Using EVS at the University of Glasgow
Current (2016) system: YACRS
Neil Barr has created a new system "YACRS" (Yet Another Classroom Response System). It is a classroom interaction system that allows students to use their own devices (mobile phones, tablets or laptops) to respond to questions during class. The motivation behind developing it was that the EVS systems we use at the University of Glasgow were becoming increasingly problematic — making sure batteries were OK, identifying broken hand-sets and getting them to the right lecture theatre all posed problems. Since almost all students carry a smartphone or other device it seemed logical to replace the clicker system with a web based system. A few features:- Multiple choice and text (open-ended) input questions
- SMS support (for the few students who don't have smartphones.) BUT this doesn't work in reality because there is no university text-receiving number for use like this.
- Optional microblogging
- Optional teacher control application provides a simple way of using MCQs along with Powerpoint.
- Open source (Apache 2 licence)
- Either logged in (using LDAP) or guest modes.
The websites for versions of the YACRS server are:
https://classresponse.gla.ac.uk (most stable)
https://learn.gla.ac.uk/yacrs/ (More advanced)
https://learn.gla.ac.uk/yalis/ (being developed
further)
Basic teacher guide
A talk about it was given at the 2015 internal learning and teaching
conference. The abstract is at page 12 of
the proceedings.
Wifi coverage: the expert seems to be Drew McConnell; and the online web pages about coverage are not accurate (seem to under-report its extent). I have the impression that there are just a very few rooms with no usable coverage. Newer / larger lecture theatres may have multiple points. A test of YACRS in the Joseph Black LT with 190 students had no trouble for mass student access to wifi, even though it had only one access point in the room itself.
A server is being commissioned for this. Currently ask
Niall Barr
to set permissions for you to use this; and to get more information.
Newsletter items about YACRS: 1 2
Past advice on the older RF (radio) handsets
Information on using the university's EVS equipment is accessed from a single web page (and if necessary this phone number: x3286). The university now owns quantities of PRS RF equipment, which is centrally managed. (There is also older IR equipment available, and computing science owns some new WordWall equipment which allows freeform texting input from the audience.)You may want to consider these elements (you can find links for these from the link above):
- Booking equipment for a lecture. There's an online form, and it can then be picked up from and returned to the nearest janitor station.
- The software is pre-installed on all standard lecture theatre PCs: you need only take a memory stick if you wish.
- You will need to install the software on your own machine in order to create voting-enabled question slides in powerpoint. You can download and install this yourself.
- You will want to practise on the software and can get some brief training. The software is as easy to use as most other software on your machine, and getting started in your own office is unlikely to be a problem. However you will probably want a high standard of smoothness and confidence to operate the voting while a large audience waits for you, on a machine not your own, while you stoop awkwardly over the machine on the podium (stooping greatly increases the number of typing slips and slips in operating menus by mouse), peering at a poorly lit screen. The user interface is to a normal standard, but not to the higher fool-proof standard that mission-critical controls need to be.
- Persuade a colleague to assist you the first few times. I'd recommend this if it is your first time using it. If anything goes wrong, one person can focus on the equipment while the other manages the audience. Furthermore, an extra person can pick up more about how it goes down with the audience which is also very useful, because they can spend their time studying the audience not thinking about what to say next. Ideally you want someone with experience of the equipment, but simply sharing the load with someone who also wants to learn to use it has often proved useful in the past.
- The university pages on this have insstructions; but don't describe the handsets. Here are the manufacturer's instruction pages.