Clickers

Clickers

• 1.
  Click it tostick it… or how UMD adopted the Personal Response System
• 2.
  The challengeImage from:http://www.english.ucla.edu/faculty/mcgurl/bored%20students%202.JPG
• 3.
  Goals for largelecture classesIncrease student engagementIncrease learning and retentionEarly target classesBiologyEducationPsychologyLargest class at UMD: 320
• 4.
  Our intrepid crew– stage 1Faculty technology teamCross functional, multi-college teamInformation Technology ConsultantsInstructional Development ServicesFaculty membersCollegiate academic directorsAdvise on purchase and development of teaching technologyTechnology training development
• 5.
  PedagogiesPose a questionsfor class to answer in writing … answer revealed during class as mini-lectures or as the culmination of the lectureHaving students solve a problem in pairs, answer passed forward, then worked by the professor
• 6.
  DrawbacksDifficult to evaluateclass responses while in classIf students don’t see results of their interaction, engagement drops off
• 7.
  Technical SolutionPersonal/student responsesystem (aka “clickers”)
• 8.
  Overview of clickersystemsImage from: http://www.essex.ac.uk/elen/student/images/prs-image.gif
• 9.
  Phase 2 -Pilot ProjectsFaculty from the Faculty Technology Team start testing with help from the Classroom Management teamSmall classroomsWired systems firstInfra-red systems for checkoutSuccessful and began to spread over a couple of years – Chancellor’s small grants, tech fee grants
• 10.
  Great! …. But……Different departments bought different systems – hard to support and trainRegistration of clickers done each classMoving around and setting up timeLoss of response unitsDifficult for faculty to assess individual studentsInfra-red systems often did not read accurately
• 11.
  Phase 3 -Time for a campus solutionSystems had become robust and attractiveIntegration with PowerPointRadio units available and reasonably pricedTextbook and clicker bundlesSystem vendors willing to talk about standard file formatsCampus buzzCommitment from our original departments
• 12.
  But which one?Radiovs. IRCost to studentSizeRange/accuracy in large lecture hallsType of inputs (multiple choice, T/F, numbers)Ease of use for instructorsRegistration of unitsIntegration with PowerPointIntegration with other systemsTextbook vendors bundles
• 13.
  New players takeoverClassroom technology management teamInformation Technology staffWork closely with facilities management
• 14.
  How to decide??Askedfaculty currently using systemsVendors presentations in open meetingsAttendees at these meetings rated each vendorExample sets loaned out for department meetingsBookstore manager recruited to work on bundled/unbundled options
• 15.
  In the background…..Application developers worked on how to register each clicker for a classHow to import scores from a class session into the campus-wide grade calculation and reporting program
• 16.
  Phase 4 -Integration and Training phaseInstructional Development Service offers workshops on teaching with clickersOnline training materials on how to use the tools developedClickers added as a instructional topic in Tech CampExperienced faculty do presentations or discussions at other events
• 17.
  But did wesucceed???Anecdotal evidence from faculty is positiveMore students participate in the large lecture classesFaculty have a better sense of the class’s understanding during classGrades or other measures??