ST. CHARLES - At first glance, it seemed that pupils at Wredling Middle School were surfing TV or the Internet, or perhaps into some serious text messaging.
But on closer inspection, the kids - all 32 of them - were simultaneously communicating data to teachers during a recent school day using individual hand-held remotes that operate a new educational tool dubbed the "ConVA" system.
Built by St. Charles-based Dukane Audio Visual, the innovative system allows teachers to gauge the effectiveness of a school's curriculum.
Results are instantaneously displayed on a screen through a data projector, said John Mucci, the Dukane software engineer who developed ConVA.
Kids like the feedback and interactive learning while administrators value ConVa's ability to deliver real-time data, he said.
Mucci pointed out that the ConVA system has a number of functions but one main objective.
"Generally, it's used for assessments to find out whether a student understands - or does not understand - a fact or a notion that the teacher is trying to get across - with that curriculum," he said.
In addition to pilot programs at Wredling and St. Charles North High schools, ConVA has been installed in other schools around the country. Garland Independent School District in Texas has served as a key development site, with more than 3,000 classrooms there using the system.
In Kane County, Burlington-based Central School District is preparing to implement the program at the middle school level, Mucci said.
Considering the scope of technology, the ConVA system would seem reasonably cost-effective.
Equipping a typical classroom, Mucci explained, costs roughly $3,000, including 32 remotes for student response and needed software for the teacher.
Wredling Principal Melissa Dockum said after observing classes using ConVA, she is sold on the system.
She said teachers can use ConVA to ask a curriculum-related question and can determine immediately whether they are getting through to their students.
"The teacher can then see what percentage of the students have the correct answer," Dockum explained.
If 90 percent of students answer correctly, the curriculum would seem appropriately structured, she added.
"But if they had 50 percent right, then (teachers) realize they have a problem and may have to 're-teach' a new concept," Dockum said.
She said it is gratifying to see kids reaping benefits through technology.
"And now if we want to meet them when they're truly interested - we've got something in our hands to do it - so I'm thrilled," she said.
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Wredling Middle School eighth-grader Nikil Bontu responds to a question pertaining to American history on a hand-held device called the ConVA. His response appears on the screen in the form of percentages as well as on the hand-held device that allows the user to see if the question was answered properly. The technology is used in the St. Charles middle school to assess learning.Marina Makropoulos / Staff Photographer
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