Clickers are hand-held devices in a remote personal response system to transmit and record student feedback to interactive questions. Registered to a student, clickers allow to track involvement and retention, understand attitudes and preconceptions, facilitate discussion and instruction and provide meaningful assessment.
Professor Emeritus Corly Brooke, who successfully implemented clickers in her large-enrollment Human Development and Family Studies class, shares helpful tips in the video below.
How clickers work at Iowa State University
Iowa State has standardized on the TurningTechnologies audience response system which includes both the hardware (clickers and receivers) and software components (TurningPoint and TurningPoint AnyWhere). Software components share the following characteristics:
- Can be used with standardized free instructor hardware kits (available through CELT)
- Are compatible with ResponceCard RF clicker devices (available for purchase by students through the University BookStore)
- Display responses and graphs in real-time
- Track student responses via participant lists
- Integrate with Blackboard Learn courses for tracking students and posting clicker grades/points
- Generate reports for collected data
How to choose the right software
TurningPoint
TurningPoint AnyWhere
- a plug-in to integrate with Microsoft PowerPoint
- a program that runs over any presentation software
- not available for Mac machines
- is available cross-platform
- advanced features including convenient data management.
- fewer options for data management and reports
How to inquire about clickers
- Email clickerhelp@iastate.edu or call 294-5357 in order to reserve a free instructor clicker kit. Include the name of the course you teach and your availability for an individual consultation.
- Make sure to bring your laptop machine to a consultation. You must have administrative rights in order to be able to install the software on your machine.
- Be ready to discuss your syllabus and teaching practices, so that we can help you understand the role of clickers in your course.
- Check out these resources: TurningPoint with PowerPoint and TurningPoint Anywhere.
