Introducing and Using Electronic Voting Systems in a Large Scale Project With Undergraduate Students : Reflecting on the Challenges and Successes

Abstract

Electronic Voting Systems (EVS) have become a popular medium for encouraging student engagement in class-based activities and for managing swift feedback in formative and summative assessments. Since their early days of popularity and introduction some five or more years ago, the author’s UK based University has been successful in refining strategies for their use across individual academic Schools and Departments, as previously reported at ECEL (e.g. Lorimer and Hilliard, 2008). The focus of this paper is a reflection on the introduction of EVS with 300 first year undergraduate students in the School of Computer Science, within the context of a wider ‘change’ project in teaching and learning affecting the whole institution. The author examines what lessons can be learnt following this rapid scaling up of EVS activity both at a local level and more widely across an HE institution and in reflecting on the successes and challenges of this experience provides key indicators for success and useful support for others considering using EVS. The paper first considers the landscape of EVS use within the UK and then the specific introduction of EVS at her own institution, before exploring the issues in her own academic School around the latest phase of their introduction as part of an institution–wide project to review measures to support assessment and feedback.