Self-Paced Question Sets are the latest addition to the Promethean family of interactive learning tools. You can use them side-by-side with Prepared Questions and ExpressPoll.
In this section we introduce Self-Paced Question Sets and show you how to create and use them.
As the name implies, Self-Paced Question Sets are sets of prepared questions, that allow learners to respond at their own pace.
You can do the following:
Choose how many questions to include in a question set.
Group questions in sets of up to 9 levels of difficulty.
Choose how many questions each learner must answer correctly before they can progress to the next level.
Shuffle the questions to change their order.
Randomise the questions, so that each learner receives all questions in a different order from their neighbours. This prevents learners from conferring.
See each response as soon as it has been sent.
You insert Self-Paced Question Sets into a flipchart page with the Insert > Self-Paced Question Set... command. |
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Unlike Prepared Questions, Self-Paced Question Sets are not displayed on the board during a voting session. |
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During a voting session, questions are only displayed on participating learners' ActivExpression devices. |
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While a voting session is in progress, the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' Dialog Box is open on your display. It shows all responses received in graphical format. |
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At the start of a session, the first question is sent to each ActivExpression device. As soon as a learner sends a response, this is recorded and displayed in the results Dialog Box, and the next question is automatically sent to their device. Each learner progresses at their own pace. |
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There are two ways to create Self-Paced Question Sets:
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The Question Generator is currently only available for basic numeracy questions. |
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Whenever you open a flipchart page that contains a Self-Paced Question
Set, Start/Stop Vote After a vote has started, you can pause or stop it at any time. Results are stored in the Results Browser part of the Voting Browser. You can display results in different formats, add them to the flipchart page, evaluate them at your convenience, and export them to Microsoft Excel for further processing. |
Self-Paced Question Sets provide a structured framework for flexible learning and assessment. They help to focus the attention of the whole group, because everyone participates and every vote counts.
During a voting session, responses are displayed dynamically and provide an immediate insight into:
Group performance.
Individual performance.
Areas that may require revision or further exploration.
This dynamic display can help you decide, for example, when to:
Intervene to help a struggling learner without disrupting
the session. In the picture above, for example, learner inno58
answered every question incorrectly .
Set additional challenges for high-fliers.
Move on to another topic.
You can make each voting session as competitive or stress-free as appropriate, by setting time limits and choosing to show incoming responses on the board, or hide them from learners to avoid distraction.
To use Self-Paced Question Sets in the classroom, you need the following:
ActivDriver
ActivExpression devices, or ActivEngage clients
One of the following:
ActivHub
ActivBoard with an integral hub
Virtual ActivHub, if you are using ActivEngage
For details of how to prepare your equipment for self-paced learning, see Upgrading to the next generation.
Working with Self-Paced Question Sets is a 3-stage process:
Stage 1 - Create a Self-Paced Question Set
Stage 2 - Run a Self-Paced Question Set session
This section describes how to prepare questions with the following:
Self-Paced Question Wizard.
Question Generator
You can create questions one at a time, or create a block of identical questions and edit them later.
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Enter the question text and text for any options, if applicable, choose the appropriate options, then click Next >. The 'Assign correct answers' Dialog Box opens. The example on the right shows the Dialog Box for Multiple Choice questions with the details completed. There are five possible answers to the question, of which only one is correct. |
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To assign correct answers, check the 'Assign a correct answer' box, then check one or more boxes as appropriate. In the example on the right, the correct answer has been assigned. For number questions, you can also assign a tolerance level of +/- n, where 'n' is a number. |
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Here you can do the following:
The example on the right shows a set of identical questions, ready for editing. |
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Change the following options as appropriate:
If you are not satisfied, click Generate again, or change the options as appropriate, then click Generate. |
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Here you can do the following:
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You can edit questions while you are creating a question set, or at any other time, by selecting Edit > Question on Current Page.
The question type is highlighted in green and cannot be changed. You can do one or more of the following:
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You can, of course, click any of the buttons on the right of the Dialog Box. |
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You can also do the following:
When you have completed the details, click Next >. The 'Choose a design' Dialog Box opens. |
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This section describes the mechanics of running a Self-Paced Question session.
Before you start the Self-Paced Question session, do the following:
Ensure that all required ActivExpression devices have battery power and are registered. For more information, see Registering devices.
Plug the ActivHub into your computer and check that its green light is flashing.
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With Self-Paced Question Sets, the learners' attention is focussed on the display of their ActivExpression devices. If you are displaying incoming responses dynamically on the board, this may distract attention from the questions and adversely affect response times. You may wish to run a trial session to accustom yourself and your learners to this way of voting. |
As soon as your teacher starts the voting session, the first question is sent to all ActivExpression devices.
If the questions have been randomised, you will receive them in a different order from your neighbours.
When you receive the first question, your display looks similar to the one on the right. The number 1 is bigger than the other numbers, because this is the first question. Read the question. When you're ready to answer, press any key. This clears the display. |
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The cursor in the centre of the display means that you can start to put in your answer using the keypad keys.
The example on the right shows that the answer to the question is a number.
You can tell because of the small numbers 1, 2, 3 |
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When you enter your answer, it is displayed in the text entry area.
If you want to change it, use the keypad.
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When you receive the second question, your display looks similar to the one on the right. This time the number 2 is bigger than the other numbers. |
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If your teacher pauses the session, your display shows the word 'PAUSED'.
While the session is paused, you can't answer any questions.
When your teacher resumes the session, the keys are reactivated and you can continue. |
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When you have answered all the questions in the set within the time limit, your display shows the message 'No more questions'. |
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If you have answered one or more questions incorrectly, and if you are within the time limit, you have the opportunity to answer these questions again until you run out of time. If you run out of time, your ActivExpression device displays the opening screen showing the Promethean logo and you can't answer any more questions. |
When everyone is ready to begin, do the following:
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The following picture shows the two views you can display in the Self-Paced Assessment Results' window. The list identifies each numbered component. |
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'Response Timeline' view shows incoming responses on horizontal lines next to the device name or number, where each coloured block represents one question. This is the default view. In this example:
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'Level Summaries' view shows for each student how many questions they answered correctly and incorrectly at each level, and their average response times. In this example, we chose named voting and each device is identified by name. | |
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Countdown showing the remaining time available to answer questions. | |
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Pause button. Click to pause or resume a paused session. | |
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Abort button. Click to permanently stop a voting session. You are prompted to save any responses received so far. | |
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Drop-down list for changing the view. | |
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Paste current results into the flipchart. | |
All responses are displayed in the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window as soon as they are received. If you are using an interactive whiteboard, you can choose to display the window, or drag it our of sight of your learners.
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At any time during a voting session you can do the following:
When the timeout is reached, the session ends:
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In addition to evaluating responses dynamically during the voting session, you can do the following:
Retrieve results after a session has ended.
Display the results in different formats.
Paste one or more results graphs into the current flipchart page.
On Windows computers, you can export results to an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis.
After a session has ended, the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window remains open, letting you change the view or display results in different formats. You can open the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window again at any time by double-clicking the results in the Results Browser part of the Voting Browser. |
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The following sections contain some examples of the different ways in which you can display results both during and after a voting session. |
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Response Timeline |
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To see details of how a particular learner responded to a question, hover the cursor over a response. A Pop-up window shows the following:
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To see a statistical breakdown of how the whole group answered a particular question:
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You can paste the results into the flipchart
with this button If you have specified correct answers in
your question set, click Identify correct
answers
For more information, see Reference > Settings > Learner Response System.
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You can also display the same information in the following other formats:
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Level Summaries |
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This report shows the following details for each learner:
To see details of how a particular learner responded to a set of questions at a particular level, hover the cursor over a cell in the 'Level Summaries' window. Depending on your choice of column, a pop-up window shows some or all of the following details:
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