Technology to enhance in-class discussions and student participation at a multi-campus program

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Distance Learning
• Pharmacy Education

Background:

• Synchronous video teleconferencing is used for remote education.
• Student participation can be a challenge in distance learning environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a novel technology approach for enhancing student participation.
• To assess the impact of a blended wiki and audience response system in a satellite campus class.

Main Methods:

• A wiki platform was integrated with an audience response system.
• Students responded to open-ended questions on a wiki page during a live class.
• Instructor provided immediate feedback on student responses.

Main Results:

• 41 out of 136 (30.15%) students contributed 86 responses via the audience response wiki.
• The approach addressed multiple barriers to in-class discussion for remote students.
• Facilitated higher volume of student responses and immediate instructor feedback.

Conclusions:

• Audience response wiki tools are effective for increasing student engagement in distance education.
• These free and user-friendly tools help overcome participation barriers for remote learners.
• The blended approach supports diverse student interactions and timely feedback.