SCIENCE

A pilot study of a new technology that lets students use Twitter and text messages during and after class has found that it increases student engagement and is used more often by higher-performing students.

The technology, called Hotseat, was developed by Purdue University in 2009 to increase student engagement in large lecture classes. The application allows students and instructors to use smartphones or laptop computers to send messages during or after class. Other students can vote to rank the messages and respond to the discussion.

Hotseat was tested in a pilot study during the spring 2010 semester. During the study, more than 2,000 students sent more than 38,000 messages using Hotseat. Classes using Hotseat included courses in family development, finance, human sexuality and biology.

The research results were presented at the Educause conferencein Anaheim, Calif., and published in the latest edition of Educause Quarterly, and can be read online at http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/HotseatOpeningtheBackchannelin/213668

Kyle Bowen, director of informatics at Purdue and lead developer of the tool, says some professors use Hotseat to foster discussion during their lectures, and others use it for discussions following class.