Using audience response system in a third world country: The good, bad and ugly

Abstract

An effective classroom is where there are various forms of interactions: student-student and teacher-student. Unfortunately, most of the interactions that go on in our lecture theatres are minimal. This paper reports an innovative method of engaging students through the use of an Audience Response System (ARS) in a university course. The ARS was used to explore the possibility of improving the interactions in the lecture theatres. The overarching research question was: How best does ARS support lecturer-student interactions in the lecture theatre? A questionnaire and interview were used to elicit students’ views on the use of ARS as an instructional tool. Students reported that they enjoyed using ARS as it facilitated class interaction and collaboration. Internet onnectivity and incompatibility issues on some devices made teaching with the ARS a bit challenging. It is therefore recommended that lecturers can make use of ARS to improve interactions in their lecture rooms.