Nicolai Scheele

Interactive lectures: Effective teaching and learning in lectures using wireless networks

Abstract Among the severe instructional shortcomings of lectures is their lack of interactivity. To overcome these problems, the learning environment of the interactive lecture is introduced, in which students and lecturer interact by using mobile computers in a wireless network. In an experimental study, 44 students participated in interactive and in conventional lecture meetings. A quiz service that allowed question to be posted, students’ answers to be evaluated, and the results to be presented graphically, was implemented on mobile computers. The participants rated the interactive condition better, also reporting higher levels of attention, activity and perceived learning success for this condition. Objective measures indicated a slight but insignificant difference toward better learning results in the interactive condition.

Experiences with interactive lectures: considerations from the perspective of educational psychology and computer science

The conventional lecture scenario implicates fundamental didactic problems due to a lack of interactivity and opportunity for feedback. In an interactive lecture, each student is equipped with a lightweight, mobile device that can be used to wirelessly interact with the lecturer during the lesson. This creates an additional channel of communication. In this paper, we present our experiences with this new scenario over the last three years. After discussing the benefits of interactive lectures, similar projects, and possible mobile devices, we introduce the software-toolkit used in our scenario and present a selection of results from over our six major studies.