Lectures Get Interactive with Clicker Technology
November 2007
If you haven't been in a clicker-classroom yet, you're missing out on the fun. And chances are, you'll get to participate soon.
The Student Response System (SRS), also referred to as clickers, is a hardware and software system that allows instructors to pose questions and gather students' responses during a lecture. The clicker nickname comes about because of the remote control device students use to answer posed questions.
Students say that responding to lecture questions in this way helps them better understand subject matter. They are also a great way to get to know fellow classmates.
"No student can concentrate on calculus for 50 minutes straight," says Martina Bode, Mathematics senior lecturer. "I like to break up the class and make a team atmosphere."
And students agree. Recent polls from Bode's class indicates 84 percent of students feel that the clicker system helps them enjoy class more than traditional formats, and 88 percent feel it helps them better understand the subject matter.
"The technology allows me to make 10 teams in class and they compete to win a prize at the end of class," Bode says. "Talking in small groups gives students a chance to catch up if they got lost, explain, or ask questions about the material. The team approach works nicely."
Bode says she believes the response system is a major factor in the high attendance of her calculus classes, nearly 90 percent for every session.
