Hi Bryan,
This shouldn't be too hard. The issue will be the
drivers to make the hardware talk to software. The
software part is easy.
Any ideas about that? (the drivers) I assume that the
receiver would be a USB plugin device interface...?
Les Richardson
Open Admin for Schools
On Wed, 5 Sep 2007, William Bryan Jackson wrote:
I am a new member with a question and/or a proposal. I
teach chemistry,
computer repair and electronics at a high school in
Utah. I have recently
purchased a classroom response system. It is great but
costs about $1000 for
the cheapest systems. Does anyone know of an open source
initiative to create
a system like this? Here is what I have done to date.
I am working on a cheap hardware platform to do the same
thing using modified
universal remote controls that can be had for $1 to $5
each at wal mart or
the dollar store. Using off the shelf components you
could put together a
classroom response system for $80-$200, instead of
$800-$2000 for a comercial
sytstem. I have tested modifications to various cheap TV
remotes and found it
to be simple and cheap to modify a universal remote to
perform the function
of a student response device. (send a unique ID and an
answer, then stop
transmitting to allow others to answer)
The next step is to find or build the receiver, which
would be a simple
infrared receiver connected to the computer.
The thing I am not able to do is program an application
or plug-in for the
open office presentation program. It is my hope to be
able to find a group
that might have developer talent willing to take on that
project.
For those of you not familiar with CRS's they are
basically a way to gather
answers from each student during a lecture and display a
bar chart of how
many answered what. Each student gets a remote response
device which is
generally an infrared or radio transmitter. They look
like TV remote
controls. A question is asked on the powerpoint and each
child can transmit
their answer to the computer through a receiver on the
computer. The bar
chart is then displayed to show how many students are
understanding the
concept. This allows formative assesment to be used
during a lecture. It is
an exciting technology that is catching on in high
schools and colleges
around the country.
Thanks
Bryan Jackson
Springville High School
Springville UT