(1) The device: a small IR battery-operated keypad (12-16 keys). Cost in 2-3 years, < $30. I foresee every entering student buying one (or receiving one from the Univ., paid for by fees). It can be operated in anonymous or identified mode.

(2) The setting: a classroom with the appropriate receivers, a computer, hooked up to a projector. I foresee every classroom, large or small, being outfitted with this equipment.

Application #1: In class data collection.

I show the class a series of 10 schematic body types, ranging from emaciated to obese, for men and women. Let's assume for a moment that I have asked the students previously to indicate by a keypress whether the pad is being held by a male or a female, and also to indicate whether their current sexual preference is male or female. The title of the slide is: "Which number corresponds to your body type?" After a few seconds, the title changes: "Which number corresponds to the body type you would like to have?" The next slide: "Which number corresponds to the body type you would most like your sexual partner to have?"

The display then changes and shows a series of analyses of the responses, demonstrating that heterosexual men do not want to be much thinner than they are, and want their partners to be thinner than the average woman in the class; and that heterosexual women want to be much thinner than they are, even thinner than the men would like them to be. All this would happen automatically thanks to predesigned analyses of the data collected via the keypads.

A further analysis would show that women respond faster to the question about their own body type than men, suggesting that they have a more definite body image than do men.

Application #2: In class teaching assessment

I am teaching statistics. I have explained the Central Limit Theorem. I have prepared a multiple-choice question about the theorem with one correct answer and three lures, designed to reveal the people who have misunderstood the implications of the theorem in different ways. I project the question on the screen, and with a few seconds the distribution of answers appears. If few people made errors, I know I can go on. Otherwise, I focus on those errors that were common. Those who made the infrequent errors I send to the TA. This method allows the students who are slower to get tailored corrections of their misconceptions, and not to fall prey to the discouragement that sets in when you've missed something crucial in a cumulative sequence of ideas.

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