Clickers

Classroom response systems (“clickers”) are increasing in use in higher education and K-12 environments as well as in other polling environments. Research has shown that they increase student engagement and have a positive effect on student attendance and learning outcomes.

Use of clicker technology allows instructors to “poll” their students during the course of a lecture or discussion. This allows students to respond anonymously to content or opinion questions, and when used with collaborative learning techniques also encourages peer learning. Instructors can easily assess student comprehension, which allows the opportunity for quick intervention if it becomes obvious certain concepts are not clear. In addition, immediate viewing of student responses can serve as a springboard for classroom discussion. Some instructors rely on clickers for taking attendance in large classes.

UA faculty comments about clicker use:

• I have had several students comment that they thoroughly enjoyed the lectures with the clickers. I plan on using them in all classes.
• Very helpful in large sections in determining student understanding and increasing attendance.
• In this majors course I can be more certain that the students are understanding critcal concepts.

UA student comments about clicker use:

• Can still answer questions wrong without being embarrassed.
• The clicker forced me to go to class and pay attention in class because I never knew what question would be asked on the material we had learned.
• It allows the instructor to understand how much the class knows in a matter of seconds, so the instructor can focus on the material that is not fully understood and skim the material the majority of the class understands.
• It encouraged student discussions
• It is a fun, interactive way to learn.
• I appreciate the ability to see where I am and what my weaknesses are.
• It allowed the whole class to answer questions and therefore the teacher could see if we were not understanding the material as a whole. Then if we weren’t he would explain it better. So I think it helped a lot because people don’t normally want to speak.

Information Request

Fill out this form if you need assistance with clickers or need additional resources.

Clicker Task Aids

Faculty Guides

• eInstruction download site (links to CPS user's guides and software)
• Video Guide - Downloading CPS Software
• Getting Started with CPS 5 for PC
• Annotated Setup Guide (installation and registration)
  

Student Guides

• Video Guide - Registering Your Clicker
• Video Guide - Enrolling into Your Class
• Pulse Clicker (gray) - Getting Started Guide
• Gen 2 Clicker (blue & white) - Getting Started Guide
• Pulse Clicker - User's Guide
• Clicker Troubleshooting Guide (for students)

Clicker Support

Please contact Litsa Varonis x2541 or Jamie Newhall x8290 for a demonstration. e-mail