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Clickers Redefining Classrooms
markmcb writes "It seems that teachers may have a new way to boost classroom participation using a device called a clicker. A clicker is a small handheld device that allows its user to wirelessly respond to various prompts selected by a teacher. So when a teacher wants opinions on topics that people tend to shy away from like sex, religion, and politics, the question can be asked and the students can answer anonymously via the clicker. Everything from a simple poll to a graded quiz can be conducted using the device. In the age of cell phones and wireless computers such a technology is likely to be well-received by students, but one can't help but wonder if such a device will breed less assertive graduates who lack the will to stand up and voice their opinion on sensitive issues."
One of the best parts about class for me is actually speaking my mind and not being afraid to do it. This would just make people more shy if you ask me. Not a very good way to prepare kids for the real world! There won't be clickers at the office.
This is just great. Lets teach our kids how to close their brains even more. Instead of using the wonderfully flexible english language, these kids are going to down to a couple of choices. A, B or C.
Fantastic.
In a physics course I took at Univ of Arizona, we had these in class. They were supposed to be used as a daily quiz to see if we had actually read. Instead, the system was never properly setup, and there was a fight between the department (which, IMHO, has problems of its own) and the company who made the clickers. The damned things (which cost like $30, IIRC) didn't work til sometime around November, when the course was about to end anyway. And when they "worked", they never recorded student answers properly NOR did they actually record student input. A big waste of time and money - we may as well have used paper and pen. Besides - you run into issues with people bringing two or three clickers for friends.
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but one can't help but wonder if such a device will breed less assertive graduates who lack the will to stand up and voice their opinion on sensitive issues
Sounds like a luddite to me...Who's to say these kids won't be more assertive? Usually they would not talk in class for fear of peer response. I think once they can express their ideas, and see that the response from their peers is not negative, they would probably be more assertive...
It's silly to fear something for a _possible_ negative when it's completely new.
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No, I'd expect the opposite. It will give voice the the normally less assertive. People who are already assertive aren't going to start shutting up because of a clicker.
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I majored in Japanese and CS in college (at a university with very small average class sizes compared to large state schools like the ones in the article). The difference between a 12-man discussion section and a 90-man lecture is like night and day. When there are 12 you can tailor your lessons to the room and if Billy is skipping class or obviously not getting the material despite trying you will know, instantly. When there are 90, you probably get to know those 5 kids who are really too good to be in this class and those 10 who use every trick in the book to avoid getting out of doing assignments, and for the 75 students in the middle you're lucky if you even know their names. (My best CS professor, ever, had academic standards about as sharp as a butter knife and lecturers which did not succeed in imparting much material but he knew *every* kid in the class and worked the labs like it was his job to the point where he knew some of the 15 team's project status better than the lazier team members did -- nothing says "I care" like "Hey, Bob, how's it going? Did you guys get that regexp engine working right for the poetry project yet? Time's a wasting, remember there are other ways to skin the cat. Anyhow, if you need to chat about it come see me after class or on Thursday. Hey Suzy! I loved the design on the last project but this is AI, not the perl obfuscation contest. More comments on the magic bits next time, OK? Hey Joe! I haven't seen you in three weeks?. Should I be concerned or is this just 'This is not a class I care for?' in which case I can just give you a B- and write you off?")
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I used a similar system, they are required for about half of the large lectures at my school. There are plenty of advantages to using them if they are used correctly. Since everyone directly responds, a professor can tell which questions and answers need to be addressed more clearly. If half of the class doesn't understand, the professor will know. This is more practical. In the traditional classroom setting mostly the confident would respond and mask the confusion among other students. Not all communication is verbal. The clickers can provide more communication if used properly.
Traditional verbal responses can still be incorporated with the clickers, some of the better professors would ask us to defend our answers. Overall I'd say the clickers can be an enhancement, not a replacement for traditional teaching meathods and communication within the classroom.
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The only problem is that the normally less assertive will only be assertive with a clicker. The clicker can be a good start but it has to be viewed like a security blanket. There will be a time where it will have to be given up. There's going to be a point in their lives where they have to shed any anonymity and make a stand.
Yup, college wouldn't have been an institute of learning. It would have become a perpetual "I want to use a lifeline, let's poll the audience" event. Why do I care what percentage of my classmates think is the right data set? I want to hear my professors tell me about the subjects at hand. One just log onto slashdot if they want to hear stupid thoughts on various subjects.
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups. -- 0 1 My two bits
Ugh- textbooks cost enough without having "clickers" bundles in.
Call me crazy, but if students aren't comfortable sharing their opinions in class or joining the discussion, then maybe the profs need to cultivate a better atmosphere for discussion. I personally wouldn't want a class to degrade into one of those bar remote control trivia games.
Maybe the solution is smaller classes....
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
Isn't a clicker something that is used when training dogs..? ;-)
Remember, there are no stupid questions. But there are a lot of inquisitive idiots.
The "show of hands" approach doesn't work; the students quickly figure out who the smart kids in the class are, and wait to copy thier answers. Writing things down on paper doesn't work either, because it takes too long.
Also, if you can easily understand everything your professor is telling you, you aren't the student she needs to worry about. You would probably be able to learn the subject matter on your own, with or without a professor. Most of the time, the ones who really need the extra explanation are either very well aware of the fact (in which case, they are unlikely to ask questions during lecture for fear of looking stupid), or are so totally out to sea that they don't even realize they don't understand what is going on. In the former case, the clicker gives the students a chance to let the professor know, in a nonthreatening way, that they don't understand what is going on. In the latter case, the students can see (whithout a strong negative impact on their grade) that they don't understand what's going on.
There have also been a lot of comments about how hackable these systems are. If you know enough to be able to hack one of these, more power to you. Again, you're not the student I'm trying to reach. You will do fine in my class, with or without my help.
To those of you who have only negative things to say about these systems, what would make them better? The idea of immediate, automated assessment is really attractive to me as an educator.