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Six-hundred ninety-five

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

As of Wednesday, September 30, six-hundred and ninety-five clickers have been registered in KnightVision for Fall semester. They are being used by fourteen instructors in seventeen courses. 

Biology professor, David Koetje, who has been using the clickers in his Biology 141 classes for the last four years, has shared with us a couple of thoughts. “Clickers have greatly facilitated collaborative learning in Biology 141. Through the reporting features of the clicker software, student teams are able to compare answers to questions on formative quizzes, turning their attention to the rationale of different responses instead of simply obsessing about ‘right answers.’  Improvements in individual preparedness, critical thinking, and classroom engagement are three noteworthy benefits of our use of clicker technology.”

What does this mean? There is a powerful assessment tool being used on campus just waiting for you to tap into its potential. Just ask your students how many of them already have their own clicker in which they’ve enrolled in other course(s). In many cases, you might be surprised by the response.

How do the clickers work?

• Students purchase a clicker at the Campus Store for around $23.00. (Calvin College will subsidize the cost of enrolling the clicker, which will remain active for the duration of their time here at Calvin.)
• Instructors register their course(s) in KnightVision.
• Students register/enroll their clicker in your course(s) in KnightVision. (Students may register their clickers in multiple courses per semester.)
• You can use your clickers anytime in a variety of ways with results available right at your fingertips! Grades and data gathered from any class session can then be uploaded into your KnightVision grade center.

Tired of bubble sheets? Clickers can be used similarly to “bubble sheets” for assessment. As students take a test that has been individually distributed to them (on paper), the students submit their answers digitally using their clickers rather than filling in the bubbles. No more trips to CIT to have your tests graded and there is no waiting. Plus, if you make your grades available to your students through your KnightVision grade center, students will be able to see their scores as soon as you upload them. Now, how’s that for timely assessment and feedback?

Did any of your textbooks come with an ExamView CD? If yes, banks of clicker questions have already been created by your publisher and are available on CDs.

Do you think you might be interested? Please feel free to contact Krista Spahr to discuss ways you might integrate this technology into your course(s). We can even start thinking ahead to Spring and Fall 2010 too.