So far the iclicker craze is mainly used at the collegiate level. Though, since there has been such a positive response in colleges, high school and even middle school teachers have started to use this new tool. The iclicker is composed of 5 multiple choice letters and it has a handy light that flashes green when a question is registered as answered in a class, and a red button if the answer you choose on your clicker had not been registered. The clickers are used in class for attendance and to answer questions mini multiple choice questions electronically.
This is my first year using iclicker in a lecture but I have found it very reliable so far. It was extremely easy to register my clicker online and all I have to do is give my instructor my ID number and he/she can provide all of my attendance and quiz questions that have been registered during the semester.
As a future educator I would definitely look into using this tool in my classroom. It is very easy to keep track of attendance, and also it would be useful to have a technology to use in class that would allow me to ask students little questions throughout my lesson to make sure they comprehend the material we are covering. After the students answer, the iclicker system also allows the instructor to see who choose which answer, and it gives percentages of who chose each answer. Another plus to this technology is that it eliminates wasting paper on little mini quizzes.
Though iclickers have many positives, a negative to this product is that it does cost about $35. Asking students at the middle school level or even high school level for a technology that costs that much would not go over well with parents. Also, I plan to teach at the elementary level so as much as I would love to use this because it is easy enough for younger kids to use, it is asking a lot of parents to pay for something like this when it is not guaranteed that it will be used more than one year.
I have mixed feelings about the iclicker since I have seen them used in three of my classes here at MSU. In one class we used them to take attendance and it worked out great since it was a lecture of a couple hundred students. The second class I experienced the iclicker in, was to take attendance, but also to take quizzes at the end of the lecture. Again, the lecture had a couple hundred kids in it, but because there were so many students, it was about impossible to tell if the person came in in the beginning of class to check in, and then left to then return at the end for the quiz. Or students would pair up and have their friend take their iclicker in so they could skip class, but receive the credit. Then the next week the pair would switch and only one person would come and check their friend in. So as with any technology, there are advantages and disadvantages.
ReplyDeleteI have never actually used an iclicker before but I explored it for one of my posts. I think they hold great potential. I think they do and would allow all students to participate in whats going on. They give kids feedback right away and make it easy for a teacher to take attendance and assess students. I agree with you about the cost though. It may not be practical for all students to purchase one.
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