How to Use Technology to Test Comprehension in the Real Estate Classroom

Many prelicensing students seem to miss only one or two questions on the state exam. If you could change that, what a wonderful thing you would be doing for your students, your school, and the industry! Thanks to new tech tools, you may be able to get a better feel for student comprehension of the material and correct misunderstandings in real time. This article explores a few reasons and ways technology can be utilized in your real estate classroom to improve and test the comprehension of your students.

“There are no dumb questions.”

We’ve all said it…or at least heard it. Yet, when we ask if anyone has questions in class, there are certain students who will never raise their hands. Whether because of social anxiety or just general shyness, some students will not get involved in classroom Q&A or discussions if it means receiving an unwelcome spotlight.

Tech tools that allow participants to ask questions digitally give these students an opportunity to have their voice heard, usually anonymously, reducing the fear of speaking or answering incorrectly. Even the most social of your students benefit from a platform where more students participate in the discussion. And as an instructor, you get a better feel for student comprehension of critical concepts.

When presenting information by lecture or group discussion, there is still a need to test for comprehension of the material. Traditionally, we’ve done that with quizzes and tests. Although these two comprehension tools will always have a place in the classroom, technology affords us the opportunity to test comprehension in a fun and less intimidating way with online games.

Think of the popularity of games like Candy Crush Saga, Pokémon Go, and Angry Birds. Of course, none of these games would be anything more than a distraction in your classroom. But the point is, mobile gaming is quite familiar and comfortable to our students. So it just makes sense to meet them where they are and incorporate games into our classes.

Games can make learning fun, but their value goes even further. Gamifying your comprehension checks allows you, as an instructor, to observe students’ ability to answer questions, acknowledge correct answers, and correct with explanation when necessary.  

“Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I learn.”

–Benjamin Franklin

It’s not likely Benjamin Franklin foresaw an age when we would all have powerful handheld computers constantly within reach when he spoke these words. But his words couldn’t hold truer in our “always on” culture in the 21st century. Technology affords you the opportunity to get your students engaged in their own education. By participating with technology, the students’ awareness of the question and answer is piqued, and memory of the given topic is increased. Increased awareness and recall lead to the ultimate measure of our success—increased pass rates. We know knowledge is imparted most effectively when done through a variety of instruction modes, and technology affords you new channels through which to present the material.