Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

New clicker technology allows a different look at student answers

Research shows clickers can improve student performance.

The anonymity of lecture hall response systems has taken the awkwardness out of sensitive questions in Timothy Loving’s Introduction to Family Relationships course, and a new clicker software will let the University of Texas associate professor have a more personal exchange with his students.

Loving will use the latest version of the i>clicker response system to analyze student answers by political affiliation, race, gender, and other demographics.

The new i>clicker version 6.0 will still allow for anonymous answers to faculty questions, but the data slicing and demographic polling features will provide a breakdown that could shed light on where students from different backgrounds stand on thorny social issues.…Read More

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Is better learning a click away?

Clicker technology has advanced, but some professors prefer simpler models that don't lead to distractions.
Clicker technology has advanced, but some professors prefer simpler models that won't lead to distractions.

The students in Michael Dubson’s physics class at the University of Colorado fell silent as a multiple-choice question flashed on a screen, sending them scrambling for small white devices on their desks.

Within seconds, a monitor on Dubson’s desk told him that 92 percent of the class had correctly answered the question on kinetic energy, a sign that they grasped the concept.

Student response systems, or clickers—not unlike gadgets used on television game shows—first appeared in college classrooms over a decade ago and have since spread to just about every college and university in the country, thanks to cheaper and better technology.…Read More

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