One of the new technologies (at least new to us) that we have been experimenting with recently are clickers. Clickers are response systems that allow instructors to make their classes more interactive. Students are given a remote control with buttons that correspond with the answer choices given by the instructor on their screen. The instructor has the main system where they plug in their questions and collect the information the students submit.
There are different companies who offer these systems, so depending on the type of system you choose, the set up and use could be a bit different. The clickers that are being used on our campus are provided by iClicker. Right now, we have a small population of faculty who have implemented these in their classroom. A few are implementing them in their large classes (100 or more students) which provides a new way to incorporate interaction in large classes and to require participation.
Towards the end of this semester, we are going to be conducting a research study to find out the uses and perceptions of clickers from the perspectives of students and faculty. We plan to administer 2 questionnaires (1 for faculty and 1 for students) to gage how they feel clickers impacts teaching and learning, so more on this subject later…
Remote Response System Brings Technology Into the Classroom
The Instructional Technologist's Blog 