I'm glad that I read Joanne Jacob's blog about clickers. I can just see myself seeing them for the first time as I substitute. Of course, the price of clickers might prevent a lot of schools from using them, especially in these troubled economic times. Still, it pays to know what tech gadgets are being used in schools.
Hand-held electronic devices for children may catch a lot of flak. But the little plastic keypad that Jill Hanford's sixth-graders use is revolutionizing the way she teaches her classes.
Hanford swears by the "clicker," a device that looks like a remote control but functions as a silent link between Hanford and her students. The clicker lets students answer Hanford's questions simultaneously and allows her to see what proportion of the class understood the concept.
Clickers are part of a package officially called a Classroom Performance System. Any teacher with a computer and projector can use them. In southwestern Idaho, many elementary school teachers refer to two main suppliers of the devices: an Indiana company called CIM Audio Visual, and the Houston-based Data Projections.
The devices can be found in classrooms from elementary schools to graduate schools around the country. Corporations use them, too, for assessing what workers are gaining from their training, said Heather Halpin, a sales representative for Data Projections.
Schools pay between $1,700 and $2,700 for a 32-student system from CIM Audio Visual or Data Projections. Several teachers received grants from the Boise Public Schools Education Foundation for their systems this year.
Years ago we used little chalk boards in much the same way. Each student had one and held it up after writing down an answer. The kids loved it at first, but grew tired of the whole process after a while. I wonder what will eventually take the place of clickers.