’aise de prendre part aux discussions en classe et avaient une moyenne plus elevee que ceux du groupe qui n’avait pas acces au logiciel. Les auteurs explorent egalement leurs propres experiences pour trouver, integrer et entretenir la technologie d’arriere-plan.

[1]  A. Chickering,et al.  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education , 1987, CORE.

[2]  Robin H. Kay,et al.  Unstructured vs. Structured Use of Laptops in Higher Education , 2011, J. Inf. Technol. Educ. Innov. Pract..

[3]  Lesley A. Langa.  Does Twitter Help Museums Engage with Visitors , 2014 .

[4]  Michelle K. Smith,et al.  Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[5]  Marjorie B. Platt,et al.  Classroom participation and discussion effectiveness: student-generated strategies , 2004 .

[6]  Souha R. Ezzedeen.  Facilitating Class Discussions Around Current and Controversial Issues: Ten Recommendations for Teachers , 2008 .

[7]  James Boyle,et al.  Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings , 2003 .

[8]  Blair Nonnecke,et al.  Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture , 2015, J. Inf. Technol. Educ. Res..

[9]  Catherine Mulryan-Kyne,et al.  Teaching large classes at college and university level: challenges and opportunities , 2010 .

[10]  Jill A. Marshall,et al.  Classroom Response Systems: A Review of the Literature , 2006 .

[11]  Steven A. Wolfman.  Making lemonade: exploring the bright side of large lecture classes , 2002, SIGCSE '02.

[12]  William G. Griswold,et al.  Noteblogging: taking note taking public , 2008, SIGCSE '08.

[13]  Caroline Yoon,et al.  It's not the done thing: social norms governing students’ passive behaviour in undergraduate mathematics lectures , 2011 .

[14]  Martin Ebner,et al.  Developing a Web-Based Question-Driven Audience Response System Supporting BYOD , 2014, J. Univers. Comput. Sci..

[15]  Sean Wiebe,et al.  The Role of Digital Technologies in Learning: Expectations of First Year University Students , 2012 .

[16]  Martin Ebner,et al.  Introducing Live Microblogging: How Single Presentations Can Be Enhanced by the Mass , 2009 .

[17]  Gillian M. Sandstrom,et al.  Embrace Chattering Students , 2015 .

[18]  Pookie Sautter.  Designing Discussion Activities to Achieve Desired Learning Outcomes: Choices Using Mode of Delivery and Structure , 2007 .

[19]  D John,et al.  Whispers in the Classroom. , 2007 .

[20]  V. Yngve.  On getting a word in edgewise , 1970 .

[21]  Fiona C. Saunders,et al.  Digital or didactic: Using learning technology to confront the challenge of large cohort teaching , 2012, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[22]  Shannon Walters,et al.  Toward an Accessible Pedagogy: Dis/ability, Multimodality, and Universal Design in the Technical Communication Classroom , 2010 .

[23]  David H. Rose,et al.  Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning , 2002 .

[24]  Richard F. Schmid,et al.  A multi-year investigation of the relationship between pedagogy, computer use and course effectiveness in postsecondary education , 2011, J. Comput. High. Educ..

[25]  Melissa Terras,et al.  Enabled backchannel: conference Twitter use by digital humanists , 2011, J. Documentation.

[26]  Mark J. W. Lee,et al.  Personalised and Self Regulated Learning in the Web 2.0 Era: International Exemplars of Innovative Pedagogy Using Social Software. , 2010 .

[27]  C. Bonwell,et al.  Active learning : creating excitement in the classroom , 1991 .

[28]  Isabelle D. Cherney,et al.  The effects of active learning on students' memories for course content , 2008 .

[29]  Leeann Cardaciotto,et al.  Is Active Learning Like Broccoli? Student Perceptions of Active Learning in Large Lecture Classes. , 2011 .

[30]  C. Fichten,et al.  Canadian Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: Where Are They? , 2003 .

[31]  Robert J. Dufresne,et al.  Classtalk: A classroom communication system for active learning , 1996, J. Comput. High. Educ..

[32]  Kathrin Lambertz,et al.  Back-channelling: The use of yeah and mm to portray engaged listenership , 2011 .

[33]  William G. Griswold,et al.  The Activeclass Project: Experiments in Encouraging Classroom Participation , 2003, CSCL.

[34]  Brooke Quisenberry,et al.  Engaging the Millennial Generation in Class Discussions , 2010 .

[35]  Johan Nilsson,et al.  Real-Time Control Systems with Delays , 1998 .

[36]  R. Iyer,et al.  Improving Undergraduate Student Satisfaction with the Consumer Behavior Course: Will Interactive Technology Help? , 2011 .

[37]  J. V. Dam,et al.  Voices, grins and laughter in the lecture room , 2013 .

[38]  K. Patricia Cross,et al.  Classroom Assessment Techniques , 1993 .

[39]  J. Berezowski,et al.  An investigation into the factors that encourage learner participation in a large group medical classroom , 2014, Advances in medical education and practice.

[40]  E. Mazur,et al.  Peer Instruction: Ten years of experience and results , 2001 .

[41]  A. Cesarei.  Disclosure of Disability by University Students: Development of a Study Protocol , 2014 .

[42]  Mary Budd Rowe,et al.  Wait Time: Slowing Down May Be A Way of Speeding Up! , 1986 .

[43]  J. Biggs.  What the student does: teaching for enhanced learning , 1999 .

[44]  Inge G. E. Blockmans.  “Not Wishing to Be the White Rhino in the Crowd” , 2015 .

[45]  Margaret I. Brown,et al.  Increasing interactivity in lectures using an electronic voting system , 2004, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[46]  Whitney Berry.  Surviving Lecture: A Pedagogical Alternative , 2008 .

[47]  R. Mayer.  Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction. , 2004, The American psychologist.

[48]  Gareth Denyer,et al.  Why do Students Still Bother Coming to Lectures, When Everything is Available Online? , 2011 .

[49]  Carl E. Wieman,et al.  Why Not Try a Scientific Approach to Science Education? , 2007 .

[50]  J. Osborne,et al.  Students' questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science , 2008 .

[51]  Michael J. Prince,et al.  Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research , 2004 .

[52]  Gary R. Morrison,et al.  Past and Present : Balancing Rigor and Relevance to Impact School Learning , 2010 .

[53]  Robin Kay,et al.  Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms. , 2014 .

[54]  Thomas A. Angelo,et al.  Classroom assessment techniques : a handbook for collegeteachers / Thomas A. Angelo, K. Patricia Cross , 1993 .

[55]  Robin Mason,et al.  e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook: Resources for Higher Education , 2008 .

[56]  Wolfgang Effelsberg,et al.  Interactive lectures: Effective teaching and learning in lectures using wireless networks , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..