After using "clickers" in his classes for two semesters, Earth science professor Timothy Heaton says continuing the use of them is "here to stay."
"Immediate response is nice with clicker questions and they are a useful tool to get students engaged in class," Heaton said.
Heaton said clickers were first introduced three semesters ago at USD as a trial run.
A clicker is roughly three by two inches, with 12 buttons used to log in and submit an answer to a question the professor asks. That answer is taken by the computer system and is made available for the professor to see.
Barnes & Noble Bookstore employee Allie White says many different courses use clickers, such as biology, Earth science, film appreciation, meteorology and psychology.
The cost of a clicker at the Barnes & Noble bookstore is $42. White said students are not able to return them back to the bookstore once they have purchased one because there is a serial number on the back of each clicker, which has to be registered to the student who bought the clicker.
"The cost seems really expensive, and not being able to sell them back to the bookstore is a huge downfall," freshman Laine Hale said. "If I knew that I would be able to get some money out of it later on, I wouldn't think of it as a big deal."
Heaton said clickers are a positive addition to both students and professors. Before the use of clickers, Heaton did a show of hands when asking questions to the general class, as well as passing a sign-in sheet around the room for attendance. The sign-in sheet created many hours of work for Heaton because he had to physically check each student's name off the list.
Now, Heaton has students use clickers to answer multiple choice questions shown throughout his powerpoint presentation lecture as a way to communicate with students, and make sure they are paying attention during class. Clickers also take attendance for professors.
Students say clickers are a benefit to them as well because the questions they answer correctly go towards extra credit in their overall grade.
"Even though there are days I'd rather not go to class, I know I should because it doesn't hurt to get some extra credit," freshman Eric Gerberding said.
Heaton estimates he will ask 120 clicker questions throughout the semester and the number of clicker questions each student answers correctly will be divided by four, averaging a five percent grade increase if students consistently come to class and answer the majority of the questions correctly.
Hale agrees that a positive aspect of the clickers is receiving extra credit.
"Being able to get extra credit for just showing up and answering some questions right is a huge incentive to go to class," Hale said. "That extra credit gives me some cushion room when I might need it at the end of the semester."
Even though Heaton appreciates the addition of clicker technology, he says there can be some negatives for himself as well for the students.
"There are some hitches for students and professors when it comes to setting them up," Heaton said. "It is one more piece of technology that students and professors have to use and there can be trouble with the clickers not communicating with the system."
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