Remote-control classroom: an Iowa class heads into high-tech tests.(SCHOOL NEWS)(Wings Park Elementary School uses classroom performance system).

Every student in class has a remote control, and the kids are clicking away at the screen. But they aren't changing channels. They're taking a test! Terry Rex's fourth graders at Wings Park Elementary School in Oelwein, Iowa, are using a new kind of classroom technology. Instead of writing with pencils on exam papers, the students use remote controls to take tests.
"It's more fun," Courtney Ricchio, 9, told WR News. "I don't have to write, and my hand doesn't get tired." The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad.
Rex is one of the first teachers in Iowa to use CPS. His students use the technology for more than taking tests. They also play learning games with the system. Sam Myott, 9, says his favorite CPS activity is a football game. "It's a math game with multiplication and subtraction," he told WR News. "Since it's on the computer, it's more fun than a worksheet on your desk."
Making the Grade
Some teachers think using CPS to grade a test is more efficient, or a better use of time, than grading a written test. The computer keeps track of the students' answers and prints out their grades at the end of the day. The computer also reports which questions the class found most difficult to answer, so Rex can review them with the group.
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My Say:
Who ever thought you would be taking a test by using a remote? Well in Iowa, teachers in local elementary schools are using that method. "It's a new kind of classroom technology. Instead of writing with pencils on exam papers, the students use remote controls to take tests." Students seem to like it a lot better, because they don't have to write at all. "The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad." This new CPS system has shown that it is very efficient and seems to be effective. These teachers persuade other teachers to use this method, and is one of the many new technologies used in schools that have been proved that they work.