Windows Multipoint: Conquering big classes
Are you looking for a program that can help you manage a big class? Do you want to promote more interaction in the class and get the attention of your students?
With the Windows Multipoint technology, you can now conduct interactive activities that allow multiple students to share a single personal computer using multiple pointing devices, or mice.
The benefits of Windows MultiPoint include:
- helping teachers accurately assess class learning comprehension by giving them a chance to gauge individual and whole-group status quickly and frequently
- helping teachers personalize the learning experience for students
- increasing student learning comprehension through interactive methods
- promoting student engagement and collaboration within a classroom or laboratory environment (active peer learning)
- making big classes seem “smaller” and keeping students engaged for long periods of time
- promoting the use of technology for learning
- helping schools with lack of technological resources to increase access to students
Last December 2008, a pilot case study was done in Hanoi, Vietnam, profiling a classroom’s Microsoft MultiPoint experience. There was only one teacher for every 60 students (1:60), and frequent power failures.
But with MultiPoint technology such as Mouse Mischief combined with traditional blackboard and chalk techniques, the teacher was able to give students a more engaging classroom experience.
The pilot study
In the said pilot study in Le Quy Don lower secondary school, located outside the city center of Hanoi. The researchers set up a “Mischief Room” with an LCD projector and USB extension cables on the floor. These cables were connected to affordable and durable USB mice (one mouse was shared by 3-6 students who took turns controlling the mouse).
At the start of the class, Multipoint’s Mouse Mischief application was shown on the screen and each group chose a cursor that can represent them. They then moved on to a fun initialization process, which was graded (scores were recorded and shown at the end of the class).
Some teachers lectured first using the blackboard or a PowerPoint presentation, while some teachers went straight to the MultiPoint activity. There was one who used multiple-choice “polling” questions throughout her lecture, and culminated with a few instructive competitive group activities.
One also had a worksheet projected on the screen, and groups submitted answers to compete with the other groups. Most students felt their answers had more impact since it can be seen on the screen. Most classes with MultiPoint depend on the teacher’s teaching style.
Do Minh Anh, 26, was one of the teachers who participated in the pilot study. She had been teaching 8th grade math and IT at Le Quy Don for almost two years.
Her thoughts on MultiPoint revolved around its advantage when it comes to the big number of students per class. She mentioned that her teaching was now more open and transparent with students, since she could gauge what students felt and collect feedback easily.
With MultiPoint, she said, students became creators of content, and not simply consumers of content. Students feel more involved because they now contributed content on a shared platform. There’s ownership already.
Sources:
“For teachers and students.” Retrieved January 20, 2010 from
http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-sdk/benefits.aspx
“Microsoft MultiPoint Pilot Case Study.” Retrieved January 20, 2010 from
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/0/F/80F567C1-214D-404C-A4CA-C09366B2E409/MouseMischief_CaseStudy_LeQuyDon.pdf.
(Published 08 February 2010, Smart Communications Inc.)
