Hey there everyone!

Just wanted to make sure everyone was aware that registration is now open for our October User Conference in San Diego, CA. I've personally been able to attend several of these and every time I am amazed at the GREAT session topics and unique uses of student response. The sessions chosen for this conference look even more enticing! Check out the conference details for yourself and don't forget to register and reserve your spot today. Remember registration is limited.

View Conference Details and Register!

Morning Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I just finished loading the Keynote and Breakout Session videos from our Nashville User Conference to YouTube. Sorry, for the delay, but they are well worth the wait! Check out what you may have missed or get a refresher of what you've already seen!

View Nashville User Conference Videos Now

Special Congratulations to Brian L. from Jacksonville University who won the iPad for our TurningTalk content contest. Thanks to everyone who participated! Just because the contest is over, doesn't mean you can't keep contributing. Keep the conversations alive! Thanks everyone!

-Matt

I found a free option that could be used to create participant lists. I was able to successfully scan our clickers and export as a spreadsheet from CodeReadR. There is a free app in iTunes to use for scanning and below is some additional information to get you started.

App to scan clicker
1 Download the CodeReadR App - http://itunes.apple.com/mu/app...code/id389044458?mt=8
2 Record in Real Time (sends it to their website) or to test it out use Record on the device.
3 Scroll through the text and click continue (an image of a scanner will be on your screen
5 Click on settings and click on the application settings
6 Change the Barcode Type to Code 39
7 Click back on the scan and tap the screen
8 Hold the clicker so the iphone camera can view the barcode it will auto focus and complete the scan (you do not have to do anything or click any buttons)
9 It advances to a screen that shows it was valid and shows the barcode with the option to do another
10 Create an account and login to the website below to view your scans

Web Account to view scans
http://itunes.apple.com/mu/app...code/id389044458?mt=8

1. Create an account and Login
2. View all scans
3. Export clicker scans to import into participant lists.

Are you doing all you can to stay up-to-date on the latest product information, updates and releases? Did you know that we offer several ways to stay informed? One way is to sign-up for our RSS feed or you can "Like" us on Facebook and/or "Follow" us on Twitter. We will also post interesting stories and other informative articles that we feel might be of interest to you, our customers. And feel free to join in the conversation or start one up, after all that's what social media is all about right!? Hope to hear from ya'll soon in cyber-land!

Take Care - Matt

Call me weird, but I really enjoy User Conference season. I have been a part of every User Conference from the very first back in 2007, and each year I have seen how beneficial they have been to our customers. I honestly think they are one of the best things we offer.

With that said, I am excited to announce that we will be offering two User Conferences this coming April. The first will be held in country music's Nashville, Tennessee (spent some time there this past summer, its a GREAT place to visit) and will offer tracks specific for Education users and Corporate/Government users. The Pre-Conference will be April 18 and the Main Conference will be April 19-20. The second conference will be held at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio with a focus ONLY on Education users. The Pre-Conference will be April 25 and the Main Conference April 26. If you've been to a conference, you know what they are all about and how they are filled with excellent learning opportunities. But if you've never been, boy are you missing out. You can expect special keynote presentations, breakout sessions presented by your peers, hands-on training by Turning Technologies staff members, panel discussions and so much more. Additionally, we are offering the option of either a Pre-Conference Training Day or a Train-the-Trainer Certification course prior to each conference.

If you are interested in being a part of either one of these conferences, we are currently accepting Proposals for session presenters. Just follow the link to learn more about the conferences and to submit your proposal. View Conference Information and Submit a Proposal

I hope all of you take the time to consider either of these events, you won't regret it, I promise you that.

All my best,

Matt

I am hearing a lot about Team Based learning and curriculum shifts for many of the instructors I work with.  This spring I was posed the question, “How can we incorporate Turning Technologies into our new team based classrooms and curriculum?”  This question came to me from University of Virginia School of Medicine.

I am not an expert in Team Based Learning so it meant that I needed to dig in and get some knowledge under my belt.  Please send me any suggestions you have on team based learning and how clickers can be incorporated.  I can use all the help I can get.  LOL!

So far, here is what I have come up with....

At Great Lakes Conference on Teaching and Learning, I attended a breakout on TBL by  Dr. Timothy Connors.  From what I can gather, I see clickers being used for these TBL processes.

First and most obvious use is for the individual readiness assurance test (iRAT) and team readiness assurance test (tRAT).  The student can use their clickers to take both of these tests / quizzes.  Part of the TBL approach is having immediate and frequent feedback for the students.  Using the response systems will allow immediate feedback with the added bonus of automatic grading for the professor.  It is easily uploaded into a LMS or grade book.  

The In-Class Application Exercises can also utilize clicker technology.  The teams are to work on and report answers on the same problem.  With clicker technology, the teams will be able to report their conclusions for the class to see.  In this situation, ResponseWare would be an advantage.  ResponseWare allows the students to respond in full text with unlimited characters.  If your students have a computer at their table, they can send their team answer for all to see.  This can start off a discussion.  While this can happen through simple sharing and presenting, you will not have a record of the individual responses after the class unless they are required to turn them in.  It would not be for grading but for your own data collection.  When you go back to review the course, you will be able to see a total picture from quizzes to in class exercises.

My final thoughts revolve around peer assessment.  Allowing the students to use clicker technology for the peer assessment can result in more accurate feedback.  You will also have the opportunity to see if the students are on the right track.  If the majority of the group agrees with you (the expert), you can see that they are understanding the concept.  If they feel that something was done well and you are not in agreement, you are able to give immediate feedback to the entire class at the moment when it is the most fresh in their heads.

TBL and clickers go hand in hand.  The clickers help facilitate major principles of TBL, timely / frequent feedback and accountability. 
 

As a Turning Technologies sales person, I have an obvious interest in the clicker aspects of all pedagogical methods and theories.  However, after nearly 6 years of working with Higher Education instructors, I have developed and fascination with the science of learning.  It is truly enjoyable to listen to how so many different factors about a human contribute to how one learns, retains, and are motivated.

I am currently attending the Great Lakes Conference on Teaching and Learning in Mount Pleasant, MI.  The conference is presented by the FaCIT staff of Central Michigan University.  You can learn more about the FaCIT team at www.facit.cmich.edu.  Also see twitter #GLCTL for tweets from other attendees.

The conference started off with Derek Bruff’s keynote speech “Class Time Reconsidered: Motivating Student Participation and Engagement.”  I have read Dr Bruff’s book Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments.  This book outlines his research regarding clicker users and best practices for clickers in the classroom.  I have also had the pleasure of seeing him speak multiple times.  I like to watch Dr. Bruff because he is continually growing and changing.  I learn something new every time I get the opportunity to listen to him.  I feel a connection with his style in some ways because he is constantly trying new things.

The keynote was presented using Prezi.  It was my first introduction to this presentation application.  He also used TurningPoint Anywhere for his audience response software.  The audience (around 80 people) was equipped with ResponseCard RF LCD.  

When he introduced a method or idea, he had the audience join in and actually experience the method as a student would.  He delivered information regarding problem, theory, and text based course.  The steps of learning were outlined for each course type.  Then he had each person write what they believed the steps for learning are in their course, share with a partner, then share with the audience.  Think-Pair-Share in action.

My favorite part of the keynote was about before class work allowing for the student to start the process of "making sense" of the material during class when you are there for guidance and support.  He spoke of the student’s first exposure to material.  Students come to class having done reading, watched/listened to a podcast or video, finished a quiz on their LMS system, answered some short essays, blogged, sent questions to the instructor, etc...  This would be their first exposure.  I know what you are going to say, “students will not do this”.  His thoughts on how to motivate students to do these before class assignments makes sense.  You need to connect it to something in class and make it worth the effort with points.  The points are primarily for effort as it is just their first exposure and you do not want to discourage them.  The grading is quick for you.  They will be bringing to class and you will not need to spend outside time giving feedback to the student.  That process with be done in class.  This will warm them up and as Derek says “a lecture works well when you create a situation when they are ready to hear.”  It can also give you the opportunity to be an “agile” teacher.  Based on what you receive from the students, you can adjust your lecture or class time activities.

For more about this presenation see www.derekbruff.com.  You can follow Dr. Bruff on twitter @derekbruff as well.

More to come from the Great Lakes Conference on Teaching and Learning.....

At Central Michigan University, they are exploring the use of ResponseWare.  An introduction to education class, taught by a team of 3, has been piloting the use of iPod Touch devices and ResponseWare.  The Team, affectionately referred to the Trio, is taking great strides with their classroom.  They have moved to a team based learning environment.  The class size is roughly 170 students per section.  There are 4 sections of the class, M-W-F.  Each student is responsible for having an iPod Touch.  The bookstore offers a very affordable rental program.  The student can rent for $35 per semester with the option to buy at the end.  The University supplies the WIFI and ResponseWare licensing for the classroom.  This semester has been a learning experience for both the Trio and the support staff at CMU.  Now that the wrinkles have been ironed out, they are looking to move into using the ResponseWare clicker to its full potential. 

In our last meeting, we discussed what new use they would focus on implementing in the Spring.  The first is helping the students to develop their own questions. The students will be able to submit text answers with their ResponseWare enabled iPod Touch.  The Trio may give the question and have the students develop the suitable multiple choice answers or vice versa.  The next focus will be on self and peer evaluations.  The students will be able to provide a more honest assessment of their peers.  The students being evaluated will also be able to defend their actions to the class.  Helping to create an environment where the student has to look into why they think the way they do. Developing their metacognition skills. 

All of these uses can be found in Derek Bruff's book, Teaching with Classroom Response Systems.

These are just some of the wonderful things the Trio of EDU 107 is doing.  I will post more as we continue to work together.

For some of us the school year has already started and others the school year is just beginning. I really encourage users to start using participant lists as soon as they are comfortable with basic polling. This way you'll be able to track data and progress over time, from the beginning to the end of the school year. For those of you that have more than one class, consider this little trick for creating rosters without having to hand enter the device ID's for each class.