Synchronous Classroom Interaction:
Using technology to take advantage of
being face-to-face
Ben Bederson, Anne Rose
Human-Computer Interaction Lab
University of Maryland – College Park
@bederson, @annetrose
Student engagement is important
but HARD
Interactive Classroom Response Systems
Do you do HCI research?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Kind of
What
Green t-shirts
Awesome colleagues
History – we’ve been here for 31 years!
International
Digital Library 
do
you likeChildren’s
about HCIL?
Kids team
Computer scientists’ minds
Innovation
Intellectual stimulation
Colleagues
Noobie
Dogs come to visit
Interdisciplinary research
Cool hackerspace demos!
Kitchen Chemistry
Brown bags
Research techniques, like bags of stuff
Lots of chocolate
Our annual symposium
Colleagues
Award-winning
research
NetCHI Lab
Innovation
Diverse talents
and expertise
Cool hackerspace
demos!
The people
PEOPL
Awesome colleagues
Working with
Epeople
from all over campus
Research techniques,
like bags of stuff
International Children’s
Digital Library
RESEARCH StoryKi
Interdisciplinary
research
Inclusive
Design Lab
Working on
real-world
problems
Kids team
Challenge
Meaningfully
categorize responses
quickly
HCIM students
t
Kitchen
Chemistry
Great
alumni
3D-printer – cool!
Dogs come
to visit
Hockey
jerseys!
Eating lunch
together
Timeline on
the lab wall
FUN STUFF
Lots of
chocolate
Green
t-shirts
The HCIL
running club
Q&A Tool
Crowdsource Categorization
Cascade, Chilton et al., 2013
Crowdsource Categorization
Crowdsource Categorization
How It Works
Submit
Responses
Submit
Responses
Submit
Responses
Submit
Responses
Submit
Responses
How It Works
Submit
Responses
Submit
Responses
Categorize
Responses
Suggest Categories
Categorize
Responses
Suggest Categories
Categorize
Responses
Best Categories
How It Works
Categorize
Responses
Categorize
Responses
Categorize
Responses
Best Categories
Best Categories
Match Categories
Categorize
Responses
Categorize
Responses
Match Categories
Match Categories
Initial Classroom Use
What holds you back from being
more innovative in your teaching?
SLLC Showcase on Innovative Teaching
What is one impact from having your
phone know your location in a precise
way?
American Studies undergraduate course
What single characteristic defines
us as human?
Kinesiology undergraduate course
Helpful to see other students’ responses
Creating categories can be hard
What single
characteristic defines us
as human?
The ability to ask this question
Let me think ...
Where
should travel
awards go?
Users want to further refine results
Anonymity vs. Authentication
Want to try Q&A in your class?
Go to
qa-umd.appspot.com
?
Learn more @ www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/qa
or, email rose@cs.umd.edu
This work was funded in part by the
National Science Foundation, Google, and
Huawei.