New Teaching Tools
There has been a lot of evolution in teaching systems. Interactive teaching has slowly become the order of the day. From electronic student response systems to keypad voting systems, classroom clickers, new technology has made a huge foray and in a big way.
One of the latest tools of teaching that has made the entire system extremely interactive is the classroom clicker.
Classroom clickers- Clickershelp teachers carry out best work, initiate discussions, and spur amazing interactive sessions between students and teachers. Clickers are a very good classroom response system. They make students respond to things without feeling scared or intimidated. They, in fact, invigorate the whole teaching process. The teachers formulate clicker questions and this broadens student participation. Some students hesitate to ask questions in a huge group but this clicker system helps to achieve this outcome effectively.
How to Use Classroom Clickers?
Classroom Clickers can be easily incorporated into the teaching system. The students need to be paired with classroom clickers. And when the teacher asks them the question their response is collected when the students type the same on his/ her keypad. The response stem is installed on the computer. The response travels via the radio frequency signals and reaches the receiver that is linked to the computer. The classroom performance system gathers all the data and puts it in form of a bar chart. This process is not complicated and leads to favorable learning outcomes for the whole class.
Mentioned below are some of the ways how classroom clickers can be put to use:
- Breaking the Ice:If whatever the teacher is long and technical, then it is vital that once the topic is finished, the teacher should stop and gauge what all the students have understood. For this warm-up questions can be used via classroom clickers. With help of a clicker response system, the teacher will gather what the students have understood and will be able to modify the lecture as per the need and requirements of the students. The process of teaching cannot be deemed as complete until the students understand whatever is being taught to them.
- Begin A Debate-If at all you desire to know the views of students about any controversial topic, the best way to go for it is via classroom clickers. When the students get to know how other students are responding they become more confident and share their views actively. The best way to go for it is by dividing the class into groups and then checking out their response. All this will lead to an energetic debate and each and every student will come forth to participate. A multi-channel dialogue helps students to think critically and solve a problem without any delay or issue.
- Issuing Pop Quizzes- These will help you to know whether the students have come to the class fully prepared or they do not possess adequate knowledge of things. Do not allow paucity of time to keep you away from checking the capabilities of the students. Classroom clickers help issue both pop quizzes and do the grading.
- Surveys- There are some of the lessons that are tougher than the others and necessitate more time to be spent by the students. Classroom polling helps to find out whether the students have understood the lecture or not. When most of the students are clear with a topic, you can easily jump to the next topic. Classroom clickers reveal whether a refresher lecture is required or not. With help of a classroom response system, the students can respond truthfully as they do not face any peril of humiliation by their peers.
- Creating Game- Clickers can be used to build fun and interactive games. Games lead to bigger participation. When students learn actively they can deal with real-life situations effectively. Games challenge the mind and prepare you for situations that you have not even thought of. Several classroom clicker games are available which can be made part of your teaching methodology. Choose the one that your students might enjoy and learn maximum from.
Classroom Response Systems are a blessing. It is important to evolve with time. And once you adopt this, it will be advantageous both for the student and the teacher. Classroom clickers are a lot of fun. They are innovative solutions that take away the monotony of one-way lectures. They make learning experiences inviting and active. The students are given a voice that they can use without any hindrance to their benefit.
Several companies offer interactive learning solutions. Opt for the one that makes the instructor-led learning active, effective, and easily measurable. You must conduct thorough research so that you opt for the best audience response system.
