I-Clickers

Personal Response Systems

Some professors at Waldorf use iclickers in the classroom. The clickers tend to increase attention to task approximately 30%.

Resources

• iclicker Downloads
• 7 Things You Should Know About Clickers (2005) by EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. 
• Transforming Student Learning with Classroom Communication Systems (2004) by Ian Beatty, ECAR. 
• Teaching Guide on Classroom Response Systems (2005), Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University, 2005. 
• Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu, New Technology Boosts Students Classroom Participation (2005), Advance, University of Connecticut.

Personal Response Systems (PRS) employ hand-held infrared transmitters for polling in the classroom. Each student uses a transmitter to answer multiple choice or simple computational questions. The responses are graphed and displayed immediately. PRS can be an invaluable means to reveal:

• Baseline knowledge
• Persistent misconceptions
• Concept mastery
• Preparedness for new material
• Attendance patterns.

Use of PRS can dramatically reinforce:

• Peer instruction
• Active student engagement in course materials
• Students' awareness of their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Strategies for Use

1. Initial review - Ask 2 to 3 questions in which one reviews previous class materials or previous knowledge of students
2. Immediate review - After 10 minutes or so of lecture review the topic at hand to discover whether or not students are understanding the materials being presented
3. General quizzes
4. Ask 2 to 3 question in which the student are queried about their present knowledge on a certain subject to develop discussion materials
5. Student evaluation tool - Assign a student project; develop a set evaluation criteria; have the students do an in class evaluation but do not display the results. Use the data to discuss student evaluations of student projects in the professor's office in one on one meetings.

I>Clicker Guides