Thursday, November 29, 2007

Clickers in Non Majors Biology

I have been using the clickers to reveiw each chapter that is covered. Sometimes it is at the end of a class and sometimes it is at the beginning. I think the students like it and seem to be interacting with each other more as a result of using the clickers. I just don't know if this is helping improve their grades on exams, which is how I assess learning.

Clickers in the Classroom

Hello... to all of the ARS Pilot Program Users

I devised 25 questions for my first attempt using ARS in the classroom. The questions reflected information that the students had received in the first module of the class and had already been tested on over a month ago. It served as an excellent review of the information. Those students who remembered the information were very pleased with themselves.On the other hand, for those who selected incorrect options, it provided an impetus for them to review the information. I allowed 25-30 seconds for responses. In the future for easier questions, I will probably allow 20 seconds. I utilized all of the time elapse icons. The students did NOT like
the descending ball...they found it distracting. I found this to be a nice change from classroom powerpoint since it is interactive. My only complaint is regarding the set up instructions to do a practice run of the system. It was not that easy since some of the onscreen prompts differed from the instruction guide. I am looking forward to using this again.

Donna D

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Clickers in Grammar Class

I used clickers twice in my high intermediate grammar class. As others have said, the students loved it! It was fun and a non intimidating way to see how much the students comprehended. Judging from their answers, I saw where I may need to spend more time reviewing.

The actual creation and implementation of the clickers was pretty easy. Yes, I made errors, but I can see the process getting quicker. The instructions attached to the clickers themselves is excellent!

I will continue to use clickers in my spring grammar class and perhaps another class. They are a great way to start the course.

Thank you Tom and Amarjit for all your help.

Clickers in Dental Hygiene

I used the clickers in the first year first semester clinical course. I posted clinical images with questions. The students had to observe the landmarks and clinical observations and answer the questions.

The response from the students was amazing. They loved it and so did I. I can see it becoming an integrated tool for preparing students for their regional board that has a 100 question computer slide examination. It will also serve as a great review when we return from break in January.

Two additional dental hygiene faculty used the clickers with the same group of students later the same week.

I found the system easy to navigate on the day of class. It took a few slides to work out the process of building in the responses/charts as there are a few steps that must be completed but once I got the hang of it, it was not difficult.

I look forward to using this in next semester's clinical course.