With today's emphasis on standardized testing, it has become imperative that as teachers we consistently check to ensure that our students are absorbing the content on which they will be assessed. Frequent quizzing is one of the methods most of us use throughout the school year to monitor the progress of our students. Until now, this hasn't been a terribly popular classroom event, but recently we've found an innovative approach that actually has the kids asking for quizzes!

As a teacher of Algebra II, Precalculus and AP Calculus, at University High School in Irvine, California, I am continually searching for ways to incorporate technology into my classroom that will enhance instruction, motivate students' interest in technology and learning, and help the students become comfortable with the new technologies. PDAs are becoming very common in the home, workplace, and in schools. After becoming interested in ways to use PDAs in my classroom, I discovered that Scantron Corporation had developed a program for classroom assessment using PDAs, hence, the Classroom Wizard.

I found this program very easy to use and beneficial in my classes. I use it for formative and informal assessments during the semester to help determine how well my students understand the content. The best part of the program is that the quiz or test is scored instantaneously and the students receive their score on their PDA immediately. The instant feedback is beneficial to students and teachers alike. The teacher can quickly interpret the results and adjust the lesson if the students need reinforcement in a particular area. The students love using the PDAs because of the instant feedback. They actually ask if they can have a quiz and use the PDAs. I have noticed a definite increase in their motivation to perform well. Other teachers have approached me to ask about this new program I am using because they'd heard their students talking about it in their classes. I had one teacher tell me that his students were asking him, "why aren't we using them in this class?"

How the Program Works

I have a class set of 40 (numbered) PDAs in a case with numbered slots. At the beginning of the semester I have the students sign up for a PDA. They use the same one each time. On the days we use the Classroom Wizard, they go to the case and pick up their PDA. The students are given the quiz ID of the assessment for that day, and they enter their student ID and quiz ID into the Classroom Wizard program. After answering the questions on the PDA, they beam their answers to my computer, which scores it right away, and their score appears on their PDA as well as on my computer. They literally get their results in the palm or their hand. Then they return the PDA to the correct slot in the case and return to their seat. I can quickly check that all the PDAs have been returned to their slots.

Benefits for the Students

The first thing they want to know after receiving their grade is how to solve the problems correctly. Learning takes place immediately. Some of the quieter students who used to get low quiz scores and never asked how to correct their mistakes appear more involved and inspired to get a better score on their PDA. The students have responded very well to system. They seem to be competing with themselves to improve their scores on the next PDA quiz, much like they would with a video or computer game - they want another chance to get a higher score. They are studying harder and taking more time to check their work before beaming it to my computer.

Benefits for the teacher

The program has several types of analysis so the teacher can quickly see how the class did as a whole, view the item analysis, and check individual scores of the students. If the teacher chooses to use this as a quick classroom assessment that will not be graded, students can be rewarded for their performance by having fewer practice problems to do for homework that night. The system is easy to use, portable, as well as inexpensive, and it saves the time of grading and entering scores. The way the Classroom Wizard software is set up, the students do not have access to other functions while taking a quiz. They cannot beam to one another, and cannot use the calculator or any other function until they beam their answers to the instructors' computer and close the Classroom Wizard program. The Classroom Wizard program can be used for multiple choice, short answer or essay questions, and it makes it very easy to create multiple forms.

One of the most common arguments I hear about using technology is that there is no time to add in all these extra things. Well, one of the most intriguing things about the Classroom Wizard program is that it has greatly enhanced something I was already doing. I was already giving these quizzes, but now the turn around time for feedback is instantaneous. The first day we used PDAs it took very little time to demonstrate how to use them. Using a PDA is not taking up more of my time (or the students' time); it is saving me time, and providing me with crucial information about the level of understanding my students have.

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Barbara has a BS in Mathematics from UCI and has been teaching math at University High School for 15 years. She is currently working on her Master's in Secondary Education at Cal State Fullerton.

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