This paper explores the benefits and drawbacks of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) to engage undergraduate students in geography modules at Newcastle University. I consider the efficacy of "student response systems" (hereafter SRS, also known as audience response systems, clickers or personal response systems) in large lectures by experimenting with Mentimeter, an online platform designed to allow real-time response to questions. The rationale for the study is twofold: first, to respond to the swelling university enrolment which means that lectures remain a common teaching practice, and second, to reflect on the pervasive role technology plays in the everyday lives of staff and students. Bringing these two concerns together, I argue that TEL and SRS have the potential to respond to these challenges as well as to improve the overall learning and teaching experience. In order for SRS to be effective however, they need to be fully integrated into the curriculum and staffers need to be driving the usage. These arguments employ concepts of "active learning" and "contingent teaching" to better understand the usefulness of SRS to engage students in large lectures as well as how to develop a systematic approach to integrating technology into university lectures.