ARS Evoltion: Reflections and Recommendations

Abstract

This chapter describes my 25-year journey and experience with audience response systems (ARS), starting with my first realization of the potential of ARS while teaching at a University as an adjunct professor. A synopsis of the initial ARS experiment conducted in the mid-1980s at IBM’s Management Development Center serves as a baseline. The conclusions from this study justified the use of keypads in the classroom at IBM, and after publication, set the stage for the growth of the ARS industry. The ARS activities pursued after retiring from IBM in 1988 are described, including the advances that my companies made in software, graphics, and keypad technology, which we incorporated into our products. Finally, the chapter offers 10 recommendations for higher quality questions developed by ARS users. I conclude that these recommendations are critical prerequisites to the continued growth of the ARS industry in academia.