Student Response Systems (SRSs)

Student Response Systems are a way for students (either publicly or anonymously) to answer polls, quizzes/exams, surveys, etc. These responses can be published to a screen to showcase or extracted for instructor analysis.

There are many different personalities in each classroom. There’s always students who are loud and out-spoken, but then there’s always those who are soft-spoken and quiet. Student Response Systems will help those quieter students who may not want to speak out in class.

Kho and Chen wrote a 2017 article based on SRSs. These types of systems allow students to interact with the teacher and each other in real-time. Students can use either portable clickers or special mouses that allow answering questions, polls, or surveys. Kho and Chen explain how SRSs can be used and give examples of the ones they have encountered. They explain how SRSs have assisted teachers and boosted participation during activities.

Read the whole article here:

Kho, L. S., & Chen, C. J. (2017). Effects of different student response modes on science learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 25(8), 996-1008.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10494820.2016.1242080?journalCode=nile20

In 2020, authors Rahmahani, Suyoto, and Pranowo from Indonesia wrote an article about the effects of student response systems (SRSs). They surveyed a chemistry course to find out how a specific SRS (Kahoot!) is examined and its effectiveness. The article first explains what an SRS is, how it can be used, and who uses it. Then, they introduce which tool they used, and for which subject. Although the study was conducted in Indonesia, the results can still be pertinent due to the context of technology in that country. Since technology such as smartphones, tablets, and other devices are available there, a correlation exists between technology used in the United States and other countries.

Access this article here:

Rahmahani, D., Suyoto, S., & Pranowo, P. (2020). The effect of gamified student response system on students’ perception and achievement. International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy, 10(2), 45-59.

https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jep/article/view/11698

Review other articles for SRSs here:

Adkins-Jablonsky, S. J., Shaffer, J. F., Morris, J. J., England, B., & Raut, S. (2021). A tale of two institutions: Analyzing the impact of gamified student response systems on student anxiety in two different introductory biology courses. CBE Life Sciences Education, 20(2), 19-19.

https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.20-08-0187

Here are some images of SRS systems for reference:

This entire system will cost around $1400, to mitigate these costs, some institutions/instructors require the students to buy their own clicker for use in course(s). This is more feasible in higher education courses, where students will buy a clicker for a course.

Learn how SRSs are helping teachers now: