Products
The Answer Is …
1/1/0001 By:
By Ellen Ullman
Clickers. Audio response systems. Student response systems (SRSs). Whatever you call them,
wireless response systems, which allow students to answer questions by means of handheld
response pads, are the answer to some teachers’ prayers. SRSs take the guesswork out of
instruction, helping teachers see exactly who understands the material and who doesn’t. But
don’t let us sell you on these systems; let the proponents speak for themselves.
CLEVELAND
CENTRAL HIGH
SCHOOL
CLEVELAND, TENN.
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
QWIZDOM
WWW.QWIZDOM.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
“I had seen similar products at a conference
and thought they could be useful,” says Barbie
Buckner, who teaches science at Cleveland
(Tenn.) Central High School. “Students often
give me the feedback I want, but Qwizdom
shows me what the kids don’t understand, so I
don’t have to re-teach entire lessons.”
BEST
FEATURES
Buckner, who has used Qwizdom clickers for
five years, loves the new Q6 because “it was
designed with cell phones and texting in mind.
The Q6 lets us use symbols, which is very
important for math and science.”
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
“I had the Q6 before it was released, and it got
stuck sometimes. The minor software glitches
were taken care of for the release in May.”
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
Buckner uses them to give tests and quizzes,
to check homework, and to ask questions on
the fly. “When I’m giving a lecture, I can use
my Q7 [wireless tablet] to click one button
and prepare a question. I can get feedback
for myself or on the big screen. The kids love
watching the graph change.”
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
Buckner has covered more material in her
chemistry classes since she started using
clickers. “No more wasting time re-teaching
what the students don’t need.”
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
“Do whatever it takes to get them. Today’s
students are driven by immediate feedback and
hands-on touch-and-click. It will revolutionize
your classroom.”
HURST JUNIOR HIGH
SCHOOL
HURST, TEXAS
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
SMART RESPONSE
SMARTTECH.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
“We wanted to get instant data and instant
feedback,” says Amanda Hatcher, who teaches
math and pre-AP math at Hurst Junior High
School.
BEST
FEATURES
“It grades everything for me!” Hatcher says.
She also likes it that it works well with SMART
Notebook and lets students see either their
results or the entire class’s results.
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
“It crashes pretty often, which is frustrating.”
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
Hatcher uses them “all day, every day.” Her
students come in, pick up a remote, and answer
warm-up questions for 10 minutes. She goes
over their results and does a mini lesson during
which the students use their remotes to answer
more questions.
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
“My first year at the school, only 72 percent
of my students passed. Since we got SMART
Response three years ago, our student scores
have improved every year. Now our passing
rate is in the 90s.”
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
“You’d better hope your teachers are fast
graders, because they will never catch up. I
know where my students are and can fix any
misunderstandings right away.”
CITRUS COUNTY
SCHOOL BOARD
CITRUS COUNTY,
FLORIDA
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
TURNINGPOINT RESPONSECARD XR SYSTEM
WWW.TURNINGTECHNOLOGIES.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
John Mullen, program specialist for the Citrus
County (Fla.) School Board, began exploring
SRSs about two years ago. “Florida began
doing performance pay, and we would have
more than 50,000 tests to grade every six
weeks. We needed something economical and
environmentally friendly.”
BEST
FEATURES
Ease of use is at the top. “Teachers like the
versatility; they can use it with PowerPoint, with
TurningPoint’s software, or with other software.”
So far he hasn’t had any technical problems.
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
“Nothing. No negatives yet, although getting it
into the high school is like pulling teeth. That’s
more of a personnel than a tech problem,
though.”
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
This was the first year of full implementation.
“We’ve created mini assessments and time lines
for all subject areas. The assessments consist of
five to 10 questions on a particular benchmark;
they are available for teachers to use, or
teachers can make their own and share them.”
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
“The results are outstanding. All students are
experiencing growth, with the special-education
students improving the most.” One fifth-grade
classroom had not made AYP last year. This
year that teacher used the clickers all day long
and was the only teacher in her school who
had students who qualified for advanced math;
nearly 75 percent of her students qualified.
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
Mullen suggests providing resources so teachers
can use them immediately. “We did lots of
training before Christmas and created games
using holiday trivia, then encouraged teachers to
take them home and play with their families.” He
also initially required teachers to show the results
of one mini assessment every 10 days, so he
knew that the systems weren’t sitting on shelves.
HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
DELTONA, FLORIDA
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE SYSTEM (CPS)
PULSE EINSTRUCTION
WWW.EINSTRUCTION.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
Four years ago, Kristy Kuches was asked to help
improve math scores at an elementary school.
She came up with several games and hands-on
activities but was concerned about filling up an
entire year. Then she learned about CPS Pulse.
“Once I got a remote, I knew I could do more
math and have the whole class engaged,” says
Kuches, who teaches math at Heritage Middle
School.
BEST
FEATURES
It gives immediate feedback, and it’s anonymous.
“The kids learn quickly that if they don’t say ‘Aw,
jeez,’ then no one knows who got it wrong.” She’s
also a fan of eInstruction’s customer service and
says her sales rep goes “above and beyond.”
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
“The Pulse has a texting feature, which is nice,
but I wish it had more flexibility. There can be
only one right answer between Abe Lincoln,
Lincoln, and Abraham Lincoln. If students
spell it incorrectly or word it differently, it is
considered wrong.”
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
“I use it for everything! I use it to introduce
concepts, see who understands, and check
their homework. Then I know what to review.
I also use it for quizzes and tests. I can easily
give four versions of tests, so cheating is
nonexistent.”
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
“Because of the anonymity, kids who are quietly
suffering don’t have to suffer anymore. They
know right away if they got it wrong and can
see where they messed up when we go over it.”
Sixty percent of students get correct answers at
the start of class; by the end, it is 90 percent or
higher.
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
“Kids today cannot wait 24 hours to get the
scores on their paper. To ask them to wait for
homework or test results is not how their brains
are wired anymore. Teachers who don’t use
clickers always ask how my students move so
far along so quickly.”
ST. ANNE SCHOOL
LAGUNA NIGUEL, CALIF.
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
I>CLICKER
WWW.ICLICKER.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
Joe Kemp, systems administrator at St. Anne
School used i>clickers in his college marketing
class last year and thought that the teachers
and students at this K–8 school would benefit
from using them. “I got a demo kit from
i>clicker, and the teachers loved it,” he says.
“They wanted to use them to keep students’
attention during lessons.”
BEST
FEATURES
Ease of use. “There are only two IT people for
our school, so we love that i>clicker needs no
installation, is easy to use, and requires little if
any training,” Kemp says. “It caters to a wide
range of teachers: The tech-savvy ones can
do as much as they want, and the tech-phobic
teachers can use it to poll kids during class.”
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
One teacher complained that there aren’t
downloadable lessons, unlike what other clicker
companies provide.
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
Most of the teachers embed questions in
PowerPoint presentations to check comprehension,
but some have started using them with their
interactive whiteboards to give quizzes or for preassessment.
“A first-grade teacher asked students
to vote for the name of the class pet.”
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
The school hasn’t collected data, but teachers
say i>clicker helps them teach better because
they know what the students understand.
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
“Today’s kids have so much technology in their
lives that to expect them to just sit and pay
attention to a teacher talking is unreasonable
at best. These will enhance their educational
experience.”
BARRINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
BARRINGTON, N.H.
WHAT DO
YOU USE?
2KNOW! CLASSROOM RESPONSE SYSTEM
RENAISSANCE LEARNING
WWW.RENLEARN.COM
WHY
DID YOU
BUY THIS
PRODUCT?
Mary Wilson, who teaches math at Barrington
(N.H.) Middle School, received the product
as part of a technology grant. “I felt that my
students and I could immediately use 2Know,”
she says.
BEST
FEATURES
Student engagement. “They especially like it
when we use them to play interactive games.
They get to be on teams, earn points, and have
fun. I love the instantaneousness.”
I GET
COMPLAINTS
ABOUT…
“I wish it weren’t so time-consuming. Some kids
are a lot slower, and waiting for those children is
not the best use of time. It’s fine when we’re doing
skills and drills, but we have to wait for everyone
when doing formative assessment or quizzes.”
HOW ARE
TEACHERS
USING
THEM?
Wilson uses them for review games, for
formative assessment, and to improve math
skills. “I use MathFacts in a Flash, which is
supplied by Renaissance Learning, as well as my
own stuff and our textbook.”
WHAT
KINDS OF
RESULTS
HAVE
TEACHERS
SEEN?
“We have had a lot of positive movement in test
scores, but I can’t isolate it to just 2Know.”
WHAT
ADVICE
WOULD YOU
GIVE TO
SCHOOLS
THAT DON’T
HAVE THEM?
“There are a lot of clickers to choose from, so
make sure kids can put in short answers so you
aren’t limited to multiple-choice or numeric
answers. Buy one that can be used for any
subject. It is a great way to get one-on-one
technology with kids, and it’s fairly inexpensive.”
More Response Systems
Califone International’s Got It!
Interactive Wireless Student
Response System
www.califone.com
Dukane’s Convey Student Response
www.conveyclassrooms.com
iRespond’s iRespond-UltraLite
www.irespond.com
Promethean’s Learner Response
Systems
www.prometheanworld.com
QOMO’s QIR300 Audience Response
System
www.qomo.com