Most readers of this blog are aware that the OptionPower audience response software from Option Technologies Interactive (OTI) can be used to add interactivity to your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. But are you getting the full benefit of OptionPower’s functionality?
Often, we find the audience response technology is being under utilized. People don't learn all its capabilities or don't invest enough time to maximize the impact of using the technology to contribute to an organization's bottom line.
A number of researchers have published studies that suggest best practices in using response systems for adult learning. Harold Horowitz conducted pioneering research at the IBM Learning Center, where he served as program director of Educational Technology. He found that using an audience response system in training programs increased attentiveness and retention. Improved attentiveness translated into a 27 percent improvement in test scores. Use of interactive keypads fostered increased participation and improved the amount of material covered during each class session by 15 percent.
Subsequent research by Richard Hake, Carl Weiman and a number of others identified and validated several best practices for the use of keypad technology in training and classrooms. These include:
Use of these best practices typically improves learning outcomes, translates into higher productivity and ultimately helps boost the company’s bottom line.
How can you make the most of your OptionPower system? Here are some examples.
Tackle the learning curve
When you add interactivity to a PowerPoint presentation, you change the learning paradigm. Instead of a one-way, "I talk, you listen paradigm," it becomes a participatory learning event. Interactivity can let you determine the level of understanding that people bring to the event so that you can gear the presentation to the needs of the audience. You don't need to cover the concepts that people are already familiar with, but instead you can allocate your time to teaching what the audience members need to learn.
By adding OptionPower's interactive functionality to your presentation, you can test your audience to get immediate feedback about how well people are learning the concepts. If most of the respondents indicate that they do not understand the material being presented, you'll likely want to change the way you're teaching it. Prepare a remediation loop of a few slides to teach the concept again. Then, poll participants with another question to make sure they have mastered the material.
The power of now
The technology also lets people ask questions and tap the wisdom of the group. For example, at a conference of IT managers, you might want to do a real-time benchmarking survey and ask, “How many months will it be before your organizations have a 100 percent rollout of Windows 7?” Or, “How much money do you spend each year on PCs?”
This is a powerful method of benchmarking. No matter what profession you're in, things are constantly changing, and people want to know how their peers are tackling certain problems or what tools they are using — right now. And you can let that group intelligence guide the direction of the conversation. For example, a panel of experts might poll the audience and focus their discussion on the topics of greatest interest to the group.
Bring groups together
Audience response technology also lets you compare different subgroups within your audience to determine whether there are meaningful differences. You can then immediately address the different responses or opinions among the groups.
For example, if you're in a medical education environment and doctors view an issue one way, and the nurses see it a different way, that's important and deserves discussion. By polling your audience with OptionPower and publishing responses in real time, you can let audience members know their voices are being heard.
Think outside the slides
Using audience response systems with PowerPoint is a great way to collect meaningful data for your organization. But by finding creative ways to take advantage of — and respond to — the real-time flexibility of the technology, you can enhance the experience for everyone involved.
Get more information on best practices for training by clicking here.