Next-Generation Mobile Classroom
February 2002 — January 2003
Students often find it intimidating to ask questions in large lectures. Instructors, in turn, often have difficulty
identifying students who are struggling to grasp course material concepts. In this project, personal digital assistants (PDAs) were distributed to
students to communicate in large lectures and share questions with faculty in real time.
Designed specifically for use within the lecture hall, these PDAs displayed outlines of the day’s lecture, allowing students
to enter questions anonymously. Teaching assistants fielded the questions, allowing the instructors to address them at their discretion. Instructors could
gauge student understanding by administering mini-quizzes via PDA. Outside of the lecture, students were able to use their devices to find study group
partners and view updated exam schedules. The special-use PDAs provided a powerful example of how devices can serve to build stronger connections between
instructors, their course content, and students.
Student Participants:
Raj Dandage
Sonia Garg
Sanjay Rao
Additional Information:
http://icampus.mit.edu/projects/NextGenMobileClassroom.shtml
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Classroom Communicator
June 2000 — December 2001
Large lecture halls may inhibit student participation in class discussions if they fear a negative reaction from other
students. Given this common behavior, faculty often have difficulty gauging student comprehension levels in their biggest classes. Using a cell phone
equipped with a Web browser, students could communicate more comfortably with their instructors.
During breaks in class, instructors could access a frequently asked questions (FAQ) report generated by the Classroom
Communicator software. The system also gave lecturers real-time quantitative measures of how well students understood the material presented, through
quick evaluations like mini-quizzes. This provided lecturers the ability to focus their class time to best address the needs of the students.
Student Participants :
Eric Brittain
Additional Information:
http://icampus.mit.edu/projects/ClassroomCommunicator.shtml
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