Clickers (Student Response Systems)

Welcome back for the Spring 2008 Semester!

Our second semester with the campus  pilot using 'clickers' from Turning Technologies, follows many months of research, testing, and discussion. There is a lot of excitement about starting another semester with this new technology. Faculty experiences with clickers last semester are detailed in the Academic Technologies Fall 2007 Newsletter which can be downloaded here (2.7MB .pdf file).

In spring 2007, faculty were using at least 4 different clicker systems. One faculty member was using the eInstruction clickers; several faculty in the physics department were using  iClicker; others were using the H-ITT infrared system, and a small number were using the older Turning Point clickers.

To better support clickers in all Smart (mediated) Classrooms and to allow all students to purchase the same brand, a faculty committee working with Academic Technologies selected Turning Point XR clickers for a one-year pilot program that began in fall 2007.  A presentation given to the University Technology Advisory Committee (UTAC) supporting the clicker choice can be found here (300k .pdf file)

The response to the pilot was overwhelming, and more than 2,000 clickers were purchased by students and used by approximately 40 faculty. This was a much larger pilot program than anticipated and was not without difficulties. Academic Technologies staff was stretched thin supporting this large pilot program. In addition, a hardware problem with the clickers was encountered after a few weeks. Turning Point responded by sending hardware engineers to campus to identify, resolve, and upgrade the firmware in all of the students' clickers. Since the upgrade, the performance of the clickers has been remarkably free of any additional problems.

Executives at the highest levels of Turning Technologies have maintained a constant dialog with Academic Technologies to ensure that the pilot program goes as smoothly as possible. This partnership between CSU, Chico and Turning Technologies has been beneficial for the University through a continuous feedback process.

Late in the semester, a Technology in Learning and Teaching (TILT) session was convened in which faculty using the clickers shared their experiences with clickers in their classrooms. The experience was positive all around. One faculty member, surveyed his students and asked if he should use clickers again next semester. One hundred percent responded, yes! At the end of the semester, Turning Technologies executives attended a second faculty session to hear specific concerns and address any open issues. Once again, the responses were largely positive with faculty offering good suggestions for product improvements. As we start this semester, we have seen some faculty leave the pilot program, but additional faculty have adopted the Turning Point clickers. We have learned much from our initial experiences. As with incorporating any technology into the classroom, careful thought must be given to how to implement clickers in the classroom. Based on some of the experiences of faculty during the last semester, we make the following recommendations:

1. Take small steps - the product is very rich and there are many features. Limit your clicker use to simple activities until both you and your students are comfortable with the technology.

2. Plan to spend additional time implementing clickers into your class. It takes quite a bit of planning to effectively use clickers.

3. Put up a check-in slide at the start of each class. Have the students check in to make sure their clickers are working and on the correct channel.

4. Have an alternate plan. Students lose their clickers, forget them, or, as with all technology, something fails. Make sure you are prepared with a plan B for those circumstances.

If you have questions or experience difficulties, please contact the friendly staff in the Technology and Learning Program (TLP ) for assistance. Have a great semester!

Current Keypad version is 0.4.7
There may be some keypads with outdated versions of the software installed on them. You can check the version in the Setup Menu. If it is anything other than 0.4.7, go to the computer lab on the first floor of the Library and ask at the front desk.

Room and Channel Assignments can be found here.

Online introductory training is available! Register here.

Specifications for the new Response Card XR can be found here.

The Classroom Technologies team will be supporting the necessary infrastructure for clickers in all Smart Classrooms. Individual departments may want to upgrade their labs/classrooms to support clickers. Departments are eligible for campus discounts. For information and quotes on purchasing contact our Turning Technologies sales representative:

Elissa D. Shaner
Account Executive - Higher Education
Turning Technologies LLC.
241 Federal Plaza West
Youngstown, Ohio 44503
Direct: 330-884-6046
Cell: 330-307-2966
Fax: 330-884-6065

click here to email Elissa.

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