Large lectures are hard: an exploration in meaningful social visualizations for large group communication

Abstract

Large lectures are a difficult and complicated area of exploration, both technologically and socially. Here is presented a discussion of existing areas of investigation related to large lectures, including fostering crowd engagement, backchannel communication, and various classroom communication technologies. Next, work is reviewed regarding a system for real-time classroom interaction, the Fragmented Social Mirror (FSM), as well as the results that were seen with the FSM in a pilot study. The design of a continuance of the first FSM study is then presented, an interview study designed to elicit feedback from instructors regarding classroom communication technology. Preliminary results from this interview study are presented with commentary and suggestions for future directions.