What Are Clickers?
Classroom Clickers or audience response systems are educational technologies that allow teachers to collect and analyze responses from students during class.
Teaching with Clickers
Teachers can use clickers for a variety of classroom activities. Applications contain easy management and take attendance in class tests. These methods increase efficiency and can bring radically change the class dynamics.
A classroom clicker can be used to warm up before a class discussion. Ask students to present their individual responses to a question, allow all students to take time to think about the problem and commit to an answer before a class discussion. Compared to take first hand which is placed after a question, this method opens the way for greater participation and commitment.
Clickers also allow what is called "contingent teaching" and "lively teaching". Since clickers can be used to estimate what students do, do not and understand during class. Instructors also used the results of clickers to change the course of their lessons. If the results confirm that students understand his idea then instructor moves on or if the results point that students are still confused and not understand it then the teacher can spend more time on that topic via lecture, class discussion, or even another clicker question.
Why Use Clickers?
Clickers promote active participation and discussion among all students even those who cannot participate in typical classroom debates. Classroom Clickers can also be used as tools by teachers for evaluation, feedback from students and their motivation for their own learning and providing information on student learning so as to meet the immediate needs of student learning.
Response systems indicate that the class when used active learning techniques such as peer teaching, clickers can enhance learning in a measurable. Students also enjoy the anonymity of clicker systems as well as the opportunity to test their knowledge with their peers.
Clickers also have a novelty factor that attracts some students and teachers at least initially. Even when the novelty fades there is always a sense of anticipation that builds just before the bar graph shows the reactions of students is revealed. For these and other reasons many instructors who have started clicker to find a comfortable and effective instrument of education cannot imagine teaching without them.