!!!!Waingels)College)Inspiring)discussions)with)TurningPoint)and)ResponseWare))

Case)Study)

Challenge)To!use!a!voting!system!more!often!and!for!richer!learning!experiences.!!Solution)TurningPoint!with!ResponseWare!!Benefits)• Spontaneous!use!• Cross>curricular!

application!• Deeper!learning!!“I!would!recommend!this!to!a!friend,!and!for!me!that’s!the!acid!test”.)Teresa)Gold)Head!of!ICT!

A visionary approach to ICT Waingels College in Woodley, Wokingham is a ‘One School Pathfinder’ with a visionary ICT team. Boasting an incredible 900 computers of which over 400 are mobile, students at Waingels are in an enviable technological position. The raw statistics don’t tell the full story though. As Teresa Gold, Head of ICT at the College explained to us, “Access is everything. Since our rebuild last year we’ve moved all our laptops out in to the open so they are easily accessible to any student at any time. We find they are utilised much more often this way, rather than forgotten.” Simple yet effective ideas like this are the key to the team’s success, and this kind of vision led them to TurningPoint’s ResponseWare solution. ResponseWare turns any of their laptop or desktop computers into voting handsets to work alongside the TurningPoint software. Spontaneity in planning We caught up with Teresa and her colleagues, Stavros Panayi and James Bridges, as they prepared for a year 10 ICT lesson on ‘Health and Safety in the Workplace’. “Voting technology is not new to us,” explained James as he added the finishing touches to his lesson. “We’ve had voting handsets here since before I arrived at the school. We use them occasionally because they are great for helping with assessment for learning.” James’ comments reflect the position in many schools these days as voting systems have become more prevalent.

Stavros explains more clearly why ResponseWare is appealing to the College, given their existing use of traditional voting handsets. “The students really enjoy voting but the technology can be tricky to plan in to a lesson. Yes, it’s simple to use, but you still can’t be truly spontaneous because you have to deploy the voting handsets in the first place. With ResponseWare we simply get the students to jump on a computer and join the vote. It’s far less time-consuming than preparing and deploying handsets, then collecting them in at the end.” Teresa adds to Stavros’ view by describing TurningPoint as so much slicker than other systems she has experienced. “It means that teachers can truly concentrate on the lesson and objectives without spending valuable time at the planning stage ‘making the technology work’.” For this lesson the plan was to use ResponseWare on a combination of desktop and laptop PCs depending on the students’ preferences. James wanted to get the students on task with some mental starters, and then use ResponseWare’s essay mode to ask more searching questions later on. This would help truly assess the learning in the room. Year 10 ICT During the lesson itself TurningPoint and ResponseWare became almost ‘invisible’ because they worked so smoothly, leaving James to concentrate on solid teaching practice. In one example he asked a question and, before revealing the final answer, invited

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the students to discuss and debate their answers. He then gave them the opportunity to revote. “The idea that they are trying to convince each other of their stance is very powerful. I’m sure this will make them more aware of what they have learned.” James goes on to tell us that, “One key challenge with multiple-choice is coming up with good quality questions that force the students to think.” ResponseWare makes life much easier for teachers with a unique essay mode which allows natural open-ended questions. “I’d be asking those anyway, and now I get everybody’s responses rather than just one or two”. In this lesson James used the essay mode when the students were asked to identify and describe two potential health risks in their current surroundings. Given time to look around and discuss potential answers changed the dynamic and gave the class a real buzz. Stavros was impressed by this, saying, “They weren’t just picking blindly from a list, but were more careful with their responses and this shows in the quality of what came through.” TurningPoint questions are very quick and easy to build, so allowing further spontaneity. While the students were working on some coursework during the lesson, James was

able to address a concern about an approaching coursework deadline. “I sensed that they needed more time but no one was going to readily admit to this, so I inserted a quick question on the fly about how long they felt they needed to finish.” TurningPoint’s anonymity worked and James got a full and honest picture of the group. While some students were on track, many needed extra support, which the pair were able to offer immediately, in the form of an extra after-school session. ResponseWare everywhere The College is already looking at introducing ResponseWare to other departments in their Wednesday afternoon staff meetings, as well as sixth-form assemblies. They also plan to use the tool to replace their current paper-based method of gathering student feedback on curriculum leveling statements. “This is a quicker, smarter, and more easily tracked way of getting the students to reflect on their own progress against objectives,” in Teresa’s opinion. Closing thoughts Stavros and James really enjoyed the lesson they worked on. The insights they gained meant they could intervene immediately as well as inform future planning. Teresa sums TurningPoint and ResponseWare up by saying, “I would recommend this to a friend, and for me that’s the acid test”.

)“ResponseWare!made!the!students!more!careful!with!their!responses!and!this!shows!in!the!quality!of!what!came!through.”)Stavros)Panayi)ICT)Teacher))“The!idea!that!the!students!are!trying!to!convince!each!other!of!their!stance!is!very!powerful.!I’m!sure!this!will!make!them!more!aware!of!what!they!have!learned.”!James)Bridges)ICT)Teacher)!

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