Pedagogy
The higher education research literature is vigorous in its promotion of interactive learning models that provide opportunities for bi-directional communication, rapid responsiveness, performance feedback, and reflection. However, only one side of this exchange of ideas, information and feedback, is supported by traditional classroom technologies designed primarily for "pushing" a lecture out from one instructor to many students. Fortunately, the new generation of clicker technologies now supports a complementary "pull" of attention and information in from many students to one instructor. Interactive pedagogies resulting in more effective feedback, increased engagement, and improved conceptual learning are now easier to establish, particularly in large classes.
Although engaging lectures can be provided without the use of clickers, these devices can make old strategies easier and provide opportunities to support learning in ways simply not possible in the past. Instructors often try to gauge the level of understanding in the classroom by asking a question and then noting the frequency of hands in the air or furrows in the brows. Clickers enable instructors to gather a response from everyone in the room quickly and anonymously. Displaying the distribution of answers allows instructors to discover the quality of understanding at the same time as students are locating their knowledge relative to course expectations and their peers. This use of clickers tends to create "teachable moments", when the class is engaged with the material, curious about the diversity of responses, perhaps willing to discuss issues with peers, and "ripe" for their understanding to be refined.
By recording the responses of individual students at least two new tools become available in very large classes. First, the ability to give credit for participation which can support students who invest in coming to class prepared. Secondly, it is likely that honest answers and thoughtful questions will accumulate quite early in the term which will sketch the trajectory of academic success in the course.
Technology
Clickers are hand-held radio-frequency transmitters that resemble a TV remote. Instructors ask structured questions in class and students register their answer by pressing the appropriate button. Answers are detected by a receiver and compiled by computer software for display and saving. “Click records” for individual students can be maintained and exported in various types of reports for analysis or posting online.
Although a growing number of clicker technologies are available, Western only provides central ITS support for the Interwrite Personal Response Systems using Radio Frequency (PRS). All faculty members who are interested in using clickers are encouraged to adopt this standard. You can find an adoption form at the bottom of this page.
In the classroom, the PRS system has five components:
- Computer: this can be a Mac, Linux, or Windows computer (either a laptop or the classroom’s built-in computer).
- Projector: again, portable or built-in.
- Software: PRS software installed on the computer.
- Receiver: either installed in the classroom or connected to the computer using a USB cable.
- Clickers: students purchase these units in the Bookstore and input their UWO username.
The PRS system provides the tools for building class lists, constructing questions, running classroom sessions, storing click records, generating reports, and operating with PowerPoint. The PRS system can operate in tandem with PowerPoint or as a stand-alone application.
Administrative
Adoption of clickers in a course (particularly for marks) raises some important administrative concerns. Clicker questions can be prepared on slides as part of a PowerPoint lecture or they can be entered directly into the Interwrite PRS software. Students will need to be educated on the technical and pedagogic use of the technology and the Course Outline will need to explain "the rules" of acceptable use. For each lecture in which click records are recorded, session data is generated. This data can then be brought into any type of "Gradebook" the instructor is using in the course. Students are understandably interested in checking the clicker questions against their responses and this data can be posted on-line.
Costs
There are no costs to the course for clicker use. Students purchase clickers (about $50 per clicker) in the Bookstore. A single clicker can be used in all courses where the instructor is using PRS technology. All clicker instructors receive a package that contains the software, a clicker, and a receiver free of charge. If the classroom has a built-in computer, the University will install the PRS software and receiver.
Training & Tech Support
Training, Video Tutorials, User’s Guides, and Tech Support are available from Interwrite’s website (interwritelearning.com). Locally, the ITS HelpDesk in Natural Sciences provides on-campus tech support for students and instructors. Faculty training is available through the Teaching Support Center. The Clicker User’s Group meets regularly to share experiences - all instructors using clickers will automatically be added to the WebCT OWL area for the group.
- PRS Instructor User's Guide
- PRS Clicker User's Guide
- PRS Video Tutorials (Provided by Interwrite.com)
- UWO ITS Help Desk
- WebCT OWL
User's Guides require the Adobe Acrobat Reader
Clicker Adoption Form
There are several clicker technologies currently available, often marketed by publishers as ancillary technologies supporting specific textbook adoptions. Rather than having students buy different clickers for different courses, Western has opted for a campus-wide standard technology called the Personal Response System, PRS, provided by Interwrite Learning. This system has a wide range of features, runs on Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems, and can be used with, or without, PowerPoint presentation software.
Please fill out the following form to begin the instructor registration process.
