Open-Ended Clicker Systems

From the Marshall Memo #448

This Educause article describes how an open-ended student response system works. The teacher asks a question (in the case of a college course on the Evolution of Social Justice in the 20^th century, the question was, In what way is Prohibition like gay rights?) and students use their laptops, smartphones, or tablets to enter responses. Everyone looks at the suggestions displayed on the screen and a clicker poll decides which ones will be the focus for discussion. In this university class of 63 students, the winning suggestion was, Both Prohibition and gay rights were watershed topics that divided the nation into clear political camps. Based on students’ input, the teacher can follow up on questions and misconceptions, invite in pertinent guest speakers, and analyze trends in student responses over time.

“These communication tools open a channel for the kind of individual, creative student responses that can alter the character of learning,” says the article. “In larger classes, electronic communication tools might tempt shy students to enter the class discourse or reduce the impact of dominant voices that might otherwise monopolize a conversation.” And discussions can continue after class through face-to-face chats or through social media. 

Here are some of the products that perform these functions: Google Moderator, Poll Anywhere, IdeaScale, ResponseWare, Harvard University’s Live Question Tool, Purdue University’s Hotseat, and MIT’s Classroom Learning Partner. 

“Things You Should Know About Open-Ended Response Systems” in Educause, January 2011, http://bit.ly/NXzMpG