Determining the effectiveness of a cell phone-based student response system

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the responses and understanding of students and teachers about the cell phone-based Socrative® application. Additionally, we compared the academic performance of the groups using Socrative with the one group that did not make use of this application. METHODS: During the 50 min of each endocrine physiology lecture, traditional teaching took 40 min, whereas the last 10 min were reserved for Socrative. Following the lecture, students completed small Socrative-based quizzes on their smartphones. At the end of the module, students and teachers were asked for feedback and the students’ test performances were evaluated. Data were examined by the SPSS version 20 for frequencies and gender/academic performance comparison. RESULTS: As many as 87% of the students responded positively to Socrative; 85% felt that the activity was fun, 84% were more actively engaged, and 71% felt more motivated. Furthermore, 90% of the students agreed that this exercise enhanced their learning. Most students agreed that Socrative helped them enhance peer-to-peer and class discussions. Students’ attitudes towards Socrative activity did not vary with respect to their gender or total screen time per day. Approximately 99% of the students preferred multiple-choice questions to true/false and short answers. Instructors perceived Socrative as an easy-to-use tool to generate discussions and assess the degree of understanding of their students. Socrative significantly enhanced exam performance. CONCLUSION: Course instructors are encouraged to incorporate mobile-based applications in their lectures, which may make students’ learning more active, effective, and enjoyable, without increasing institutional expenses.