Can someone explain "clickers" to me?

[Pegasus]

I've heard of large classes using clicker devices for students to respond to questions from the lecturer. However, I assumed that they were part of the classroom infrastructure. 

 

Apparently, DD's general psych course will use clickers.  Her list of required textbooks includes a clicker device AND different lengths of subscriptions for the device. Why would it need a subscription to work?

 

What's been your students' experience with clickers?  Are they used to track attendance/participation so a student MUST have one?  We are waiting until DD can attend the first class and see what the instructor has to say.

 

 

[G5052]

Clickers have been a part of higher education for awhile now. In every case I've heard of, they're mandatory because they're used for attendance and participation in cases where it would be difficult to track that and teach.

 

The person who handles the IT issues for them at the college I work for now told me that they have the students buy them because it costs too much to do a permanent installation in the classroom, and there were vandalism issues in the classrooms where they initially did that some years back. Some professors don't use them anyway. Some colleges don't do the subscription, and others use that $$$ for the IT support required to keep that going. It actually is more complicated for the college than you would think. My college has some 50,000 students and that's a lot of classrooms. I teach online for them though, so no need.

 

I used to work for a smaller, local community college where the class size was never more than 24 where none of the professors use them. Prior to that I was at a larger school where I once had a class of 80+. Clickers would have been wonderful then. Taking roll and keeping them engaged was difficult!

[Angie in VA]

DD had to buy one when she was a freshman. She's a music major, but she did use that clicker thingy in several of her gen eds. 

[Luckymama]

Clickers have been used in some of my kids' classes to quickly check comprehension. If a large number of students don't get what is being asked, the prof can go over the concept again.

[goldberry]

I have never even heard of this!  The Hive educates me once again... 

 

I thought clickers were for dog training! :)

[Laura Corin]

Wow.  I've not heard of that.

[Julie Smith]

An interesting, very small study on the use of clickers in school:

 

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.503.6452&rep=rep1&type=pdf

[MarkT]

Clickers have been used in some of my kids' classes to quickly check comprehension. If a large number of students don't get what is being asked, the prof can go over the concept again.

in my day they just looked at the expressions on the student faces at various points during the lecture :closedeyes:

[G5052]

in my day they just looked at the expressions on the student faces at various points during the lecture :closedeyes:

 

That works in smaller classes, but it's tough when you have a large class in an auditorium where the majority of the students are sitting higher than the professor's natural eye level. I hated teaching that way. No way could I connect well with the students. In that situation, clickers would have made a difference.

[Hoggirl]

I thought clickers were for dog training! :)

No, they're for changing the TV channel. :D

 

Ds has one but has not had to use it for awhile. Probably because he is getting more into his degree coursework with smaller classes.

 

At his school, ds reports that some academic areas (CS) have figured out how to use student cell phones for clicker purposes. Some others (which shall not be named), have not.

[AngieW in Texas]

Both of my older girls used clickers in some of their college classes.

 

At the ps where I teach, we use Socrative or Kahoot on the students' cell phones for the same purpose. In every class I have a percentage of the students who don't have a phone. They either join up with another student who does (I do a lot of teams on Kahoot) or I will have them each use their own device and will print out a paper copy for anybody who doesn't have a device (only make enough copies for about 1/3 of the class and always have plenty left over).

 

I love Socrative. I feel like I get better results with Socrative than I do with Kahoot where they are more interested in being fast (because that gives you more points) than being correct.

 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

No, they're for changing the TV channel. :D

 

Ds has one but has not had to use it for awhile. Probably because he is getting more into his degree coursework with smaller classes.

 

At his school, ds reports that some academic areas (CS) have figured out how to use student cell phones for clicker purposes. Some others (which shall not be named), have not.

 

Yes to the use of cell phones, One program is called Kahoots.The students need to download the kahoot app. The instructor creates a Kahoot - it's like an interactive powerpoint - with informative slides and question slides. When they are in class, the student logs in to the Kahoot with a special code. The student has to create a user name and that name is associated with the responses. Points are distributed for correct answers and quick response time. Once the Kahoot (usually 10-15 mins) is complete the instructor can go back and do basic analyses on the responses. You can also see the responses in real time so you will know if 1 person or the entire class understands the topic or needs further explanation.

 

I'm working Kahoots into my classes for the Spring.  I am concerned about actively encouraging cell phones in class, though, and am curious as to how focused the students will be once they are allowed to have their phones out. I currently have a no cell phone policy.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

<snip> In every class I have a percentage of the students who don't have a phone. They either join up with another student who does (I do a lot of teams on Kahoot) or I will have them each use their own device and will print out a paper copy for anybody who doesn't have a device (only make enough copies for about 1/3 of the class and always have plenty left over).

 

<snip>

The nice thing about Kahoots is that you can also use Ipads, laptops, Kindles, etc. Anything that can open the Kahoot is fair game. 

 

I realize certain students won't have any devices but the option is nice.

 

Thanks for mentioning Socrative. I'm going to check that out before the new term begins.

[Sunshine State Sue]

When we went to the bookstore for ds's first semester, a clicker was on the list.  The students gathering the books said, don't ask, just buy the clicker.  I gathered it was for the large (200+) classes.  I don't remember anything about a subscription, though.

[Bootsie]

Some universities use a standard clicker system.  Students buy one clicker and it can be used in any class that requires a clicker.  Other schools do not use a standardized system, meaning that a student may have to purchase different devices for different classes (and carry those clickers to different classes).  

 

I used clickers for a couple of semesters when teaching in a 300 seat auditorium.  I gave quizzes which were spread out throughout the class--so if a student was not in attendance for the entire class or was not paying attention, they would miss those questions.  However, I realized that I had a huge cheating problem--I would have 175 students in the classroom, but 250 answering questions (not a few students here or there).  Once I realized that the problem was so severe, and basically uncontrollable, I did not see how I could continue to base any grading on the use of the clickers.

 

There are a number of options that now use a phone rather than a separate device for the clicker service.  Some have argued that a student is less likely to hand their phone to another student to take the quizzes for them during class than a stand alone clicker.  However, many of these services can be accessed by inexpensive, alternative devices.  The cell phone is one option.  So, the students can used these devices to have one student answer for a number of students who are not in attendance.

[AngieW in Texas]

The thing that is really nice about Kahoots is that you can see a ton of public kahoots and can take one that is public and just make minor alterations to make it perfect for your class.

 

With Socrative, there aren't any "public" Socratives, so you have to create your own every time. You can share you socrative with others through a link. I've shared mine with the other two on-level chemistry teachers, but there isn't a vast store of already created Socratives to pull from like there is for Kahoot.

 

Kahoot definitely gets the class energized, but it's sometimes hard to get them to settle back down afterward. In my classes, Kahoot works best when it is used for bonus points on a quiz or test.

[Matryoshka]

Dd was told she needed a clicker after the class had started.  She bought one, but they were backordered.  While she waited for it to come in, she was told she could use a clicker app instead (for a fraction of the cost).  She tried to cancel the order for the actual clicker, but was told there were no returns.  Um, she didn't have it yet - it still hadn't arrived at the bookstore!  She just wanted to cancel the order in progress, but the book store insisted that the final sale was at time of ordering, not at time of receipt of the item!  We are going to resell it next semester.   :glare:

[Pegasus]

I knew the hive would have plenty of experience and tips to share!  Thanks, everyone.  DD will wait on the clicker until she attends the first class to see if it will be required by the instructor.  It would be great if a phone app can be used instead.

[JennyD]

My husband and I both teach at a university -- he uses clickers extensively in one of his classes and I use them occasionally.  It is all done through a phone app that the students download during orientation.  

 

I would never use clickers for a graded assessment but they are a great tool in certain types of classes.  I find them especially useful when working through material that has a lot of important details that students might be tempted to just gloss over (something that's hard to tell from the front of the room).  With the program I use, the class's answers show up on a screen, so for example, I will ask a multiple-choice question, the students will answer, and then I show the results: 15% said A, 35% said B, etc. Then, of course, we discuss the correct answer.  Similarly, my husband has had a lot of success using clickers in a course that covers a lot of this type of material -- complicated, somewhat dry stuff for which students really need to grasp the details.  

 

 

Edited December 27, 2016 by JennyD

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

DD's school doesn't use clickers, however I hear that in some cases you can get a smartphone app that works with the system.  If you already use a smartphone that would be one less device to carry.