Card ensures quick response

TOOL: Rob Henderson holds a response card.

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Similar to the devices used by audiences of shows such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the ResponseCard RF keypad system, developed by education technology manufacturer Turning Technologies, has been adapted by St John so clinical questions can be asked and responded to.

Using radio frequency technology, the ResponseCard keypad or "clicker" system consists of a set of handheld devices and a USB receiver, which is plugged into a computer.

Each handheld keypad has a series of numbers and letters that correspond to possible answers to questions projected onto a screen. The system is currently being used in St John's National Diploma in Ambulance Practice (Level 5), simulating the snap-decision process needed in the field at accident sites.

Taking advantage of the latest in audience response technology advancements, the ResponseCard system provides functionality that ensures responses are transmitted accurately, timely and effortlessly to the class tutor.

St John Clinical Education tutor Margaret Hendry has used the two-way ResponseCard system since the organisation discarded paper testing methods in 2008. She says training to be an ambulance officer needs to involve advanced visual aspects, since it is a highly practical industry.

"When officers tend to an accident onsite, they need to be able to quickly decide what action needs to be taken, and what type of injuries they are dealing with," she says.

"With the ResponseCard system, we can ask trainees multi-choice questions using images and photos projected on a screen, and get their responses immediately."

For example, part of a St John testing session will involve trainees being shown a series of pictures of burns, with corresponding questions related to the burn percentage or type of burn in the photo.

They then have a Polling Open time, when they can submit their answer via the handheld radio frequency device. When time is up, the correct answer and a pie chart are instantly projected on the screen, displaying the breakdown of answers delivered by class members.

"This kind of visual learning and auto-response making is very important in becoming a St John officer," says Hendry.

"The things they are learning are things they will encounter in the field, such as understanding burn, bone and bleeding types. There is often very little time to take the right action on these types of injuries, so being able to imitate that in a testing situation is a great way of learning."

This interactive learning enables St John trainees to take in important information at a faster rate. "St John trainee officers have just three two- day blocks of trauma training and three two-day blocks of medical training, which isn't a lot of time, considering the array of things they will encounter as practising officers," she says.

"With this system, everybody's time is best utilised. As tutors, we don't have to spend any time marking physical answer papers in class like we used to, so we have more time to teach and fill trainees' brains with more information.

"The trainees themselves benefit because the interactivity of the process means they will retain information much easier."

The use of the ResponseCards system ensures that as training providers, St John is able to keep up with the latest technology and appear relevant to a generation of students who have grown up with technology at their fingertips.

"Trainees that come to us straight from school are familiar with computer-based learning and this gives an opportunity for our training programme to appeal to them.

"And while older trainees are often a little hesitant at first, after a short amount of time, they take the system on board well and find it really useful and enjoyable.

"All our trainees are learning new things all the time, and the ResponseCard system enables us to keep training practical and relevant.

- © Fairfax NZ News