Say the phrase “Pop quiz,” and usually images of a half sheet of paper and pencil come to mind, plus some feelings of anxiety or even embarrassment.

But in Bert Treviño’s eighth-grade physics class at Oliveira Middle School, “pop quiz” has a whole other meaning.

Instead of groans, he’s met with excitement as students rush to grab a remote, or “clicker,” to participate.

“What was the name of the first space station?” reads one of the quiz questions.

Answer: Skylab.

A screen then pops up with the information on how many in the class got the question correct and which remote got the correct answer in the fastest. But no names are shown on the screen, so classmates will be left in the dark on how everyone answered.

“It gives (the students) a lot more confidence,” Treviño said. “They get to feel both, the triumph and the defeat, but at the same time, they’re learning. This way, they don’t know who’s getting it wrong or right, so everyone won’t make fun of them.”

The Qwizdom system allows teachers to take lessons to a whole new level through technology, according to Caroline Garner, product specialist for Qwizdom.

“Lots of schools are using this technology and really embracing it,” said Garner.

Students in Treviño’s class were quick to chime-in on what they thought of the Qwizdom system.

“I like it because you don’t have to use paper to write stuff down,” one said.

“It tells me right away if I got it right or wrong,” another said.

A healthy sense of competition is evident when Treviño tells his students to not reveal what number their clicker is until the end of the quiz. Many groan or let out a “Yes!” when an answer is revealed, but very few try to pry clicker number information out of others, unless one clicker number (or “rocket number,” as it appears on the scoreboard) begins to run away with the competition.

Treviño’s class is one of three at Oliveira using Qwizdom software, according to principal Jennifer Gonzales.

Using Qwizdom doesn’t necessarily cut down on out-of-classroom preparation time for Treviño, but he said the greatest takeaway is the excitement and fun students have while still learning. Qwizdom offers a lot of extra resources online, he said, which proves helpful for his lesson planning.

Treviño also uses a tablet to operate both his PowerPoint lecture notes and the quiz. Since he’s not confined to a desk or chalkboard, he roams around the class, stopping at different tables to engage students as he lectures.

In the end, Treviño points to the benefits of allowing students to actively participate in a class, as opposed to having them solely take notes during a lecture.

“I have seen student scores increase 15-20 points on end-of-grade testing since I’ve been using this technology,” Treviño said. “The response systems really help me pinpoint their weak areas and I can keep tabs on who is participating.”

All 11 BISD middle schools use the Living with Science program, which includes the clickers created by Qwizdom, district spokeswoman Drue Brown said. She said some of the schools utilize the clickers more than others.

Click here to read the original post by Molly Jasinski.