Student participation in lectures using mobile phones Holger R. Maier The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia holger.maier@adelaide.edu.au Abstract: Electronic classroom response systems (ECRSs) are a way of increasing interactivity and student participation in large lecture theatres, leading to increased student engagement and enjoyment. In addition, they provide teachers with feedback on how well students have understood key concepts. However, despite of these benefits, adoption of ECRSs has not been as rapid as one might expect. Some of the reasons for this are associated with the technology that is used to implement ECRSs, which generally consists of keypads that need to be distributed to or purchased by students. An alternative that overcomes many of the problems associated with traditional systems is the Votapedia ECRS system, which uses mobile phones as “keypads” and the internet as the receiver and processor of the signals. This paper presents a case study on how this system was used in the second year Environmental Engineering course at the University of Adelaide. Introduction Actively involving students in their learning is vital for increasing student engagement and learning outcomes (Prince, 2004). One way to achieve this is in a lecture setting is to use electronic classroom response systems (ECRSs), or Clickers (Boyle and Nicol, 2003, Fies and Marshall, 2006, Felce, 2007). In addition to improving student learning outcomes, ECRSs have been shown to increase student enjoyment and to provide teachers with feedback on how well students have understood key concepts, enabling teaching to be adjusted accordingly (Fies and Marshall, 2006, Freeman et al., 2007). However, despite of these benefits, adoption of ECRSs has not been as rapid as one might expect (Freeman et al., 2007). Some of the reasons for this are associated with the technology that is used to implement ECRSs, which generally consists of keypads that need to be distributed to or purchased by students, a receiver (generally infrared) and software that facilitates the collation and processing of the responses (generally integrated into MS Powerpoint) and include (i) the cost associated with purchasing the keypads and receivers (the software is usually included free of charge), (ii) the time it takes to set up and collect the equipment, (iii) the stress associated with setting up and running the system, particularly if there are frequent technology failures and (iv) the time it takes to become familiar with the required software (Freeman et al., 2007, Fies and Marshall, 2008). The majority of these problems can be overcome or minimised by using an ECRS called Votapedia, as the system uses mobile phones as “keypads” and the internet as the receiver and processor of received signals. Consequently, there are no additional costs, there is no set up time and there is no need to become familiar with new software. In this paper, a brief introduction to the Votapedia system is provided, including how it is used to set up and deploy quizzes and surveys, as well as its advantages and its disadvantages. An example of how Votapedia can be used in a classroom setting is also given, as are conclusions and recommendations. ISBN 1 876346 59 0  2009 AAEE 2009 43