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APOLOGIES FOR CROSS POSTING - I will end this thread here and migrate it to 
the EVS list:
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Hi Paul,

May I humbly suggest encouraging staff to use ANY technology in a way that 
develops the "students conceptual understanding" is a bit challenging some 
times!  ;-)

As regards EVS though, there are many, many uses for it beyond that and 
generally our experience so far has been that both staff and students 
recognize its benefits very quickly - even nae-sayers, once they realize 
that the systems are mostly flexible enough that they can use it the way 
they want.  Pearson Publishing produce a 71pp booklet "Clickers in the 
Classroom" that's worth a look.

We found staff don't so much need encouragement as facilitation.

So to begin with we run 1hr30mins hands on group training sessions in a 
computer lab at the end of which we hand out a copy of the "Clickers in the 
Classroom" booklet to each of the attendees.  If necessary we will do a 
pre-lecture walk through with a lecturer in the actual location in which 
the system will be used for the 1st time.  Also, in general I try to be on 
hand for a full lecture when a member of staff uses the EVS for the 1st 
time.  This instills a great deal of confidence and generally requires 
little further 1-on-1 from us thereafter.

The really difficult part is how much an already existing lecture program 
can be changed by introducing an EVS to the process.  It may be that your 
lecturer has to cover less material during a lecture and all the knock on 
consequences that can have to a courses structure and student 
expectations.  In the extreme a course may require a wholesale 
redesign.  Those sorts of things in my experience are the biggest obstacles 
to adoption.  Of course once it's used a couple of times even just for end 
of course revision sessions, the benefits are experienced and the idea of 
redesigning aspects of a course don't seem nearly as daunting.

It would be interesting to see what others experience has been here.

Best,

Phil

At 11:49 15/02/2006 +0000, Paul Burt wrote:
>Phil and Martin,
>
>Thank you for your replies to my email. I would also foresee that the
>biggest challenge that will be faced will be to encourage staff to use the
>technology in a way that develops the students conceptual understanding.
>I have set up a new Jiscmail list called
>[log in to unmask] (go to
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/ELECTRONIC-VOTING-SYSTEMS to subscribe) and I hope
>that this will become an active forum for sharing best practice with this
>type of teaching and technology. Both Steve Draper and Jim Boyle have given
>presentations at Surrey in the past year and we are currently looking at
>investing University wide in EVS and its promotion.
>
>Best regards
>
>Paul

______________________________________________________________
Phil Marston
Learning Technologist
Learning Technology Unit
Edward Wright G33, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3QY, UK
[log in to unmask] Tel: +44(0)1224 273329 / +44(0)7798 723660
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/ltu/
______________________________________________________________