Hand raising for the 21st century

As advancements in technology continue to change the way people act, it now seems the old ritual of students having to raise their hand during class may become obsolete. Remote controlled 'clickers' -- used to answer questions or take attendance -- are now becoming more and more common in IU classrooms. \nSized slightly smaller than a razor and appearing similar to a TV remote, these clickers are typically used by instructors to pose questions or problems for students, who enter their answers into their individual clickers. The responses are then sent to a main computer, equipped with a receiver and software that summarizes and displays the class results. The process is intended to engage students in larger lectures by summarizing and reviewing their responses. \nChemistry Professor Martin Jarrold uses the clicker system in his Principles of Chemistry and Biochemistry class. He said he finds the system effective in communicating with his larger classes.\n"I can ask a question and from the response I get, I can see how well people are learning things and what things I need to go over again," Jarrold said. "It's difficult to get this sort of information for big classes."\nJarrold also found the system useful as an attendance device and was able to get more students to attend lecture by creating points for participating with their clickers. He said he predicts the class will use the system in the future for quizzes, however IU's technology services recommends teachers not use the program for "high-stakes" assignment because the system doesn't record a hard copy of students' answers. \n"There are still issues that need to be worked through, but I still see clickers as a useful tool," Jarrold said.\nSome of the issues he referred to are instances where clickers didn't work properly or failed and students were unaware of the malfunction. Jerrold said he also encountered software issues that he ensures are fixed in the newer versions.\nSenior Brett Hartley used a clicker in his K201 class last semester and agrees that there are problems with the devices. Hartley thinks they aren't worth the $30 students end up having to pay for the devices. He added that there are alternatives options for what they do.\n"I didn't find it very effective for the money we had to spend on them," Hartley said. "They needed a way to do attendance, and I didn't want to spend my money so they can do attendance."\nHartley's class used the clickers for survey and review questions before tests and he thinks the clickers can have positive effects if instructors use them for a more engaging and meaningful purpose.\nJunior Jessica Gropman said she thinks the clickers added to her chemistry class first semester and got her to attend lecture more.\n"I think they are worth using because if the teachers use them effectively, it helps as a review," Gropman said.\nGropman said her clicker ended up breaking during her class and she was forced to submit answers by hand, but despite the setbacks, she said they were an effective part of the class.\n"I see them working well because technology is being enhanced, but I can only see it working in big lectures," she said. "Smaller classrooms don't need to do it."\nThe trial pilot program will run until August of 2007 when the University will have the option to either discontinue or re-establish the program.