Clickers are wireless handheld devices that allow students to respond to classroom polls and quizzes, regardless of class size. These remote-like gadgets transmit individual student responses to an instructor’s laptop to record and even share these results directly back to the class. Instructors can also use this data to customize their lessons for each learning group.
Clickers can:
- • increase class participation and improve attendance;
• spark debate and discussion in class; and
• identify students who need additional assistance
For more information, please visit the clickers section on the e-Learning website and the iClicker website.
Also, check out the Educause 7 Things You Should Know About Clickers resource and the Clicker Resource Guide: An Instructors Guide to the Effective Use of Personal Response Systems (Clickers) in Teaching. You can also read this article where Nobel Laureate Dr. Carl Wieman discusses the need to revolutionalize science teaching pedagogy by incorporating technology (such as the clickers) into teaching and learning.
Instructors wanting to use clickers should contact clicker.support@ubc.ca to receive a free instructor kit. This kit includes an instructor remote and a USB flash drive, which contains the UBC’s custom iClicker software. Many classrooms on campus are already equipped for iClicker use, check to see if your classroom is currently an iClicker-enabled room.
