CPS

[tingens4]

Hi,

I have wanted to ask and I am going to....is anyone here familiar wtih CPS and their clickers. Anyone used them pros cons in what the ActiVotes do?

[LisaD]

They both have advantages. To ME, I relate CPS with taking tests as it has nice reporting features.

BUT...they don't have very nice software like Activstudio and Activprimary. I think the integration of the questions WITHIN the lesson makes for a better learning experience instead of waiting until after the instruction is over and giving a test/quiz.

There are many different versions of CPS low to high end similarly to Promethean's Activote and Activexpression "range." Of course, Promethean's "high end" is very different from theirs!

On the low end, CPS has a very inexpensive infrared system.

Again, the integration is the key for me.

Not only in the development of teaching materials but in having to deal with two products possible incompatibilities, having multiple applications open, support....

I thin that Gautam Saha has the most experience with a variety of "clickers."

Lisa

[tingens4]

I agree with you Lisa. I do not have a set of ActiVotes but have looked at tons of flipcharts and am amazed at how the voting is incorporated into the lesson.

I would just love a set of ActiVotes myself so I can speak of the differences from personal experience;)

[saha]

Hi Tingens,
I am not endorsing any product, but from my experience before I became a teacher and was evaluating software and hardware for corporate America...if you are looking at clickers instead/or in addition to Promethean Activotes/Activexpression, you need to look at "Qwizdom".

The student response systems out there have a role to play in the classroom and have their own sweet/niche spot which they do very well.

As Lisa said, if you are looking for high end reporting of data from testing and being able to slice and dice the data any way you want, Qwizdom and CPS like units need to be considered.
Also if you are looking for a system whose software has strong algorithms for playing competitive games among students then Qwizdom is the leader.
I got a lot of flak on this forum before for bringing this up, but this is how I see it.+wave++wave+

Oh by the way stay away from Infra Red based response units. They dont work in most classrooms with all the obstacles. Go for the RF units.

[tingens4]

Hmmm.. I haven't heard of Qwizdom.. I need to check it out. I like CPS, I just don't like putting in all that stuff!!!!

[flamingc]

I use the CPS clickers all the time in my classroom and can get pretty good results. I have tried to get the Activotes through grants and BEGGING my administration but have not been successful yet. I am in the process of borrowing a set of Activotes from another school in my district to see what the difference is between the two but have been frustrated trying to get the results that I get from my CPS clickers. I'm sure the Activotes are superior to other systems and look forward to finding out how to use them.

Cheryl:)

[markrobinson]

if you are looking for high end reporting of data from testing and being able to slice and dice the data any way you want, Qwizdom and CPS like units need to be considered.
Also if you are looking for a system whose software has strong algorithms for playing competitive games among students then Qwizdom is the leader.
I got a lot of flak on this forum before for bringing this up, but this is how I see it.+wave++wave+


It is good that these views are brought up.... That is why there is a forum and a blog, etc...

I would say that many of those issues are becoming much less clearcut now.... it is much more than matching competing features now.... As identified in the thread - teachers are developing flipcharts with a new, feedback driven pedagogy implicit within them - previously that required a great deal of work on the part of a teacher to make the various technologies work. Addressing that is the 'sweet spot' for Promethean.

http://blog.prometheanplanet.com/?p=179

It is also about scale and long term vision - Promethean has fully integrated its response systems into regional/district benchmarking systems that provides full assessment management and reporting to students, parents, teachers and administration. For those who attended the Education summit at Tucson - you would have seen this in action. It rasies the bar to a completely new level.

Several companies have integrated the Promethean learner response systems into their curriculum software with a host of adaptive, group based or dynamic options- and there a many more joining the program... These will begin to change how you think about buying multimedia products in the future... many of these work online, on demand - allowing classes to share results around the world and take part in major international projects and surveys...

http://www.e-gadgetfactory.com/v-gadget_pack.php

http://blog.prometheanplanet.com/?p=29

http://www.aimereducation.co.uk/AIMERForActivote

http://www.learningclip.co.uk/



Bottom line is - Promethean are well on the path to reshape the long term value of a response system - and doing it in a way that enables mutual partners to be a part of the picture. The community feedback is vital - so the forum debate helps drive the thinking.

That is all before we even look at the main innovation introduced with Expression with "student contribution" and "active engagement" being core in its operation. Now you can pretest- teach, get student input to actual the lesson content, adapt on the fly, assess and benchmark test (with your adopted accountability system) - then go and play a whole library of neat games and activities to reinforce the topics and themes.