I was looking for different articles that talked about both the pros and cons of clickers and I came across this article that says the 7 things you should know about clickers. In the article they agree that it can help enhance the learning expereince. One of the biggest cons to this technology would of course be the cost of each individual clicker. Each student would have to purchase one, and if the teachers used it for attendance as well, there is no way around having to buy one. The price ranges but I would say that the average cost that I found for the clickers would be about 50-60 dollars. Another part of the article that I agree with and think is important to bring up is that asking the rigth questions makes it more efficent. Teachers should ask questions that are talking about the main concepts and make sure they are helping their students learn. Random questions would hurt the students becasue they might remember the question because it was a clicker question, and not focus on the key points of the lecture or education.
Here is the link to the article if you want to look at it.
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7002.pdf
I also liked in the article where it said that clickers can be used to discuss controversial issues. Often students shut down because they are afraid what other students may think, but this is a type of technology where students can interact without having to worry about what everyone is thinking. I believe and the article talked about this as well that clickers could be used as a great conversation/discussion started because a lot of opinions are expressed at once and then can be discussed more thoroughly for follow up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article Lindsay because I feel it gives people alot more knowledge about clickers (and important knowledge) then they wouldn't have before.
ReplyDeleteCost would be the issue for a private school, where parents would have to approve the use and the cost All things being equal, we would not get such approval as most parents, for good reason, are conservative about teaching methods for their offspring. How does the future get past the watchful eye of a parent?
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ReplyDeleteIn the PDF you provided I noticed this:
Clickers can,
‘…undermine the value of personal response systems. Identifying misconceptions and providing frequent feedback is important.’
I think this is true for nearly all the technology we have discussed in this course. We must face up to a re-aligning of what we mean by personal response.
To click..or not to click, that is the question.
Hey Lindsay, Thanks for the article about clickers. I agree with you on the random clicker questions. I had a class in which the teacher would just ask random questions using the clicker, and it really was not relevant to the main points of the lecture.
ReplyDeleteClass sizes can be problem But asking the right questions is important.
ReplyDeleteTo avoid misunderstandings
In my idea Clicker technology more effective in small –group and then as feedback to whole group
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