Case Study

 Dame Alice Owen’s School & Furneux Pelham School

School Nos: 653 & 237

Herts ACTIVote Pilot: Promethean Learner Response Systems

With an increasing focus on Assessment for Learning, learner response systems can have a huge impact in the classroom. During June 2008, two schools in Hertfordshire took part in an eight-week pilot programme to put Promethean and Activote learner response system to the test.

Promethean’s Activote devices were selected from a range of learner response systems on the market as they offer accessible, robust and pedagogically sound technology, combined with strong user support and resources. This case study aims to give a concise overview of the Activote system and the outcome of the pilot.

Learner response systems offer many benefits to teachers and learners. The traditional ‘hands up’ approach or selecting a pupil, can only gauge the understanding of a single learner at a time. Learner response devices allow the teacher to receive answers from every pupil, for every question asked. These responses can be recorded, making the system extremely useful for assessment.

The learner has the opportunity to answer every question and perhaps most importantly, enables every pupil to be included anonymously. The learners find this type of handheld technology engaging and enjoyable to use. Discussion can be generated, opinions polled and data gathered.

Two Hertfordshire schools have taken part in the pilot, in collaboration with Promethean, to evaluate the use of the Activote learner response system in primary and secondary settings. The results have provided us with valuable information about the effectiveness of this type of technology in the classroom.

Download the full case study (Acrobat file/498kb) to find out more.