Peter Hountras would rather be using the remote control in his hand to change channels on the television at home.
As it is, he's stuck in a life science lab at the University of Toledo, and his instructor is asking him and the rest of class to answer a multiple-choice question about what they just learned.
So Mr. Hountras ceases absently spinning the device on his desk long enough to beam a response over his shoulder to a nearby receiver without even turning around. Within seconds, a bar graph pops up on the classroom's computer screens showing a summary of the responses.
"The idea is that you have to be here the entire lecture and pay attention the entire lecture," Brenda Leady, lab coordinator for biological sciences at UT,
explained later.
An increasing number of college faculty are finding that these sorts of wireless, handheld transmitters are good ways to make big classes seem small.
The devices rely upon infared technology similar to your TV remote control at home. Students armed with the clickers press buttons to send responses to multiple-choice questions to a teacher's receiver. Software can keep track of each student's answer and produce graphs showing aggregate results for the class.
Professors are starting to use them for everything from
taking attendance to giving quizzes.
Andy Jorgensen, associate professor of chemistry at UT, tested some university-owned units while teaching general chemistry in the spring, conducting quick polls to find out if students understood what he was teaching. As a result, he said, he could tailor the class to their needs.
He said it helps make a class more intimate and engaging.
"It makes a student make a decision," he said. "Rather than being passive, they're active. Rather than taking notes, they're making decisions."
Joseph Frizado, associate professor of geology at Bowling Green State University, uses some of the devices in his introductory geology course.
"I use it at different points, in some cases as a reading check when the students come in for class, just to give me an idea of how I need to respond in lecture," he said. "Sometimes there is no right answer. It's more to get the students engaged in the discussion."
He said he prefers not to use them for graded exercises because while students can see that their answer has been received, they do not receive confirmation of what answer they submitted.
One manufacturer of the clickers, GTCO CalComp, indicated it has 250,000 remotes being used around the world, mostly in the United States in higher education. Universities using the technology include Duke and the University of Massachusetts.
"It's clearly on the upswing now," said Rob Meissner, the Maryland company's vice president of marketing. "In our ideal world, there's no reason why we won't see it pretty well pervasive for each student having one."
An individual clicker sold for $3 at UT bookstores during the last academic year, but students also had to buy a new textbook with an access code. In the future, students probably will buy a unit and an access code together for about $30, said Colleen Strayer, general manager for UT bookstores.
There are unique challenges that can come with the remotes. Faculty must rework their courses to incorporate the technology, and at some schools professors are tackling the problem of students who bring in and use their buddies' clickers so they won't appear absent.
Mr. Hountras isn't crazy about the delays the devices can cause.
"I just think it makes the whole thing take longer because you're waiting for people to press buttons," he said.
But overall, faculty using the clickers said there is plenty of potential.
"In lecture classes, I think it's excellent feedback for teacher and students," Ms. Leady said.
Contact Ryan E. Smith at:
ryansmith@theblade.com
or 419-724-6074.
First Published June 4, 2004, 11:39 a.m.
