HELPING TO MAKE LEARNING “CLICK”

Student Responders

What Are Student Responders?!

Computer based, handheld devices that allow individual students to respond immediately to teacher questions via wireless transmission

Results of the questions can instantly be displayed on computer screens, Smart Boards, or on each student’s “clicker”

(Ferriter, 2009)

Who Do Student Responders Help?

The teacher: Allow the teacher to formatively assess students

multiple times throughout a class period, checking for understanding or gaps in learning

Help teachers develop more confidence in their ability to monitor student learning

The student: Allow for students to answer privately, anonymously

(option set by teacher), and without influence Provides instant feedback, the second most important

school-level factor influencing student achievement(Ferriter, 2009)

Which Students Can Benefit fromStudent Responders?

ALL OF THEM!Students with different learning styles:

Visual Learners- images and questions are displayed on the screen for the student to see and answer from

Auditory Learners- videos and audio can be played from the screen, in addition to the narration the teacher can provide through reading the text on the screen

Kinesthetic Learners- students get to push buttons and be interactive with the questions and the on-screen text and prompts

Students with disabilities Because the text and difficulty of the questions are determined

by the teacher, the teacher can control the learning expectations from the student population

What Data is Produced?

The data produced is a result of the students’ answers to the teacher-provided questions

Data can instantly be visually displayed graphically, categorically, or through other means determined by the teacher

The information collected through each survey question can immediately drive instruction in one direction or another, based on the level of student understanding

(Radosevich et al., 2008)

Examples of Data Results

Cost of Student Responders

Price of student responders varies, depending on the capabilities of the responders

Average cost for a class set (24 responders): $695

Additional features comes with additional cost. Features can include: Larger display screen QWERTY keyboard, opposed to the basic numeric pad,

T/F, and A/B/C/D options Internet capabilities

Don’t Have Clickers?...No Problem!

With the popularity of cell phones with internet capabilities and applications, manufacturers of student responders are also creating response technology for mobile devices

Now students can turn their cell phones into student responders, without the cost of the clicker! (Wi-Fi capabilities required)

In the End…

Student responders are: Fun! Interactive! Encouraging of participation and engagement from all

students! Helpful in keeping students engaged and accountable! Worth the cost!

(Bachman & Bachman, 2011)

References

Bachman, L. & Bachman, C. (2011). A study of classroom response system clickers: Increasing student engagement and performance in a large undergraduate lecture class on architectural research. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 22(1), 5-21.Ferriter, W. (2009). Student responders: Feedback at their fingertips. Educational Leadership, 67(3), 83-84.Radosevich, D. J., Salomon, R., Radosevich, D. M., & Kahn, P. (2008). Using student response systems to increase motivation, learning, and knowledge retention. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 5(1).