What practices are recommended?

Because clicker technology is fairly new to the academic scene, our suggestions for best practices continues to evolve. The following are some pointers to help you and your students get the most out of your clicker experience:

• Discuss clicker benefits. Students may respond more favorably if they understand how the clickers promote interactive learning. Instructors should begin by helping students feel comfortable with the technology, explaining how clickers will be used in class, and identifying the instructional goals of audience feedback.

• Prepare for contingencies. Instructors should have an alternative approach for students who show up to class without their clicker, with a clicker with a dead battery, or with a broken clicker. For example, the instructor may carry spare clickers or ask the student to write their answers on a piece of paper.

• Display student responses. Instructors are encouraged to use response boxes at the bottom of the screen so students can be confident their answers are recorded by the system. Once responses have been received, instructors can display the summary data in graphical form.

Additional resources on clicker projects and best practices:

Clicker Grant Project, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Technology Enhanced Learning and Research site, Ohio State University