Day Seven Teaching Evening (or Extended Time) Classes

Today, I want to share with you a technology that is tailor-made for keeping students engaged, awake and involved. And BHC owns enough for all of your students…upt to 155 of them for your use! They are called clickers or “audience response systems.” They are about the size of a small calculator and are often picked up from the library in groups of 20-40 in a very cute basket that Charlet Key and her staff keep refreshed! Also in the basket is a receiver unit, a small device that looks like a flash/jump/USB drive. In addition, the program that makes them work is already installed on most instructor computers in the tech-equipped classrooms on the QC campus…look for a TurningPoint shortcut icon on the desktop and if there isn’t one there, just call the Help Desk to install it for you!

OK, first let me tell you how they work (print details here later).Then, we'll talk about ways you might find them useful for your evening classes.

1. Create a PowerPoint slideshow that includes some slides with multiple choice, true-false or other objective questions. These slides can be inserted into a regular set of slides, as well.
   
2. As you arrive to class, insert the receiver in the USB port of the computer (probably near the power button).
   
3. As students arrive to class, give each of the students a clicker for the evening.
   
4. Open your PowerPoint slideshow.
   
5. As you get to each question slide, ask the question and have the students press the numbered/lettered buttons on their clicker to indicate their answers. The receiver receives and combines anonymously all of the students’ answers.
   
6. Click your mouse and the computer will display the results of the composite answers in a bar graph on the screen.

Clickers can be used in a variety of engaging ways (see specific tips here).

• Take attendance
  
• Test review or mock exam practice (gives immediate feedback; best when asking application or other higher-order questions rather than recognition)


• Note: Using them for real quizzes or exams is not advised. Students worry about their reliability and will not view them as engaging for other activities.
  
• (Anonymous) quizzes on homework readings
  
• Anonymous quizzes on prior knowledge from last class or course
  
• Measure of current understanding of a concept or principle (Does the class understand it well enough to move on?)
  
• Measure of current understanding of a concept or principle (What misconceptions do the students have? Let’s resolve them!)
  
• Discussion warm-ups:
  
  
  • Stimulus for discussion on sensitive or controversial topics
    
  • Stimulus for discussion about different perspectives on a topic
    
  • Stimulus for discussion about potential solutions to problems or scenarios
  
  
• Practice in solving problems (Of several possible solutions, which is best? Why? discussions)
  
• Individual responses and level of confidence in it; turn to partner to discuss about question/problem presented; enter answer a second time
  
• Collect (anonymous) input about the class (Classroom Assessment Technique), such as when deciding about course policies or getting feedback on class activities
  

Good questions are key, of course. Our library has an excellent book with lots of sample questions for various purposes by Derek Bruff, Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creative Active Learning Environments (2009). He also has a blog: http://derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/

Have any of you tried clickers yet? I’d love to hear about your experience! (Hint: Click Comment button below)