How Interwrite PRS™ Works

In a nutshell, each member of the audience responds privately to a question or prompt, the responses are collected, and the summarized results are displayed as a histogram for all to see.

The durable, compact transmitter is pocket-sized, just 4" x 2" x 3/4", and simple to use. No special training is required. 

Audience Response 

Audience members respond to questions, either multiple-choice or numeric, by pressing the buttons on their PRS wireless transmitter. The signals sent are intercepted by the PRS receiver, which in turn is connected to a computer, either PC or Mac. Every time a signal from a transmitter is received, one of the boxes shown in the response chart changes color.

Since each transmitter is encoded with a unique sender ID number, the box in the response chart shows information that identifies the sender. The instructor has the flexibility to display only the information (student first name, last name, nickname, student ID number, or transmitter ID number) they choose. The response itself is not displayed. At the end of the question period, a statistical summary of the responses received can be shown as a histogram, either automatically or with a keystroke. There is also the option of attaching a confidence level—high, medium or low—to the response sent.

Creating Questions

PRS provides the flexibility to author questions in several different formats: 

Creating Questions within PRS

Interwrite PRS software provides a very simple and intuitive interface to create questions within the software. The software allows you to select the number of answers, identify the correct answer, and set the time limit for students to answer the question. In addition to typing in questions, you can also import industry standard XML format questions and their corresponding correct answer from various sources, including many book publishers.

Creating Questions using PowerPoint

Interwrite PRS software also includes a PowerPoint add-in that allows you to turn any PowerPoint slide into a PRS question slide.

Operating Modes

There are two modes of operation for PRS that the operator (instructor) can select prior to the start of each session:

In Anonymous Mode, no record is kept on the individual responses.

In Known Mode, each ID-tagged response is recorded in a data file in the sequence received. The cycle is repeated for each question until the end of the session. At that time, the individual student responses can be marked (graded). The results can be saved into the PRS Gradebook or imported into Excel or other popular 3rd-party grade book applications.

Simplicity and Ease of Use

The simplicity of the PRS software makes it easy to set up and easy to use. The response grid, shown in the Session Window, can be changed to fit your class size and will respond with the numeric transmitter code, student ID, student first name or last name.