Using Student Perceptions to Design Smart Class Participation Tools: A Technology Framework

Our research full paper studies the perceptions of students and proposes technology design framework for smart class participation tools. Participation in classroom discussions has been observed to improve student comprehension and performance. In our contemporary tertiary educational context, student participation is characterised in mainly two forms; in-class discussions and online forums. Both forms of participation generate voluminous amounts of knowledge. However, the present difficulty in capturing and analysing these forms of participation leads to loss of knowledge and insights, which otherwise could be very useful. This study aims to analyse ways to improve data capture as well as data analysis of discussions. In this paper, we take a survey-based approach to study the students' perception of classroom discussions in terms of three components namely effective learning, technology support and grading. Based on the analysis of the survey results, we propose the design of a tool and the administrative requirements needed for in-class participation data capture and analysis. We present our results in the form of a framework for tool design and challenges to be addressed when using technology during class discussions.