Clickers

Please carefully read these direction for getting your clicker, reigstering your clicker, and then using your clicker in class. If you are interrested, you may also read some appended questions and answers that attempt to make sense of this clicker business. The UITS Knowledge Base includes several pages of additional clicker help, including What can I do if my eInstruction CPS Gen2 RF Response Pad ("clicker") isn't working?

Getting your clicker

Classroom Response Systems allow students to respond electronically to questions in class via a personal hand held response pad. Though the newer units don't make noise, they are usually called clickers. For this class you need to obtain a new eInstruction CPSrf clicker (pictured on the left), or the older model (see below), and purchase registration for at least this semester unless you already have an active eInstruction registration. Then you need to activate your clicker registration for this class, and bring your clicker to each class (but not labs).

In the summer of 2005 Indiana University began providing preferred support for RF clickers from this company, so you may find your clicker useful in future classes.

Obtain your CPSrf clicker from the IMU or TIS bookstores. At least in the past TIS has bundled the clicker with their more-expensive registration. Save the receipt, which you will need in the unlikely event that your clicker is defective. The cost of a new clicker is $19.75 at the IMU (could be the same or a bit more at TIS). Used clickers are available through the bookstores ($13.50 IMU, $16 TIS with fresh batteries) and may be purchased from other students. At the end of the last semester the IMU offered $9 for used clickers.

You may instead use the old eInstruction RF clicker model used in the spring of 2005 (without LCD). They are a bit harder to use, but have all the functionality you will need in this class. Of course they also require a current registration.Clicker models other than these two cannot be used in this class.

Registering your clicker

Registration is least expensive ($8 for one semester) on the web, and a bit more ($10) at the IMU bookstore, and most expensive from TIS, since they do not benefit from the agreement between eInstruction and IU. Registration may be purchased for the current semester only, or for multiple semesters. If you have purchased registration extending through this semester for another class, no purchase is needed for this class.

In any case you also need to activate your registration for this class using the eInstruction web. For this you need your clicker serial number and the Class Key: K35118N834. The serial number of new-model clicker appears on the screen when it is powered on, and on the old model it is on the back of the clicker, or perhaps under the battery cover (the small numbers and lower case letters just below the bar code under the very bottom of the battery holder). Then carefully follow the instruction in the Knowledge Base entry How do I purchase and register an eInstruction CPSrf response pad?. Browser cookies and popups need to be enabled, at least temporarily. Firefox (not Internet Explorer, is the preferred browser for this, though IE may work). In the dialog that asks for the Class Key there is also a Code box. If you purchased your registration at the bookstore, enter the code that came with the registration, or leave the Code box blank if you will be purchasing the registration on the web. Make a note of the response pad number you are given for this course and take it to each class. You may wish to put a sticker on the back of your clicker to record this number. When entering your clicker serial number, be casrefull not to confuse characters that look similar, such as one and lower-case L or zero and the letter O. When you are done, log out of CPS online, or your registration may not be recorded properly (don't just close the browser window).

If you have difficulty registering your clicker, try the whole registration procedure from the beginning, following the instructions above exactly. If you are still having difficulty, contact eInstruction technical support. They can help if you are not interpreting the instructions properly, and there have been some problems with their database that have prevented a few clickers from being registered without their help.

Using your clicker

Next read carefully the KB entry How do I use my CPSrf response pad in class?. You may wish to print this KB entry and take it to class, or carry the small instruction sheet that came with your clicker. Here are a few additional notes and things to keep in mind:

• Any time you see the CPS bar below the Powerpoint slide on the screen, expect clickers to be used in that class and join using the channel number in bold at the right hand side of the bar. Usually the channel is 01. The new model should join automatically when it is powered on. If your clicker display continues to say "Join", you probably pushed the Power/Join button twice, instead of once. In that case, either enter the session number on the pad and press send, or press and hold the Power button to turn your clicker off and then turn it on again with one press of the button. You can join any time the CPS bar is present, but you may not have time to do so during the first question.
• If you have registered your clicker successfully, but it does not work in class, see me immediately after class. If it is confirmed that your clicker is defective, you can exchange it at the bookstore where you bought it.
• In numberic responses, for a decimal point press the SYM key (to the right of the zero key).
• The following points apply only to the old-style clickers, which have a less intuitive interface.
  • Your clicker has joined the session and is working properly if the green light continues to blink momentarily every few seconds, and the green stays on for 5 seconds after you send a response. Check the green light after you join the session and after each response, and let me know right after class if you are having trouble.
  • When you turn your clicker on, release the power button as soon as the lights flash. If you hold the power button too long, it will turn off again.
  • Pressing the C key before you press Send clears your current response so you can start over.
  • The star, left-arrow, and right-arrow keys will not be used in this class.

Ignore mention of WebCT in eInstruction literature. It is course management software, like Oncourse, that is not used at IU. (eInstruction and IU agreed to work on integrating the system with Oncourse so hopefully some day students will not need to use the eInstruction web.)

There will be on opportunity to try out your clicker in the second class of the semester and regular use will begin in the second week.

Records of your clicker use will be used to determine class attendance: see the Policy page. Also note on that page: If someone is caught using another student's "clicker," both the user and the owner of the clicker will be charged with flagrant academic dishonesty, for which the penalty is irrevocable failure of the course.

You may also find the following KB entries to be helpful:

• What is IU's agreement with eInstruction Corporation?
• What is CPSrf?
• What technical support is available for CPSrf?
  
• Can I share, loan, or resell my CPSrf response pad?
• Why am I getting an error message when I try to register my CPSrf response pad?
• Can I return my CPSrf response pad and/or activation code for a refund?
  

Making sense of clickers (if you care)

You don't have to know why the clicker system is designed the way it is, but here is some more information if you're curious. It often helps to know the why of something, because that helps you remember related how-to stuff and reduces irritation over complexity and cost that may otherwise seem pointless.

• Why do I need to register my clicker?
  The clicker sends its serial number to the instructor's receiver, and it is then necessary for the software to connect the serial number with you. Registration adds information to a database maintained by eInstruction that makes this possible.
  
• Why do I need a response pad number?
  To provide visual feedback that the system software has received a response from you, it is possible for the instructor to display a chart of numbers, one for each student in the class, on which your number is highlighted when your response is received. For this each student in the class needs a unique small number. With earlier clicker designs this was essential. However, the clickers we are using reliably include the clicker serial number in each response and display a confirmation on the pad that your response has been received by turning on the greed light for five seconds. Thus the visual display of response pad numbers is generally not necessary with the new units.
  
• Why do I need to "join" the class session each time with a channel number that may be different for each session?
  The RF signal from your clicker can easily go through walls, and there might be another class using the system in a nearby classroom. (This isn't likely at IU right now, but as the system becomes more widely used this could be a real problem.) So when the instructors unit is plugged in, it listens for other units within RF range and picks a channel number that is not in use at the time. After you "join" the class session with this channel number, the number will be sent with every response you make, so the system will know that the response it receives is from someone in this class, and not the one next door.
  
• Why bother using clickers, as they are rather complicated and expensive?
  The number one result of research on learning is that learning is much more effective when you are actively engaged in it, rather than just taking it in passively. Clickers provide opportunities for your active participation in classroom learning that are not practical otherwise, especially in larger classes. There is rapidly growing evidence that students enjoy and benefit from this opportunity to be more engaged in class. Lesson plans may also be modified to better reflect class needs based on clicker feedback.
  
• Why haven't clickers been used more in the past if they're so great?
  Cost effective radio-frequency clickers just become available in the summer of 2005. Earlier units that used infra-red (like remote controls) were often so unreliable they were more trouble than they were worth.