The Wired Campus reports: Mobile College App: Turning iPhones Into ‘Super-Clickers’ for Classroom Feedback. The iPhone image shown here from the article displays the cloud response possible with the app — and not possible from the simpler “yes” or “no” and multiple choice responses of clickers. Here are some of the other advantages from the article.
The idea for such a system is far from new. Several companies sell classroom response systems, often called “clickers,” that often involve small wireless gadgets that look like television remote controls. Most clickers allow students to answer true-or-false or multiple-choice questions (but do not allow open-ended feedback), and many colleges have experimented with the devices, especially in large lecture courses. There are several drawbacks to many clicker systems, however. First of all, every student in a course must have one of the devices, so in courses that use clickers, students are often required to buy them. Then, students have to remember to bring the gadgets to class, which doesn’t always happen.
Using cellphones instead of dedicated clicker devices solves those issues, says William Rankin, an English professor at Abilene Christian who is coordinating academic uses of iPhones there. Because students rely on their phones for all kinds of communication, they usually keep the devices on hand. The university calls its iPhone software NANOtools — NANO stands for No Advanced Notice, emphasizing how easy the system is for students and professors to use. “We see it as a kind of super-clicker,” he says.
The iPhone app makes the personal mobile a clicker if it is an iPhone. The final step will be when clicker apps are open source for all mobile phones via the internet.
