Teaching with Clickers : Technology Support

Although clicker technology is relatively easy to learn and use, studies show that technical problems during lecture remain a major cause of student negative attitudes (Draper & Brown, 2002; Zhu et al., 2006, 2007). Instructors and students may encounter a wide range of technical problems with clickers. For example, Zhu et al. found that students faced difficulties logging in and finding the network, but that faculty, on the other hand, tended to struggle with software issues, correctly displaying students’ responses, and properly managing students’ records. Although faculty may receive some training before using clicker technology, they need to reach a certain level of proficiency. Instructors should make sure that the software is stable so that fewer problems will occur when they actually use the clicker system in the classroom. It may not be necessary to offer training to students, but there should be a designated place where students can get help should they have problems with their clickers. Since technical problems sometimes surface in the first couple of class sessions, students should have the opportunity to practice responding to clicker questions before faculty test them during lecture and link their responses to course grades.