Classroom Clickers and the Cost of Technology

Chronicle of Higher Education by Michael Bugeja | Dec. 2, 2008 (Investigative Report)

Last spring I received an e-mail message from my university's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching that read like an advertisement:

"If you are thinking of ordering personal response system units, or clickers, for your class next fall, be sure to attend the upcoming CELT session, Using TurningPoint Clickers to Engage Students in the Classroom."

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3.2
 by Dan Kennedy - Dec. 2, 2008

Not really an investigative report; more in the nature of a well-researched commentary. It is not explained why the publishing executive who is quoted anonymously declined to go on the record. And though the author makes a good case that the clickers are an unnecessary expense, he does not really attempt to quantify how burdensome that expense is.

I've been teaching at Northeastern University for more than four years, and I have never encountered this technology. I don't know what it is, and I had to guess from the story what it might be. A clearer explanation would have been welcome. (The author contacted me after I posted this and pointed me to information showing that clickers are in use at Northeastern. I had no idea. In any case, I don't believe their use is widespread.)

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