How To Register Hitt Clicker

• Journal List
• CBE Life Sci Educ
• 5.half dozen(1); Spring 2007
• PMC1810208

CBE Life Sci Educ. 2007 Jump; six(ane): one–8.

Clicker Evolution: Seeking Intelligent Design

Maryfran Barber

Departments of *Chemistry and

David Njus

^†Biological Sciences, Wayne State Academy, Detroit, MI 48202

Abstract

Note from the Editor

Use of the audience response devices known equally "clickers" is growing, particularly in large science courses at the university level, as evidence for the pedagogical value of this technology continues to accumulate, and competition betwixt manufacturers drives technical improvements, increasing user-friendliness and decreasing prices. For those who have not yet tried teaching with clickers and may take heard unsettling stories about technical problems with earlier models, the decision to utilise them and the choice of an appropriate brand may exist difficult. Moreover, like any classroom technology, clickers will non automatically improve pedagogy or enhance student learning. Clickers tin can be detrimental if poorly used, but highly beneficial if good practices are followed, as documented in a growing body of educational literature.

In this Special Feature, nosotros present 2 reviews that should assist instructors and teachers at all levels in taking the step toward clicker apply and choosing an appropriate model. In the showtime, Barber and Njus compare the features, advantages, and disadvantages of the half dozen leading brands of radio-frequency clicker systems. In the second, Caldwell reviews the pedagogical literature on clickers and summarizes some of the all-time practices for clicker use that have emerged from educational research. In a related article elsewhere in this issue, Prezsler et al. present the results of a study showing that clicker use tin can better student learning and attitudes in both introductory and more advanced academy biology courses.

Abstruse

Two years after the kickoff depression-toll radio-frequency audience response organisation using clickers was introduced for college classrooms, at least six different systems are on the market. Their features and user-friendliness are evolving rapidly, driven by competition and improving engineering science. The proliferation of different systems is putting pressure level on universities to standardize or otherwise limit the number of different clickers a student is expected to acquire. To facilitate that choice, the strengths and weaknesses of six systems (eInstruction Classroom Operation System, Qwizdom, TurningPoint, Interwrite PRS, iClicker, and H-ITT) are compared, and the factors that should exist considered in making a selection are discussed. In our opinion, the selection of a clicker system should exist driven by the faculty, although students and the relevant instruction and applied science support units of the university must as well participate in the dialogue. Given the pace of evolution, information technology is besides wise to reconsider the choice of a clicker arrangement at regular intervals.

INTRODUCTION

Education big classes and trying to proceed their students engaged, college faculty across the country are turning to "clickers," keypads that students use to respond questions posed by the lecturer. Audience response systems (ARS) based on infrared (IR) technology have been available for a while, but low-toll radio-frequency (RF) systems were just introduced in early 2005. Now, simply two years later, at least six RF systems are commercially available, and performance has improved considerably. At Wayne State, more of our faculty are experimenting with clickers, and we are faced with making choices to limit the number of dissimilar clickers our students need to carry and the university needs to back up. Because many are facing the same choices, nosotros would like to share our experiences here.

Our outset major venture into clickers was a rather unsatisfying test of an IR organization in fall 2004. At considerable expense, we installed IR receivers in several lecture halls, but these receivers proved incapable of handling the book of responses in big classes (>100 students). Wayne State is a large public university, and bringing active learning into classes with hundreds of students is an important part of our interest in ARS. Keypads using RF signals accept always been better suited to large audiences, but their loftier price prohibited widespread application. When the first low-toll RF ARS was introduced in January 2005, we immediately switched to it, and nosotros have focused on RF systems ever since. IR receivers are suitable for small classes, and institutions with few large classes might consider using an IR organisation. However, all major ARS vendors take now introduced depression-toll RF keypads, and i has already discontinued its old IR model. The future, therefore, appears to belong to RF.

Although clickers can be used for but taking attendance or quizzing students to come across if they have prepared for form, they are nearly effective when students are challenged to retrieve nearly their understanding of the bailiwick. A skilful question enables the instructor to determine whether or non the class as a whole has grasped a concept correctly. It also empowers individual students to recognize that they have a misconception. This is especially important in science, every bit a fundamental misconception hinders the educatee's assimilation of subsequent ideas. Notwithstanding, it is non our purpose to talk over the pedagogical applications of ARS, which are addressed in the accompanying feature article (Caldwell, 2007 ). The recent literature as well has extensive discussions of the use of clickers in active learning (Poulis et al., 1998 ; Judson and Sawada, 2002 ; Klionsky, 2002 ; McClanahan and McClanahan, 2002 ; Meltzer and Manivannan, 2002 ; Draper and Dark-brown, 2004 ; Hatch et al., 2005 ), cess (Paschal, 2002 ), and peer education (Fagen et al., 2002 ; Knight and Wood, 2005 ). Our objective here is to compare dissimilar ARS with regard to features that students, instructors, and universities will demand to evaluate in lodge to choose the most advisable one for their purposes.

FEATURES OF CLICKER SYSTEMS

How does one decide which clicker system is best? The faculty, students, and the institution equally a whole all accept a pale in this pick. The faculty volition want a arrangement that is user-friendly to use both as part of a classroom presentation and as a data-gathering and assessment tool. Students want a system that is inexpensive, durable, and infallible when it comes to transmitting their intended responses. As we have evaluated clicker systems, some critical issues have emerged, and these are outlined beneath. Other recent comparisons have been published (Burnstein and Lederman, 2003 ) or can be found online. Many of these, however, focus on IR systems, and then that, although their discussions of educational activity may exist useful, their comparisons of keypad performance and even software are quickly condign dated.

Keypad Design.

Students similar keypads that are cheap and easy to register, but they are especially concerned near getting confirmation that their answers have been transmitted successfully. For this reason, two-manner communication and an LCD screen are attractive. Some keypads display the student'southward answer and confirmation of manual on the LCD screen; other keypads just take an LED that indicates that an answer has been transmitted. Most systems also brandish a voting grid on the classroom screen indicating which students have responded. For classes with big numbers of students, the grid may roll to proceed it from occupying too much of the screen. Students mostly also like the voting filigree feature. Faculty are interested in the kinds of answers a keypad can transmit. Some want a clicker that offers the option of numeric answers or even text equally well equally multiple pick. Durability, reliability, and availability of replacement batteries are also of import design considerations.

Cost.

The initial price of the keypad varies, and campus-wide standardization or some equivalent arrangement with the vendor may earn students a discount. eInstruction charges an additional fee for registering the unit. The toll of the keypad may be partially recovered in some cases by reselling the used unit to some other pupil or dorsum to the university bookstore.

Compatibility with Presentation Software.

Because many kinesthesia already use PowerPoint presentations in their classes, compatibility of the ARS software with PowerPoint is a crucial consideration. Some applications (iClicker) run alongside PowerPoint (Microsoft, Redmond, WA), having a toolbar floating above the PowerPoint presentation. Others are fully integrated as add-ins to PowerPoint, so question slides and response histograms are displayed within PowerPoint itself. Still others (Classroom Performance Organization; CPS and H-ITT) display PowerPoint and other applications in a window within their own software. For systems without full PowerPoint integration, questions may exist displayed on PowerPoint slides, but the responses are collected and displayed by the system software. With these systems, response data may not exist automatically correlated with the question, so the instructor must keep track of questions and reconstruct this clan later on the fact. iClicker resolves this problem by saving a screen image forth with the responses. Some systems have their own presentation software or their own screens for questions and respond selections. In these cases, questions and response data are associated, but the design of the slide may be more express than in PowerPoint, peculiarly with respect to the arrangement of graphics. This tin can be a handicap when graphics are used either for the question or for answer selections. A related issue is the utilise of screen space. Voting grids, response histograms, or questions may be superimposed over the presentation, obscuring information on the screen.

Information Reporting.

All systems are capable of collecting and saving all of the responses of each student (or keypad) to each question. The systems differ in the variety of summary reports and analyses they provide. Some permit questions to exist weighted differently; some allow regrading based on a revised ready of correct answers.

Registration and Reconciliation of Course Rosters.

The seamless transfer of data from the ARS software to an electronic spreadsheet or grade book requires reconciliation of the roster generated by the ARS with the bodily grade listing. If clickers are used every solar day in a large class, manual reconciliation of these data is not but time-consuming, just information technology increases the potential for error. Some systems now annunciate that they have a edifice block creating Blackboard/WebCT (Phoenix, AZ) compatibility. In principle, this should enable facile transfer of information from the ARS software into the instructor's records on the course management system, equally opposed to exporting a data file, reconciling the class roster, and and so importing the data into the class direction organisation.

Wireless Interference.

To avoid the potential of cross-talk between keypads in ane classroom and a receiver in a neighboring classroom, response systems generally accept the adequacy to be set to different channels. The process for changing channels differs, however, some being automatic and some requiring students to set their keypads to the designated channel at the showtime of each class. An associated consequence is the procedure for joining a class. For systems with a fixed roster, each keypad can be matched confronting the roster, and keypads in adjacent classrooms are ignored. For systems with a flexible roster, devious responses may exist nerveless from keypads operating on the aforementioned channel in neighboring classrooms. To avoid this, students are asked to join a session by entering a form ID or by selecting the class from a bill of fare of automatically detected receivers. Keypad manufacturers have adopted dissimilar strategies for avoiding interference with wireless microphones, wireless Cyberspace, and other RF devices. Apparently these strategies work; nosotros accept non experienced whatsoever such interference bug.

Polling and Quondam Employ.

When used in classes, clickers are normally registered, so each clicker can exist associated with a particular pupil. It is besides useful, however, to take clickers that can be used for polling the audience in i-fourth dimension events like seminars and meetings. In this example, it is necessary to have clickers that can be activated without registration or the need for a roster. Considering the unlike systems handle registration differently, the polling event may be handled in one of iii means. eInstruction requires online activation of each clicker, and then a separate ready of keypads must be purchased for polling use. Other systems require that clickers exist registered to exist recognized by the receiver, so regular keypads may exist used, merely their ID numbers must exist entered into the ARS software to create a roster before the upshot. For other systems (iClicker), no registration is necessary, and whatsoever keypad may be used for polling.

Training and Technical Back up.

Most of the clicker vendors have online technical support. Students find this helpful for solving registration issues. Depending on institutional support, faculty may also rely on technical support for training and assist in using the system software. Most vendors will transport someone to nowadays a sit-in of their ARS on campus, and this is worth doing before making an adoption decision.

Macintosh Version.

For those faculty who are Macintosh users (Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA), the timely availability of a Mac version, comparable to the current Windows version, is important. This consequence may diminish in significance with the appearance of Intel Cadre Duo processors (Mountain View, CA), allowing Apple computers to run both MacOS and Windows. Several of our faculty have already adopted this approach to using the latest clicker software without giving up their Macs for other applications.

Bundling with Textbooks.

Some keypad vendors have formed partnerships with publishers, so students tin purchase the keypad bundled with a popular textbook. Although this reduces the toll of the keypad to the student, nosotros believe that the keypad and textbook should be chosen individually on their own merits. The bundle should exist selected only in the happy circumstance when both the book and the keypad are the items of choice.

COMPARISON OF SYSTEMS

The currently available RF ARS differ in their performance in each of the above areas. We will discuss them in club of introduction with a description of unique features, toll data, and our cess of their strengths and weaknesses. Features of the six systems are compared directly in Table one.

Table 1.

Comparing of ARS

	CPS	Qwizdom	TurningPoint	Interwrite PRS	iClicker	H-ITT
RF Keypad
LCD screen	Yes: 3 line	Yep: 3 line	No	Aye: 2 line	No	No
Multiple choice	A–H	A–F	1–x	A–E, T/F	A–Eastward	A–J
Numeric	12 grapheme, decimal, +/−	xiii graphic symbol, decimal, fraction, +/−	No	0–nine, decimal, +/−	No	0–nine
Text	No	Yes (Q5 only)	No	No	No	No
Respond received indicator	LCD	LCD	Light-green lite	LCD	Green light	Light-green low-cal
Unit size	iv.75 × two.25 × 1.25″	Q4: six × ii.4 × 1.three″ Q5: half dozen × 3.v × 1.six″	3.3 × two.i × 0.3″	6 × 2.5 × 5″	6 × ii × 0.5″	5 × 3.five × 1″
Bombardment type	two AA; slide cover	Q4: 2 AA Q5: rechargeable batteries	ii CR2032; Screw cover	3 AAA	iii AAA, low bombardment low-cal	Ane 9-V battery (non included)
Suitability for polling	With prepaid registration	Yes	Yep	Yeah	Yep	Yeah
Instructor remote	No	Yes	No	No	Yep	No
IR keypad available	Aye	No	Yep	Yep	No	Yes
RF Receiver
LCD screen	No	No	No	No	Yep	No
USB connectedness	Yep	Yes	Yep	Yes + one 9-V battery	Yeah	Yes
Aqueduct choice	Default	Automatic	Default	Automatic	Default	Default
Unit size	four.25 × ii.6 × 1.5″	3.5 × 3.5 × 0.5″	3.7 × ane.1 × 0.iv″	4.i × 3.1 × one″	seven.5 × 4.9 × 1.seven″	seven × 5 × one.5″
Software
PowerPoint compatibility	Add-in (Windows only) App window	Add together-in	Add together-in	Add-in	Floating toolbar	App window
Data transfer to Excel	Via csv file	Via csv file	Via csv file	Via csv file	Via csv file	Using copy/paste
BB, WebCT, WebAssign	Building block	Via csv file	Building block	Building block	Via csv file	Via csv file
Operating system	Windows, MacOS	Windows, MacOS	Windows, MacOS	Windows, MacOS	Windows, MacOS native	Windows, MacOS, Linux
Other
Registration process	Web-based at eInstruction.com	In class	Locally hosted Enterprise Manager or Blackboard	In class	In class or Web-based	Electronic mail–based automatic system
Phone support	888-333-4988 Grand–Th, 7 am–6 pm; F, 7 am–5 pm, Central	800-347-3050	866-746-3015	800-344-4723 (Physician) 800-856-0732 (AZ)		888-322-0089
Web support	Conversation: M-F, 8 am–5 pmOnline: knowledge base	(Coming shortly)	Downloads: software and production guide manuals	Questions: users' forum, training video, users' guide	Documentation, users' guides, software downloads, demo, video clips, WebEx training	Documentation, FAQ, quick beginning, troubleshooting, best practices

Classroom Performance System from eInstruction

eInstruction (www.einstruction.com; 888-707-6819; Figure 1) introduced the start low-cost RF organisation in January 2005. Since then, pregnant improvements in PowerPoint integration, keypad blueprint, and price structure have kept CPS competitive with systems introduced more recently. eInstruction'south unique online registration makes for good roster generation, simply interferes with employ of the clickers in polling. McGraw-Colina is a publishing partner.

CPS receiver (left) and keypad.

Cost.

The keypad itself costs simply $16 net to the bookstore, but in that location is an boosted accuse for keypad registration each semester. Recently, CPS introduced a lifetime maximum registration fee: $15/term to a maximum of $60 or a one-time fee of $50. For campuses that standardize on CPS, the registration price is $13/term to a maximum of $39 or a 1-time fee of $35. Registration includes all of the courses in which the educatee is enrolled that semester.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The new keypad, introduced this past September, has an LCD screen providing students with confirmation of their answers. Like the earlier keypad, it permits numeric responses including a decimal bespeak and a negative sign. eInstruction is unique in charging for registration of the unit, but the recently introduced "Capped Pupil Pay Per Usage Plan" has significantly reduced the lifetime toll. CPS makes proficient use of screen infinite. The voting grid is displayed below the PowerPoint slide. When the response histogram appears, the PowerPoint slide shrinks slightly to make room, then there is no overlap. We have had fantabulous feel with eInstruction's technical back up by phone. Online registration of keypads is easy and effective. A Blackboard building cake is available to facilitate transfer of information from CPS to the class gradebook. Alternatively, student scores and omnipresence tin can be uploaded to the eInstruction server where students can view grades.

In Nov 2006, eInstruction introduced CPS for PowerPoint, which provides full integration with PowerPoint. A CPS menu bar, displayed as an add together-in to PowerPoint, allows the user to create question slides easily. This version is only available for Windows, however. Macintosh users must however employ the older CPS software, which is not completely integrated with PowerPoint. This means that, when using PowerPoint, instructors must use the "verbal question" option. As a outcome, although the responses are recorded, the question itself is not saved with the information. Alternately, PowerPoint slides tin can be imported into CPS, simply slides cannot exist edited. It is also possible to run CPS in parallel with PowerPoint. In this example, CPS displays questions in a relatively rigid and quite limited format. Figures cannot be resized. Withal, any text entered in this style, even as an impromptu "verbal question," is saved as part of the CPS data. Considering keypads must be registered, single-utilise audition polling requires a special set of preregistered keypads. The ordinary pupil keypads require registration for keypad activation, and this precludes their utilize for former events.

Qwizdom

Qwizdom introduced RF keypads with its Q4 model (www.qwizdom.com; 1-800-347-3050; Figure 2) in early 2005. The company has recently introduced a more sophisticated RF keypad—the Q5 version—and has discontinued its Q3 line of IR clickers. Qwizdom's proprietary slide designer, Interact, functions similarly to PowerPoint. PowerPoint slides can exist imported into Interact every bit picture files. Equally such, they cannot be edited. Alternately, Qwizdom's Actionpoint software functions every bit an add-in to PowerPoint and appears as a toolbar. Keypads are registered in grade by entering the student ID and class ID. If a unit is used in only ane grade, the student needs to enter the class ID but on the outset use. If the unit of measurement is used in more than one class, this must be done at each session. Pearson Education, Thomson, Wiley, and Houghton Mifflin are listed as publishing partners.

Qwizdom Q4 student keypad (left), Q5 instructor keypad (heart), and receiver.

Toll.

The Q4 keypad is $49 to the bookstore; instructor packages (Q5 instructor remote, receiver and recharger, software, cables and documentation) price $525. These prices may be negotiated upon adoption.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The Qwizdom system features more than all-encompassing advice between the teacher and students than the other systems. The student keypad is unique in its ability to send a indicate to the teacher's remote. The LCD panel shows the student the answer entered, whether the answer has been received and (if the teacher and so chooses) whether the answer is right or wrong. In improver, it displays the correct/incorrect count for the session. The Q5 keypad is larger than the Q4 and permits text-based answers equally well as true/fake, multiple pick, and numeric entries. The Q5 unit uses rechargeable batteries. Using either unit, a student can signal a question; the LCD on the instructor'south keypad lists the students who have questions. The instructor'due south keypad, a Q5 model, may also be used to navigate between presentation slides, break and play media, pose spontaneous questions, view a private response graph, or reveal the graph to the unabridged class. It as well allows option of a student at random.

Data tin can be imported into Blackboard or WebCT through a comma separated variable (csv) file, but a Blackboard edifice block is non bachelor. Macintosh software is limited.

TurningPoint from Turning Technologies

Turning Technologies introduced their credit-card sized RF keypad (www.turningtechnologies.com; 866-746-3015; Figure 3) in June 2005. With its pocket-sized keypad and seamless PowerPoint integration, the TurningPoint organisation looks quite advanced technically. TurningPoint features superb compatibility with PowerPoint: a TurningPoint menu bar appears just below the PowerPoint carte bar. Questions are entered directly into PowerPoint slides. Once the type of question is selected, text boxes for answer choices announced automatically. The TurningPoint keypad, called a ResponseCard, is the smallest unit of measurement bachelor. The receiver unit is also modest, well-nigh the size of a flash retentivity drive. The keypad has 12 buttons including x labeled A–J and 0–9. It does not have a decimal bespeak or +/−, notwithstanding, and does non have numeric answers. Lacking an LCD screen, the keypad has a green light (LED) to alert students that their answer has been received. A Blackboard building block is available, and it allows students to register their keypads in Blackboard. Educatee data may also be transferred to class management systems through a csv consign file. Thomson Learning and Glencoe/McGraw Loma are listed as publishing partners.

TurningPoint receiver (left) and keypad (right).

Cost.

The bookstores' toll for ResponseCards is $48 or $44 if the institution has standardized on TurningPoint.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The great force of the TurningPoint ARS is the seamless integration with PowerPoint. Because the questions, voting grid, and response histograms are all displayed on the PowerPoint slide, they practise non obscure each other. The receiver can be set to collect responses either from any keypad or merely from keypads on a specific course list. Therefore, the aforementioned keypads may be used for single-event polling and for regular classes. TurningPoint offers sophisticated analysis of pupil response information. A Macintosh version of the software has simply been released.

The small keypads are not very robust in our experience. Nosotros have experienced intermittent reception of responses fifty-fifty under very controlled circumstances. The keypad lacks an LCD screen, and then communication back to the educatee is limited to an LED. In add-on, registration can be more cumbersome than with some of the other systems. The proprietary registration software, the Enterprise Managing director, must be hosted on a local Windows server.

InterWrite PRS from GTCO Calcomp

The Personal Response System (PRS) was introduced by EduCue in an IR version. The RF version (world wide web.gtco.com/prs.htm; 800-344-4723 or 410-381-6688; Figure 4) was introduced after EduCue was acquired by GTCO Calcomp in October 2005. Keypad registration is washed in class past inbound educatee ID and the course ID. Keypads can be programmed as pupil keypads (permanently programmed with pupil's ID) or as loaners (pupil ID entered for each session). The student keypads are meant to be purchased by the student; the loaner keypads may be distributed by the teacher to students who forget, misplace, or have other problems with their own keypad. Loaner keypads may also be used for polling audiences at ane-time events.

Cost.

Keypads are $35 to the bookstore; receiver units are $177. Software is licensed to the institution when the units are purchased, and updates are also gratuitous.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The keypads are quite sophisticated and permit a wide variety of answer entries including multiple selection, true/false, and numeric. They also accommodate multiple right answers and rank ordering. The keypad has a unique design with separate keys for T/F, A–East, and numerical answers, with decimal point and negative sign adequacy. It is as well the only organization that allows the pupil to indicate a confidence level for each respond. The LCD screen shows the reply being submitted and indicates when the answer is received. PRS software is fully integrated as an add-in to PowerPoint. A edifice block is available for transferring information to Blackboard; alternatively, information tin can be exported in a csv file.

iClicker

iClicker (www.iclicker.com; Figure 5), designed by physicists at the Academy of Illinois, is a good simple system. The simplicity makes the system easy to utilise and also means that there is less to go incorrect. The keypad, having merely five reply buttons (A–E) and an on/off button, does not offer the range of responses possible with some of the more sophisticated systems. The buttons, however, are large and well spaced, so students are less probable to enter the wrong answer past accident. The menu bar floats on top of the other applications, and then it is always accessible regardless of the other applications being used. iClicker features a console-style receiver with an LCD display. The LCD gives the instructor a preview of student responses, which the teacher may apply to decide whether or not to share the response distribution with the class. A prissy feature is that the instructor's keypad can function equally a remote command for PowerPoint so the teacher is free to motion about the classroom or lecture hall. This does defeat the usefulness of the pupil response feedback displayed on the receiver, and it would non be an reward to instructors who use wireless tablets equally remote controls. iClicker is now owned past Holtzbrinck Publishers. Other publishing partners listed are Farrar Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt & Company, Westward. H. Freeman and Worth Publishers, Palgrave Macmillan, Bedford/St. Martin'south, Picador, Roaring Beck Press, St. Martin's Press, Tor Books, Scientific American, Nature, and Bedford Freeman & Worth.

iClicker receiver (left) and keypad (right).

Cost.

The student keypad is $25 to the bookstore; base receivers are $300, but are provided at no cost for every 100 students. Software is included with hardware purchase.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The software saves screenshots at the time of polling, a feature that is useful for identifying questions, particularly when the instructor poses impromptu questions. The software will too display response distributions for more than one question at a time, allowing for comparison. This may be used, for example, to show the class their collective answers to a question before and later a discussion. The software is native on both Windows and MacOS. The software adds a small carte bar to the screen without interfering with the presentation software. Compatibility with PowerPoint, Discussion, Wink, and other applications is practiced. The executable software and data can be stored on a flash memory drive that plugs into the receiver unit. Therefore, if the classroom is equipped with a computer and receiver, the instructor demand bring only the flash memory drive. This may be a desirable selection, given the relatively large size of the receiver.

The simplicity of the arrangement has some inconveniences. Invalid answers (e.g., East in response to a true/false question) are not excluded, and so students can accidentally or intentionally enter meaningless responses. The keypad lacks an LCD brandish, although the voting grid displayed on the screen tin exist set to show students the answers they accept selected. Both the voting grid and the response histogram superimpose over PowerPoint, so questions may be obscured from view.

H-ITT

H-ITT (Hyper-Interactive Education Engineering science; world wide web.h-itt.com; 321-576-0396) has been marketing IR systems since 2001; their first RF system (Figure 6) was introduced on October ix, 2006. The RF keypads come up in three colors and have 10 answer keys (A–J or 0–nine). A new, more compact keypad is scheduled for introduction before the beginning of the 2007–2008 academic year. H-ITT uses ii split proprietary applications: Conquering and Analyzer. To register, students ship their instructor an email message containing the student'south name, the pupil'due south ID, and the unit of measurement serial number. The ARS software and so mines the information in these messages and creates a class roster. The software accommodates loaner keypads for students who fail to bring their clicker to class. Pearson: Addison Wesley; Benjamin Cummings, Prentice Hall, Longman, Custom Publishing; Kendall/Hunt Publishing; and Jones & Bartlett Publishers are listed as publishing partners.

H-ITT keypads (left) and receiver (right).

Cost.

RF keypads are $35 to the bookstore; receiver units are $295. Software is included with hardware buy.

Strengths and Weaknesses.

The H-ITT system makes constructive utilize of screen space. PowerPoint slides are displayed on one side, and the voting grid and response histograms appear on the other, then naught is hidden from view. The software is truly cross-platform with native operation on Macintosh, Windows, and Linux, yielding identical appearance. The ARS software will automatically eastward-post results to each pupil. Data can be exported as a csv file for transfer to Blackboard and WebCT.

The PowerPoint compatibility of the H-ITT system is non as sophisticated as that of some of the other products. A third-political party integrated PowerPoint called RxShow is available for purchase from Socratec.com. The keypad lacks an LCD screen.

MOVING TOWARD A CAMPUS-WIDE CONSENSUS

Why should an institution prefer a single clicker? Kickoff, it reduces the cost to students. Wayne State is an urban university with a large number of working and scholarship students, then keeping costs low is a loftier priority. Nosotros cannot enquire students to buy a different clicker (or a different clicker/textbook bundle) for each class. For the establishment, standardization reduces the number of systems the academy needs to support in terms of faculty preparation, compatibility with form direction tools, and other technical support problems. Standardization likewise has advantages for faculty. They need only learn a single system, and colleagues can more readily share presentations, technical tricks, and techniques for processing class data. Graduate instruction assistants practise not have to become familiar with unlike systems as they teach in different courses each semester.

The process of choosing a campus-wide clicker organisation needs to exist managed carefully, with input from faculty, students, and the many university offices that will be involved in supporting the arrangement. At some institutions, the adoption of a standard system has been managed by the role responsible for instructional technology or pedagogy and learning. At Wayne State, the initiative to examination and apply clicker systems has been largely faculty-driven. Kinesthesia are the master users, so an ARS must satisfy their expectations if it is to be widely and finer used. We take been careful, however, to involve our Office of Pedagogy and Learning (responsible for training), Estimator and Instructional Applied science (responsible for technical support), and Media Services (responsible for classroom engineering science). These units must provide guidance as to which clicker systems they can best support, and they must make up one's mind how they will provide that back up. The campus bookstore also needs to be kept informed and then that, assured of continued demand, it will stock enough keypads and be willing to buy back and resell used ones. In some cases, different buy options are available (keypad simply or keypad and registration), and the bookstore must stock the correct option or the advisable mix.

At Wayne State, we hope to adopt a campus-wide ARS this twelvemonth, but we take non yet done so. Despite the compelling reasons for standardization, there are good reasons for proceeding with caution. First, it is important to test a clicker system in the classroom to see if information technology works as expected in your environment. 2d, if faculty accept a bad beginning feel with clickers, they will be reluctant to use them over again. Therefore, information technology is imperative that technical support and training exist available and that clicker operation match faculty expectations earlier widespread utilise is encouraged. Finally, the proliferation of RF systems and rapid improvement in features mean that the organisation that seems best today may be outmoded tomorrow. Thus, it can be a swell claiming to achieve campus-wide consensus for a unmarried ARS, and it is certainly a expert idea to reevaluate the clicker choice on a regular footing. Like Mac versus PC, the choice of a clicker organization is probable to be an issue that we will debate for years to come.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Figures ii, ​ four, and ​ 6 are courtesy of Qwizdom, GTCO Calcomp, and H-ITT LLC, respectively.

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Articles from CBE Life Sciences Education are provided here courtesy of American Guild for Jail cell Biological science

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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1810208/

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