An interesting pedagogy workshop this afternoon: "Clickers in the Classroom", on using what's basically a remote-control so students can answer questions and the results can be tabulated and graphically presented via computer. In the old days, we raised our hands.
Actually an interesting idea. It make sense especially in the large science lectures (upwards of 300-400 here), but a prof from my department spoke about how he uses them in his social ethics courses. My concern is that it takes away accountability from discussion, but he pointed out that it makes them accountable insofar as students have to answer - they can't hedge, challenge the question, etc. Since his classes are about economics and violence, this is useful - he asks tough things that students might not own up to answering more publicly - like "how many pairs of shoes do you own?" So I can see the potential for this to be a useful tool.
