Classrooms, Labs & Information Technology

Classroom Response Systems (Clickers)

What are clickers?

Clickers are wireless handheld devices that allow students to respond to multiple choice questions. These can be devices that are used only for this purpose (like the PRS clickers) or can be cell phones or laptops (like Poll Everywhere).

In popular culture, clickers became known in television shows that asked the studio audience to rank or vote for a winning person or video.  In the classroom, once responses are collected, the instructor can display a summary chart of those responses and use them as a point of discussion, further review or to prepare for additional class work.

Increased engagement, student interactivity and instant feedback are among the reasons clickers are effective in classroom settings.

PRS Clickers

PRS ClickerFaculty at Butler use an InterwriteTM personal response system (PRS) or "clicker." This clicker (pictured at right) has a two-line LCD screen so the student can see the answer before submitting it and view status messages, such as confirmation that the answer was received by the system. The system uses radio frequency (RF) technology and can receive responses in classrooms and lecture halls within a 150' range from 2,000 students. It supports a variety of question formats, including multiple choice, true/false, numeric, short answer, and rank order.

Who uses PRS clickers at Butler?

The Center for Academic Technology has been collaborating with the Biological Sciences Department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on the use of PRS clickers at Butler.  Courses integrating clickers include Principles of Zoology, Elementary Physics, General Chemistry and Principles of Biology.

Who do I contact if I am interested in using PRS clickers?

The Center for Academic Technology welcomes inquiries from faculty who believe their curriculum might benefit from integrating clickers into the classroom as well as from those who may be ready to switch to the PRS system from other clicker systems. We work closely with the bookstore to ensure availability of clickers each semester.

PRS Vendor Training and Support

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is an online text message voting application that can be employed for use with live audiences as an alternative to clicker devices.  Students can vote by sending text messages via a cell phone or a web page on a laptop to options displayed on-screen in a presentation.  The results of the poll can be embedded into a presentation such as PowerPoint, and it will update in real time as soon as the voter sends in his or her vote.

Butler University has a license for this application, and faculty members can contact the Center for Academic Technology (x8575) for an account. Students do not need to be registered in order to respond to polls in class.

Resources and References

This section contains links to case studies, research articles, and best practices from the literature and other universities that are using various classroom response systems.