iClicker

=**iClicker**=


 * [[image:DSC02879.JPG width="222" height="372" align="left" caption="iclicker"]] || The iclicker is a streamlined Radio Frequency (RF) classroom response system (CRP) used to facilitate teaching and promote interactively learning. The iclicker operates using hardware and software that interact with one another. The instructor is provided with an iclicker base unit, or receiver port, which is powered by a computer’s USB port. The base unit has a built-in LCD screen that allows the instructor to read students’ responses in real time as they’re being submitted.

Students are equipped with the iclicker remote, which acts as the transmitter device. The iclicker is powered by 3AAA batteries, which provide approximately 200 hours of battery life. If the device is accidentally left on, the clicker is programmed to shut off automatically after 90 seconds.

Unlike the base unit, the clickers do not come with an LCD screen. Students’ are unable to view which button they pressed. The only indication they have to know that they keyed in a response is by a green light indicates that their response has been received. If the indicator light flashes red, which indicates that a student needs to vote again. ||

=**History**=

In the late 1980’s, classroom response systems, also known as “audience response systems” or “personal response systems”, were invented in hopes of increasing student participation in the class. Traditional approaches to personal response systems were by means of flashcard, or by allowing students to simply raise their hands to respond to questions.

With the advancements of technology and communication devices, different methods for capturing real-time responses were developed. The most widely used means for capturing data nowadays are through radio frequency, infrared, or wired connections.

In 1997, the Physics Department at the University of Illinois developed the streamlined radio frequency classroom response system called the iclicker. Wiley, a provider and supporter for higher education resources and materials praised this new technology by stating that the iclicker “…combines a commitment to pedagogy with the latest technology—offering instructors and students the features and functionality they need to succeed in an interactive classroom of any size.”

Higher Education institutions nationwide have integrated the iclicker into their curriculum. Universities who are actively using the iclicker personal response system include the University of Hawaii, Montana State University, the University of New Mexico, Cornell University, and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

=**Impact on Teaching and Learning**=

There are many advantages to using a classroom response system like iclicker. A reason why an instructor might want to integrate this classroom technology into their curriculum is because of the benefits it provides to student learning. Derek Bruff, Assistant Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching and Learning, provides a list of the benefits, and discusses why teachers should use a classroom response system. He states that teachers should use classroom response systems to:

"· ...**Maintain students’ attention during a lecture**. Studies show that most people’s attention lapses after 10 to 18 minutes of passive listening. Inserting a few CRS-facilitated activities every so often during a lecture can help maintain students’ attention.... · **“Promote active student engagement during a lecture**. Posing well-chosen questions to students during lecture and expecting answers from each student can cause students to reflect on and assimilate course content during class. · ...**Promote discussion and collaboration among students during class** with group exercises that require students to discuss and come to a consensus. · ...**Encourage participation from each and every student in a class**. Asking a question verbally and calling on the first student to raise his or her hand results in one student participating. A CRS-facilitated activity can involve not one, but all of the students in the class. · ...**Create a safe space for shy and unsure students to participate in class**. A CRS gives students a chance to respond to a teacher’s question silently and privately, enabling student who might not typically speak up in class to express their thoughts and opinions. A CRS also enables students to respond anonymously to sensitive ethical, legal, and moral questions. · ...**Check for student understanding during class**. By asking CRS-facilitated questions, teachers can determine if students understand important points or distinctions raised in class. They need not wait until homework is turned in or exams are completed to do so. Instead they can receive feedback on a lecture during that same lecture. · ...**Teach in a way that adapts to the immediate learning needs of his or her students**. If a histogram of student answers shows that a significant number of students chose wrong answers to a question, then the teacher can revisit or clarify the points he or she just made in class. If a histogram shows that most students chose the correct answers to a question, then the teacher can move on to another topic.”

=**Practical Applications**=

iclickers are versatile tools that can be used in many ways in the classroom. Below is a list of the most popular methods for using the iclicker as a classroom response system:

> Are you here today?”, and using their clickers, they can key in “A” for yes.
 * **Attendance**: Taking attendance of a class is done quickly with the iclicker. Instead of passing around a sheet for the students to sign, the instructor can simply ask the students, “
 * **Polling:** The iclicker comes with software that allows the base unit to connect to the instructor’s computer through a USB port. If an instructor were to poll a group of students, the percentages of responses could be projected to the screen in real time. Results are presented as historgrams, or bar graphs.
 * **Questions:** Instructors have the capability to gain instant feedback about questions directed to students. These questions include factual questions to determine whether or not students have been keeping up with their assigned class readings, conceptual questions to see if students understand key concepts presented in class, opinion questions to evaluate how the majority of the students respond to moral or ethical issues and situations, or for questions asking for predictions about science or other related experiments that require a hypothesis.

=**Examples or Demonstrations**=

At the University of Hawaii, students enrolled in Biology 171 are actively engaging in the use of a personal response system through the iclicker. At the beginning of each class period, the instructor posts quiz questions, and the students are then required to key in their responses.

Edric Torio, a student at the University of Hawaii expresses his thoughts about the iclicker. He states, “I think that the iclicker is very helpful in class. With the iclicker you are able to test yourself to see whether or not you understand the material your professor is teaching you. It lets students participate when lecture classes are large. What I like most about the iclicker is that it makes answering questions with the clicker feel like you’re in a game show. I also like the anonymity it provides.”

=**References**=


 * 1) Caldwell, J.E. (2007). [|Clickers in the large classroom: Current research and best-practice tips]. //Life Sciences Education//, 6(1), 9-20.
 * 2) Simpson, V., & Oliver, M. [|//Using electronic voting systems in lectures//]. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
 * 3) Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/resources/teaching_resources/technology/crs.htm#what
 * 4) __WIleyCLICKS! Classroom Response Systems__. http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-103701.html

=**External Link**=


 * 1) iclicker. [|http://www.iclicker.com]
 * 2) Wiley Higher Education. http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/

=**Author**=

Nikie Reyes, Masters Student Educational Technology College of Education University of Hawaii E-mail: njreyes@hawaii.edu