Your School: Ready For A Renaissance?

A new system that lets teachers get immediate feedback and real-time accountability for all students in the classroom is getting high grades.

A new system that lets teachers get immediate feedback and real-time accountability for all students in the classroom is getting high grades. The wireless response system was created by a provider of computerized assessment and progress-monitoring tools for pre-K-12 schools. It provides teachers with comprehensive real-time data in an easy-to-read graphical format so they can optimize their lessons and deliver individualized instruction. "We just recently started using the Renaissance Classroom Response System and already are seeing a difference. The immediate feedback we receive is such a great way to gauge the progress of each student, and helps me determine the lessons I need to review," said Dawn Deher, English Teacher, Milford (Delaware) High School. "My students' enthusiasm and engagement in class has increased substantially. Several of my students have said to me that they wished they had the Responder available to them in their other classes because they see how it helps them in the learning process." How It Works The Classroom Response System (CRS) uses leading radio frequency (RF) technology and best of class, easy-to-use interactive software with a remote wireless Renaissance Responder handheld device. The Responder encourages participation by all students by allowing them to respond to verbal prompts or answer questions on quizzes and tests. The real-time scoring helps educators provide immediate intervention and individualized attention for each student, supporting explicit systematic direct instruction of skills. By using the system, educators can wirelessly send questions, individual notes, and assignments to a high-resolution LCD graphical display on the student's Responder, eliminating the need to print documents or use a projector or TV screen. Classroom Efficiency The system provides significant classroom efficiency in identifying problems in real time-and when they occur-so teachers can spend more time teaching. Grading student assignments and creating tests and quizzes is very time consuming. Now, with this program from Renaissance Learning, Inc., teachers can create the test questions in a fraction of the time it takes using traditional methods.