Granted – Laptops, mobile phones and tablets are often a distraction for students in a classroom environment. However, I feel that banning these in the classroom would ultimately prove to be counterproductive!! These devices often facilitate the learning process as students can follow course notes, look up information that they are not familiar with online and also increase the speed of note-taking.
I have used Skype in the classroom once before. This was when I had a student who had undergone surgery and was not able to attend lectures but did not want to miss out on the important topic being covered that week. It took some time to adjusting angles and settings but once everything was set up properly this student was able to follow and participate in all that weeks lectures even though not physically present. In this particular situation Skype proved to be very useful but I feel that it should only be used in exceptional circumstances. If given the opportunity some students may take the lazy option and take advantage of this, resulting in students not physically attending lectures thus reducing the overall value and student experience.
I know a few of my colleagues have also used Skype as a tool to answer students questions and difficulties from home. So far i have not seen the need for this as we have daily lectures and small classes, therefore, I am regularly available to answer questions in person or via email.
I have never used KwikSurveys in class before but I have used Survey Money for my own research – but never in the classroom. My first thought was to use these for feedback regarding lecture delivery and quality – however, this is all already done through our schools Intranet system.
suewallbank 