There's a clicker app? My son goes to Michigan State and I think he owns both clicker I and clicker II. I am sure he would love to just use his iPhone if that was an option.
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UMichigan Professor Uses iPads to Remake the Chalkboard
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There's a clicker app? My son goes to Michigan State and I think he owns both clicker I and clicker II. I am sure he would love to just use his iPhone if that was an option.
Ya there is one, my friend uses it for his class. I didn't get a chance to use it myself though.
I too support this, I want textbooks to go digital and ereaders to be mainstream, I also want the prices of said textbooks (or all ebooks actually) to adjust accordingly. Just being 2USD cheaper than the physical version is not worth it considering that you can sell the book after you are done with it.
Book publishing is an old, creaky system with too many middle men. As long as professors continue to require books from these "old school" publishers we will continue to see the high overhead. I went to self-publishing my textbook for microcontrollers. Ten years ago my students were paying $120 for a textbook. For the past eight years they've received an ebook for free. They can pay for a printed copy, and printing is really inexpensive once you eliminate most of the middlemen (I've used lulu.com but now use createspace.com, a division of amazon.com -- check them out!)
+1
Is this a joke?! "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it" - JP Morgan, his statement was arrogant as hell but I love quoting him when I get people who "can't pay for things". Everyone of the kids I know has dropped a considerable amount of cash for school on a variety of things. If you can't pay for it too bad, otherwise get a job, sell crack, join the army, or have mom and dad pay.
Interesting concept
The assumption underlying the approach taken by this app is that since students spend a lot of time online, digital classroom interactions will increase student engagement. Personally, I'm suspicious of this approach, and I prefer an old-school teaching approach that incorporates new technology but focuses on verbal interaction. I use Keynote for presentation software so I don't have to spend time writing on the board (the iPhone Keynote Remote app gives me the freedom to roam the classroom), but I've banned students from using any electronic devices in class. Experience has shown me that students who use laptops take poor notes, preferring to act like stenographers rather than active listeners. On the face of it, this app appears to avoid that problem, and I applaud their efforts, but I remain suspicious because it intentionally helps students avoid verbalizing their ideas or condense what the professor said into their own words. There is a lot of value in having students actually write down notes by hand and speak in class, believe it or not. Increasingly, students don't like to do it, but it's still good for them. My underlying belief is that technology should be a tool not a crutch, and I feel a need to push it into the background as much as possible. Being able to articulate an idea verbally and take good notes are important skills that I fear is being lost in the shift to a more online-oriented approach, and I think that the only way avoid this pitfall is to focus the classroom on that kind of interaction. For me, it's not just learning the material, it's also about learning how to put that material to good use. I'm a history professor, by the way, so maybe I'm still a bit suspicious of technology for its own sake, and I certainly don't want to sound dismissive of this app, which might be extremely useful if combined with other approaches in the classroom. I just want to make sure that we're not throwing out the baby with the bath water.
The assumption underlying the approach taken by this app is that since students spend a lot of time online, digital classroom interactions will increase student engagement. Personally, I'm suspicious of this approach, and I prefer an old-school teaching approach that incorporates new technology but focuses on verbal interaction. I use Keynote for presentation software so I don't have to spend time writing on the board (the iPhone Keynote Remote app gives me the freedom to roam the classroom), but I've banned students from using any electronic devices in class. Experience has shown me that students who use laptops take poor notes, preferring to act like stenographers rather than active listeners. On the face of it, this app appears to avoid that problem, and I applaud their efforts, but I remain suspicious because it intentionally helps students avoid verbalizing their ideas or condense what the professor said into their own words. There is a lot of value in having students actually write down notes by hand and speak in class, believe it or not. Increasingly, students don't like to do it, but it's still good for them. My underlying belief is that technology should be a tool not a crutch, and I feel a need to push it into the background as much as possible. Being able to articulate an idea verbally and take good notes are important skills that I fear is being lost in the shift to a more online-oriented approach, and I think that the only way avoid this pitfall is to focus the classroom on that kind of interaction. For me, it's not just learning the material, it's also about learning how to put that material to good use. I'm a history professor, by the way, so maybe I'm still a bit suspicious of technology for its own sake, and I certainly don't want to sound dismissive of this app, which might be extremely useful if combined with other approaches in the classroom. I just want to make sure that we're not throwing out the baby with the bath water.
There are a few companies who produce "clicker" type devices and apps. However, they are all on different standards so a new clicker is needed for each company.
The one I was referring to, ResponseWare, is produced by Turning Technologies. But, again, the app can only be used with their computer software and receiver.
Community Colleges
If only this were used as apart of my Cisco CCNP courses, as interactivity makes difficult material much easier to learn during lectures.
It would also be interesting to see if this levels the playing field, in terms of who is asking the questions in classes where this is being utilized...
If only this were used as apart of my Cisco CCNP courses, as interactivity makes difficult material much easier to learn during lectures.
It would also be interesting to see if this levels the playing field, in terms of who is asking the questions in classes where this is being utilized...
At my University, a laptop is required.
If you cannot afford one, you can rent one from the Univ.