Instructors
http://ActiveLecture.org
ActiveLecture is a simple web-based system for interaction between students and an instructor. The system is comparable to clickers, but there are no hardware costs, software installations, or registration procedures.
Make a new topic. Type a question. Save it. Click Discuss.
Tell your students to go to http:ActiveLecture.org, click on Students, type in the lecture ID that is displayed on your projected screen, and answer your question.
You can see how many answers trickle in. If you can't take the suspense, click on the Peek link to peek at the responses that have already arrived.
Once you have enough responses, click Stop.
A list of all responses will be displayed. Discuss them with your students.
Repeat if desired.
Try it out. Ask the simplest question about your lecture that you could possibly think of. You will almost certainly be astounded by the responses.
For example, after several lectures on loops, I asked "Write a loop that prints all numbers from 1 to 100 and puts a * after those that are divisible by 10." It was not pretty. But it gave me a reality check on what students could actually do, and it led to a useful discussion on common errors.
The belief is that students will be more willing to participate if they don't feel that they might be punished for wrong answers. (My graduate student Sanuja Dabade implemented a version in which students identified themselves. It didn't lead to higher response rates or better responses.)
That's ok. Students can share a computer.
Sure. Just remember your lecture ID and password, then reopen your lecture when you teach.