Wolfgang Effelsberg University of Mannheim 1

WILDWireless Interactive Learning Devices- Design, Implementation and Experience -

Wolfgang Effelsberg, Nicolai Scheele, Anja Wessels

University of Mannheim

October 2002

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Overview

1. Motivation

2. Architecture of the WILD system

3. The Quiz Tool

4. The Online-Feedback Tool

5. Experience

6. Outlook

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1. Motivation

The Virtual University today: Often, the didactic methods of the traditional learning scenarios are transferred to tele and multimedia, didactic innovations are rare.

Educational psychology tells us: interaction, to be active oneself, is vital to learning success.

High-capacity handheld PCs and pen-based tablet PCs with wireless Internet access constitute a new generation of learning devices.

Goal of the WILD Project (Wireless Interactive Learning Devices):

to enable interactivity between students and the lecturer through the use of mobile devices in a wireless network

thus increasing motivation and improving learning success

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Approach

Development of the WILD system with services/tools that allow interactivity

In close cooperation with our Department of Education (educational psychologists) and international partners

Extensive lecture hall testing of the prototype in Mannheim

Additional testing with global learning teams (Stanford A/E/C course), joint development of new WILD services for PBL scenarios with Stanford

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2. Architecture of the WILD System

Basicserver

functionality

ServerOnline

Feedback

Hand-raising

Quiz

OtherServices

DesktopPC

DesktopPC

iPAQs

AccessPoint

InterfaceRemoteServer

InterfaceOther systems

(e.g. mlb)

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Use of WILDs in Tele-Teaching

server

DSL /ISDN

Internet

server

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Implementation

The modular architecture of our WILD system facilitates the development of new tools.

Server and the APIs for the service modules programmed in Java 2 (version 1.4.0)

Server and client run under Windows, Linux, Solaris; additional client version available for PocketPC. Operational on PC, Notebook PC and the iPAQ PDA

Code to be distributed under GNU Public License

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3. The Quiz Tool

How it works:The lecturer prepares brief quiz questions on the lesson material. He/She takes two to three quiz breaks during the lecture, sends the

questions to the students‘ wireless devices. The students have about three minutes to respond to the questions and

send their answers back to the lecturer‘s computer. There the answers are statistically evaluated and displayed immediately. The lecturer discusses the results with the students IMMEDIATELY.Advantages:

Immediate recognition of any lesson material not fully understood Feedback for each student on his/her current performance A high number of wrong answers indicates that the lesson material has

not been presented clearly or that the lecturer has made an error. Switching from one teaching medium to another livens up the lecture

and increases the level of attention.

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A Quiz Question

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The Quiz Tool in the Lecture Hall

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Displaying the Answer on the Projector

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4. The Online Feedback Tool

How it works:The lecturer defines the categories on which he/she would like to get

feedback and activates the tool. Examples of categories are:

Am I going too fast or too slowly at the moment? Is the material too difficult or too easy to understand? How is your audio quality on the Internet?

Students can enter their feedback AT ANY TIME by adjusting sliders or by clicking into numbered fields on their wireless devices.

The server retrieves the data, accumulates it statistically and displays it on the lecturer‘s computer.

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Online Feedback: The Lecturer‘s View

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5. Experience

Trials in the classroom in the Winter semester 2001/02 and the Summer semester 2002

How well do servers and clients work in practice (technical)?Are the WILD tools accepted by the students?Do the WILD tools improve learning?

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Design of the Empirical Study in SS 2002

Scenario: a lecture for advanced students in computer science with a conventional and a WILD phase

Six groups

N: 101 (92 male, 9 female; predominantly computer science students)

age: M: 24.15 (SD: 2.51) semester: M: 7.39 (SD: 2.96)

Mobile computers: notebooks, PocketPCs

Variables: acceptance of the tools, motivation in class, increase of knowledge

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Groups (Interactive Phase)

Note: NB: Notebook, PDA: PocketPC, Ø: no computer FR: Freiburg (remote location); NO: did not participate

Date1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 N

Gro

up

A NB NB NB NB Ø Ø Ø Ø 25

B Ø Ø Ø Ø NB NB NB NB 22

C PDA PDA PDA PDA NB NB NB NB 5

D NB NB NB NB PDA PDA PDA PDA 5

FR NB NB NB NB NB NB NB NB 10

NO Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø 34

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Summer Semester 2002: the Lecture Hall

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Answering a Quiz on PDAs

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Technical Results

Reliable performance of the WILD server and clientsStudents handled the user interfaces well. The lecturer‘s interface is too complicated and needs to be

simplified (“cognitive overload”).

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Pedagogical Results: Acceptance

Agreement on a scale of 1 - 4

Acceptance of Lecture

Sco

re (

1-4)

1

2

3

4 Conventional Interactive

Conventional Lecture: M: 3.16, SD: .34 p: <.005

Interactive Lecture: M: 3.40, SD: .26

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Pedagogical Results: Increase in Knowledge

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Sc

ore

(0

-2

4)

0

5

10

15

20

25Conventional Lecture Interactive Lecture

Pre-test of knowledgePost-test of knowledge

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6. Outlook

Evaluation of the large field study in the classroom to be completed soon (by Anja)

Testing planned in lectures in other disciplines than computer science

Testing planned in a problem-based learning scenario with global teams (A/E/C course) in Winter 2003

Testing with pen-based tablet PCs planned

Development of additional tools/services in preparation