Here in the 21st Century, technology is continuously shaping and reshaping the way that we engage with each other and how we govern ourselves.  But striking the right balance between using technology to improve our engagement and letting it get in the way can be difficult. That’s why we wanted to share the article below from our friends at Public Agenda (long-time organizational member of NCDD) that shares findings from their new report on a piece of technology that can help practitioners strike that balance correctly while improving the quality of our dialogue and deliberation.

You can read the full article below, or find the original post here on the Public Agenda blog.

4 Ways Clickers Can Improve Group Discussion and Deliberation

Though tech innovations can be helpful in improving communication and engagement, especially when immediacy is necessary, some make the mistake of relying too heavily on technology as a stand in for other communication practices.

Keypads, or “clickers” as they are called in higher education, are certainly no exception to that rule. Using these types of audience response systems alone won’t support better interactions between people, but they do have the potential to immensely improve engagement practices when used appropriately.

“Click to Engage: Using Keypads to Enhance Deliberation,” a new paper from Public Agenda’s Center for Advances in Public Engagement, supports the work of public engagers seeking to improve their use of keypads in group discussion and engagement.

Here are some ways clickers can complement small group discussion:

1. Keypads can reveal who is and who isn’t in the room. Using keypads to field demographic questions enables discussion participants to understand who is in the room and situate themselves with the group. It also provides an easy way for the discussion facilitators and organizers to look back at the data. Using keypad responses for recording demographics can motivate those hosting the group discussion to improve their recruitment of persons from diverse backgrounds as well.
2. Keypads can be conversation starters. Keypads can be a great way to break the ice among discussion participants. Asking a couple of neutral, even comedic, questions can set a comfortable tone and allow for some low-pressure conversation to begin. Incorporating this sort of ice breaker in the beginning typically generates more inclusive and robust dialogue. Another bonus: such questions help discussion participants get used to the device.
3. Keypads can show variance in opinion and illuminate minority views. With divisive issues, each side may assume it has the strong majority and the opposition is merely an uninformed but vocal minority. Keypads have the power to provide a more accurate count of the splits and give voice to minority views that might not otherwise enter the conversation. This is not fool-proof though, and can have an adverse effect if audience members do not come from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Organizers should take care in designing the discussion so that those with minority views do not end up feeling alienated. If a room predominately holds one perspective and only a few disagree, allowing those dissenters to have the floor, if they’re willing, can be a powerful means for exploring divergent viewpoints in a reasonable way.
4. Keypads can assist facilitators in allocating remaining time. Identifying areas of agreement and disagreement through quick polling using the clickers can help a facilitator better allocate precious remaining time. If a topic reveals sharp disagreement, perhaps that topic warrants further, and deeper, discussion. Alternately, participants may not be ready to take on an issue if not enough time remains and the best option is to table it for more research.

The benefits of using a tool like the keypad to engage a diverse room of people far outweigh the drawbacks. Its immediacy and ease of use make it a powerful aide in deeper engagement. But thoughtful preparation, care and attention to design are crucial to using keypads successfully.

For more pointers on how to use this tool, including a breakdown of best practices and strengths and limitations, download our new paper here. For other tips on engagement practices, visit our Center for Advances in Public Engagement. We’d love to hear your successes, words of caution, and other tips regarding the use of keypads send us an email to Michelle Currie at publicengagement@publicagenda.org.

See the full post at www.publicagenda.org/blogs/4-ways-clickers-can-improve-group-discussion-and-deliberation?qref=http://www.publicagenda.org/pages/our-blog%3Fcurrentpage=1#sthash.hFeGCFli.dpuf