PRS Transmitters?!?!?
I have been meaning to write this blog for awhile now...
The week before classes I received this e-mail from both my biology and chemistry professors stating that we needed to buy a PRS transmitter from the bookstore. I was a little confused. I asked my roommates, "What the hell is a PRS transmitter?" They had no idea either, so we all went to the bookstore and bought these transmitters. Then, we had to register them on-line using our Case user id and the number on the back of the actual transmitter. Looking at the transmitters, they appear to be little remotes. There are buttons with numbers and their corresponding letters. They range from 0 through 9 and A through J.
We brought the transmitters to the first day of classes. Our biology class did not have the all the receivers hooked up yet, so the instructor gave us four different colored pieces of paper. Using this paper, we could experiment and get an idea of how these transmitters would work inside the classroom. The teacher put a question up on the projector, and we were to hold up what color paper corresponded with our answer. However, it was still not clear to me how we would use this technological device.
Next, we went to chemistry class where the receivers were actually working. We were asked a question, and then we were to point our transmitters, which came to be known as "clickers," toward the nearest receiver and press the button of our answer. The professor switched back and forth between the question slide and a slide showing all our registered numbers. When our answer went through, our number would turn a different color. We were able to enter how correct we thought our answer was by pressing a button for high confidence as well as for low confidence. There was a limited amount of time, such as 30 seconds, when everyone could enter their answers. When the time expired, the professor displayed a graph on the projector showing how many people chose A, B, C, or D.
It was neat in that it reminded me of the show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" where the contestant is allowed to ask the audience. It was a little exciting; I'm not going to lie. I thought it would make class more interesting; however, I was wrong. It is actually quite annoying, since our biology professor examines how many times you clicked in during the semester. It was a way for her to determine attendance in such a large lecture room. Sometimes, it is bothersome because our answers do not always go through, since there are probably many people aiming at the same receiver. Although on the other side of the spectrum, it is nice that we are rewarded for going to class in that if we answered 70% of the time, then she will add 10 points to our final exam.
So that's my story on how technology has played a role in my classes this semester. What will they come up with next?!
Comments
Posted by: Allison Trump
Posted on: November 14, 2005 12:29 PM
This is cool, you have to try it. I guessed 22185, and this game guessed it! See it here - http://www.funbrain.com/guess/