Investigation of Audience Interaction Tools from the Perspective of Activity Theory

Maintaining engagement of large audiences is not easy. Traditionally, lectures and presentations rely on one-way communication from the presenter to the listening audience. Without receiving ongoing feedback, speakers cannot be sure that their delivery is at an appropriate pace, or that their message is being received and understood by their audience. This study suggests using a real-time audience engagement solution (Xorro-Q) to facilitate synchronous interaction between lecturers and their student audiences. Using activity theory as a theoretical framework we conducted a study to investigate student participation and engagement with an audience interaction tool in two undergraduate computing courses. In one classroom setting, discussion questions are raised during the class and instant feedback provided to students. In the second setting, subject related questions were asked near the end of the lecture to gauge students knowledge of concepts just taught in the class. In this study quantitative data such as attendance, response rates, and assessment outcomes were collected to explore how participant engagement varies across different lecturing techniques. Findings from the study show that continuous use of audience interaction tools through activity theory based settings is preferred than merely using tools for assessment purpose in traditional classroom settings. Although these findings are at a very initial stage, they give some indication on how real-time audience engagement tools can be developed within classroom settings for assisting in teaching and learning practices.