Public Response System with SMS: A pioneering method for in-class lecturer-students communication 30 Public Response System with SMS: A pioneering method for in-class lecturer-students communication Amram Eshel Itay Menahem The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University University teachers, especially in the science departments are concerned by the inadequacy of traditional lectures and their inadequacy for matching current students' demands. One of the emerging solutions for these problems is the Public Response System (PRS). This article describes the first trial of using cellular phones as the response device in an application of a PRS in a class at Tel-Aviv University. The advantages and disadvantages of this application in comparison with the traditional "Clickers" are discussed. Introduction The traditional lecture is the most common mode of teaching in many science faculties, especially at the introductory course level. However, it has been realized that the standard ‘lecture-then-test’ format is failing, particularly in science departments where lectures are delivered to huge numbers of students at a time (Allen & Tanner, 2002; Weiman & Perkins, 2005). Since the attention span of almost all students is between 10 and 20 minutes, one can expect to lose most of the students if the lecture goes on for 50 minutes straight (Powell, 2003; Handelsman et al., 2004; Wankat & Oreovicz, 2006). Therefore, teachers are seeking methods that will increase student active engagement in the learning process. Over the past decade numerous studies have shown that students who engage interactively with each other and the instructor in the classroom learn concepts better, retain them longer, and can apply them more effectively in other contexts (Handelsman et al.,2004; Wood, 2004). This is especially true for current students who have been labeled "The Net Generation". These students have grown up in a wired world, are digital, connected, experiential, and social. Their desire for immediacy affects their learning habits the way it does most of their other activities (Carlson, 2005; Oblinger, 2005). Public response systems An answer to these dilemmas confronting the teachers has been presented in the form of PRS (Public Response System). The system worked well to engage students in learning the subject matter and to assess their prior knowledge and misconceptions. It provided useful feedback to students as well as instructors (Duncan, 2005; Hatch et al., 2005; Duncan, 2006; Wankat & Oreovicz, 2006). The use of PRS in university classes has gained popularity in the recent couple of years. Many universities and colleges in the US are either using it or considering the possibility of doing so. PRS enables the teacher to collect in a few minutes the student answers to a closed question presented in