- Mobile Edition - Mobile EditionFort Lewis College is upgrading its classes to allow students to transmit answers in class electronically, via “clickers."
No more than a dozen Fort Lewis professors use the devices - not unlike gadgets used on television game shows - but the technology is being upgraded later this year, said college spokesman Mitch Davis.
“They'll be able to use their iPhones or laptops," Davis said. “It should be a pretty good change."
Clickers first appeared in college classrooms more than a decade ago and have since spread to just about every college and university in the country thanks to cheaper and better technology.
A University of Colorado student from Durango, junior William Powell, saw two benefits to the technology: “It's good impetus to pay attention and not let your mind wander during the lecture. You can see how other people are doing compared to you ... and analyze why someone may have picked a different answer."
FLC's clickers transmit with infrared technology, which requires line of sight. New units will use radio control, making them easier for students to use, Davis said.
Professors can check out clickers for use in their classes, and students can buy them at FLC's bookstore.
Bookstore manager Brooke Ingle said the PRS transmitters sell for $30.75. Demand depends on whether professors require them for their classes, she said.
As clickers have become commonplace, a divide has emerged over just how sophisticated they should be.
Some professors endorse simple, straightforward devices that stick to multiple-choice questions. Others embrace fancier models or newer applications for smart phones and laptops that allow students to query the professor by text or e-mail during the lecture or conduct discussion with classmates - without the cost of purchasing a clicker.
Those preferring simplicity say pared-down remotes reduce distractions in a multitasking world, while others say fighting the march to smart phones and digital tablets is a losing battle.
Clickers first gained popularity in large science lecture halls as a way of gauging whether students understood the material. They since have migrated into smaller classrooms and can be found in nursing and other professional schools. Even middle schools and high schools are using them.
Research at the college level has found students like using the devices and attendance often goes up. But results are mixed when it comes to learning. Some evidence suggests clicker use has led to only modest gains in retention and test scores, while other studies have detected little or no improvement, according to a November article in the North American Journal of Psychology.
What works with the clickers, said professors, are questions that spark discussion and get students to explain concepts to each other. What doesn't is using them sporadically or for rote memorization. Students also become resentful when they're used to play attendance cop and spring pop quizzes.
At the University of Colorado, 20,000 of the 30,000 students on campus own clickers. They can be found in music, environmental studies, communications, comparative politics and law classes.
Michael Dubson, a physics professor, sprinkles in clicker questions every five or 10 minutes in his calculus-based introductory physics, a tough, required course for physics and engineering majors.
He's using a concept called peer instruction. Instead of lecturing for 50 minutes and taxing attention spans, questions are projected on a screen, students gather in registered “clicker groups" to discuss them, then students use their clickers to respond.
“We want students to get in the habit of translating the messy questions into plain English, to be able to explain it," Dubson said. “Students for the most part aren't used to that."
Clickers get mostly positive reviews in Dubson's class of 250.
“With such an enormous classroom, it's about as close as you can get to a hands-on approach to the material," said Jaris Judd, a sophomore from Blairsville, Ga. “This keeps you more on track and in tune."
The praise wasn't universal. Even though Dubson keeps the stakes low - clicker questions are bonus points and count for a maximum of 2 percent of someone's grade - the system by its nature makes attendance part of students' grade, said Maximilian Bondrescu, a Fort Collins junior.
“Plus it's an expense," he said. “An extra device to carry around. It runs on batteries and the batteries run out. But mostly I don't like the attendance thing."
More sophisticated clickers run in the $60 to $70 range. Some have gaming features that appeal to the Wii generation, and one can record the fastest responders.
Herald Staff Writer Chuck Slothower contributed to this report.
chuck@durangoherald.com