Click to the Future
I have had my eye on Interactive Response Systems (clickers) for a couple of years, but my district did not want to invest in them. Just this year we finally got a couple of sets of clickers from SMART Technologies. The handheld remotes are sold as class sets and used formative/summative assessments and polling. The clickers provide students with immediate results from the assessment and the data can be exported into an excel document. Here is a link to a tutorial for the clickers
http://www.slideshare.net/Andreatej/tutorial-for-smart-student-response-system
Challenges
The greatest drawback of this technology is the cost of nearly $2000 per set of 32 handsets. I have not seen the price drop over the last few years. This clicker system utilizes a receiver (that transmits through radio waves) that is connected to the computer through a USB cable. Each handset requires two AA batteries. Since there is only one receiver per set and our classrooms have no more than 25 students, it is unfortunate that the clickers are linked to one receiver. The program is compatible with Smart Notebook Software (SMART Interactive Whiteboard). There was a change in the software since the product first emerged and the newer version seems less user-friendly and has some bugs. It is unfortunate that the clickers can only be used through proprietary means, compatible only with SMART products.
Societal Needs/Benefits
There are numerous benefits with using clickers, in education. The scoring of and feedback on the students' work is a great selling point. A teacher who might have 100 students to assess can literally give the test in 30 minutes and have the results in the students hands a few minutes later, saving a huge amount of time spent grading tests and providing students with instantaneous feedback. There is also a component that notifies the instructor when a students does not answer the question, which is key strategy to maintain student engagement. The mere use of an electronic gadget is highly motivating to students and makes them feel like they are playing an electronic game. There is no doubt that students would much rather take a test with clickers than with a traditional paper-pencil format. This digital format also reduces the amount of paper used for printing and subsequently reduces the cost of printing.
Improvement for Future
Mobile devices have already come down significantly in price. It would make sense to me that SMART would design an electronic response app for a mobile phone. The mobile devices are ubiquitous and it seems that the future sees more and more technology folded into one multi-use device. With a wireless connection or blue tooth, rather than a USB connection, students could use their i Pods, i Pads, cell phones to connect, take a test, and submit results. Because the cell phone technology is already here and reasonably priced, all one would need is to purchase the app.
