Clickers enable realtime classroom polling

We've seen them take over some TV shows, allowing studio audience members to cast votes or help out contestants. Now "clickers" — wireless remotes that feed data to a computer — are catching on in schools from the Ivy League down to grade schools. In a typical classroom scenario, students can vote on an issue posed by a professor and have the results tabulated in realtime. Fans say the devices lead to more discussion and interactivity in classrooms, but we're waiting for a hack that will let students electronically stuff the ballot box or even alter the questions on the fly.

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I sure don't go to an Ivy league school (Marshall University) and my physics professor was using something like that over a year ago.

[Brian K @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

It's nice to see something that you've worked for years on get a little recognition.

[PatMcD @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

My school, Boston University, has used these for years to administer quizzes and the like in some classes. Which is great for big lectures, because you can just have your friend bring your clicker for you and take 2 quizzes.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I really hate these things. It's yet another way to rip off students -- first we get gouged with steep tuition, then we pay for textbooks, and now we have to buy game show remotes. Yay.

I have yet to figure out how this does anything except make money for some clever people who have the skills to dupe educators into thinking these are useful.

The school I'm attending this summer, the University of Pittsburgh, uses devices manufactured by eInstruction. What the article doesn't mention is that it runs $15/semester to use these things PLUS you have to buy your own device for $8. I hate the idea of recurring fees -- this means that if I were unfortunate enought to have to use these every semester, it would run me $120.

What does that $15 buy me? It allows the inept instructor in my biology class to forego having to manually take attendance. Instead, once per class, we retrieve the remote control, answer some trival question that anyone who was awake in the lecture would know, and then return the remote control to our bags. How anyone could think this is better than manually taking attendance or a show of hands is unclear to me.

Look, college students aren't exactly wealthy. I know some who have to work a job or two to support themselves AND who are paying their own tuition. $15 is another 3-4 hrs of work for these people who can't afford to work more.

To require students to purchase (rent, reallty) these useless things as a course requirement, penalising their grades if they can't afford it is an awful idea. I'm shocked the article didn't mention it. Oh wait, that makes sense: all computers in education are good.

And yes, I know this is a website about shiny things with buttons. I like shiny things with buttons, as long as they're useful and I'm not forced to buy them. I hate being take advantage of since I'm in captive audience by being a student.

One more caveat: I understand that there might be some really huge lecture classes in which these could be useful -- none come to mind, but I'm willing to allow for some. Unfortunately, most educators will use these just because they can and because the students have to pick up their costs, not because they're really serving a useful purpose. And no one can honestly defend nailing students with yet another service fee every semester. That's just obviously greedy.

[Larry @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

can't stand these things, it mandates attendance in a class where i can cakewalk all quarter

[tr @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

i've been working with physics professors with these things for quite a number of years (before they were wireless, we had a 'wired' system that used calculators equipped with phone jacks, that plugged into wall jacks, what a pain that was). the system we use now is infrared, but i believe next quarter, they will be testing out the RF version.

these are only used in a few classes, but more an more professors are asking about them, and are using them in their lectures. i understand the anger in #5's post, but this university, the students don't have to pay. they each have a transmitter assigned to them; when they come into class, they grab their transmitter from organized wall bins. when they leave, they put them back. and for large lectures, it actually works quite well, almost making a 200+ class seem much smaller; the lecturer can quickly know if a class is "getting" a concept or not just by looking at voting histogram, something that can't be done in your typical "i lecture, you listen" type of class.

as for hacking, the only problems i've encountered (since i'm responsible for making sure the system and transmitters are all working correctly) is that some sneaky students figure out how to change their transmitter identification number. the problem is, they don't realize that the number assigned is in binary, so they have to know how to read/write binary in order to change the number. but screwing with the ID screws themselves, because if the receiver only picks up transmitters 0001-0100, and they change their number to 1098, the receiver won't pick up their response, and they won't get credit for the quiz question, or whatever was asked. so usually, kids don't mess with them that much.

[Ben Stanfield @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

We've used a product dubbed PRS (the Personal Response System) that used to be called Educue. It looks like it does basically the same thing.

http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/interwriteprs.htm

It's been a hit in the adult learning situations where I've seen it used. One group even used sound effects from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to make it more "fun" for the participants.

[Shade @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

We use clickers here at Cornell University. I am not particularly happy with these clicker systems - they malfunction often.

[js @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

we use these in mainstreem schools in uk. they are fun when combined with a data projector but have really poop signal and are broken easily.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

tr,

That's great. What university are you at that pays for it?

Matt

[Collin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

We've been using them in Econ classes here at St. Olaf college for a while. They're really nice for classes like game theory, where you can simulate the games without taking the time it would to manually collect all of the responses and tabulate them.

[Justin P @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

In response to 3. I agree, glad to have people see what we've sweated over so much ^.^

There seem to be some misconceptions in some of the above posts though. There were problems with past pads that are IR based, but now its all RF. Given this we no longer are plagued by line of sight/distance/collision issues.

[Ryan gardner @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I hate them. In the physics department at my school (BYU - http://www.byu.edu) they use them. The problem is that the've gone through several different versions of them. I've had to buy two different clickers. The bookstore will buy them back at buyback time - if you keep your original receipt. (Easier said than done for most college kids!)

I don't like them at all. If you really want to cheat on the quiz - just look at what button 80% of the people around you are pushing - because most of the time 80% of the class is right.

[Olethros @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

So people are upset because they actually have to attend a class?

I used them in my 300+ class and they were an excellent way of taking attendance, gauging class understanding, and a way to give short quizes. Since we can grade them instantly using the H-ITT software that we use, it enables the instructor to give short quizes and not have to worry about grading 300+ papers.

I have also used them to give exam reviews where I put the question up using the software, and then gauging student comprehension before deciding to give an in-depth review of the question or concept.

[Josh @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I can echo Matt's (#5) sentiments. I had to use the CPS system this past semester and it's complete crap. The system's not very fluidly designed so when the professor DOES finally give out that quiz, it's a huge stop-and-start processes.

I'd advise schools to keep away from it until a better system is designed. For one thing, more feedback than two differently-colored LEDs would be a start.

But, yeah, two thumbs way down on this system for now.

[MD @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

The high school at which I work has three classroom sets of these. They are worthless junk which only two teachers in about eighty five use because the software that you must use to coordinate the hardware is extremely difficult to learn, klunky, and non-intuitive. Of the two teachers that use them, only one really knows how to make the software work and she writes the tests that they both use. I asked her once if she spent more than 6 hours learning how to use it and she laughed and said "oh, yeah, and more". I have been a hard-core tech user for over 15 years, have used many hundreds of pieces of software, and I could not sit down and immediately figure out and learn how this program works. The coders clearly didn't have a design team and they did not follow any standards whatsoever. You will have to read their minds to figure this thing out.
When the friendly salesman comes to visit your school, he will show you all the cool things that these clickers can do and what they can be used for. It's very exciting. The problem is that he's had a lot of training and a lot of use and it's his job to make the software look like something it's not - easy. It's a shame that our three sets of clickers sit unused all day, almost every day. The only time they ever get used is when these two teachers give tests. They've figured out how to make the test bank database work with this program, and so they make the test, print out the test, photocopy the test, and then use an expensive projector and laptop to receive answers so that they can be easily tabulated. That's not what these things are supposed to be used for, but spending all that time trying to use it for their intended purpose is just too big of a leap. What a waste of money.
The company does offer training for about 500 dollars. They have also offered training for 1-3 teachers in our school if we will host the training to facilitate the other paying clients. The training is only in the day, so you'd have to pay for your own substitute as well to attend.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS MONEY PIT!

[john stafford @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

As an instructional technology research and implementation person, I can certainly sympathize with the distress students have expressed here. Classroom polling devices are too expensive especially when you find two or more instructors using different kinds. And waving your hand above the crowd to find the IR receiver is just silly.

We are looking for wireless alternatives that work in universal applications. If you can answer classroom polls, that's cool, but if it could _also_ open your dorm room, let you auto-check through the book store or dining hall, pass for events, etc. that would be cooler yet.

Students with feedback for the design of a truly usefull 'clicker', please follow up to: [e-mail]


(We have found them very helpfull in very large classes, lectures, auditorium events. It helps the instructor get immediate feedback so that he knows if he's getting through, doing a good job or _not_.)

[cybernmd @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

There is a hack available for the IR version of this remote. It is called SurveySays which sniffs out the answers from other students. You can check it out at http://midnightresearch.com/projects/surveysays/