‘LEARNING BY REMOTE CONTROL’: EXPLORING THE USE OF AN AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEM AS A VEHICLE FOR CONTENT DELIVERY

Audience response systems (also referred to as group response systems or personal response systems) have long been a feature of game-shows, televised pre-election debates, and corporate training workshops and conferences. More recently, these systems have found their way into the classrooms of tertiary educational institutions, primarily in the United States and in the United Kingdom. While their relative novelty precludes any detailed longitudinal study into their pedagogical effectiveness just yet, several studies have been published that endorse the more extensive adoption of this technology by universities and colleges. The conclusions of this exploratory study into the use of an audience response system at a graduate business school in Australia lend broad support to the findings of the existing body of research. Specifically, evidence is presented suggesting that, in a given context, the technology may be used in such a way that lectures (as they have been traditionally defined) may be discarded in favour of class meetings that are more interactive, and where students are motivated to engage more energetically with the course content. Importantly, the results of this study imply that, with enhanced opportunity for quality group discussion, there is a greater prospect of critical thought and deeper learning