Teacher mediation of classroom learner response technology

Imagine a world where every child in your Primary classroom is the proud owner and reasonably competent user of a smart phone. Perhaps in your school this is already true. Ignoring for the moment the full potential of this situation, including the use of the internet and social media for learning, this research focuses on the possibilities of using such technology as a classroom learner response system. Hands up! Show me your thumbs! What is happening at the traffic lights? Hold up your mini-white boards! Many teachers are already using ‘classroom learner response systems’. Their practice is informed particularly by the learning power of ‘feedback’ or ‘formative assessment’ (Black et al., 2003). However, effective implementation of formative assessment in a complex classroom setting involves more than adopting a set of techniques. In a study of Primary teachers in Scotland, the intention of the teachers to develop independent learners (self-assessors) as part of assessme