{"66326":{"#nid":"66326","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Clicker System Launches This Fall","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFall semester will bring the opening of the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, the promise of a new football season and a new clicker system for faculty and students. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was time to make the switch because the vendor of the prior clicker \u2014 PRS \u2014 discontinued the product,\u201d said Clay Fenlason, director of educational technology. \u201cWe also learned that the PRS clicker wouldn\u2019t work with more recent versions of Microsoft Office, so an alternative needed to be found in fairly short order.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClickers are devices that allow faculty members to gauge student knowledge and engagement during class. For example, a professor might ask a question, students would respond by pressing a button on their device and the professor could measure response. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Tech, clickers are used primarily in chemistry, physics, biology, math, computing and management courses, with around 3,000 students using them each semester, Fenlason said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA faculty-led task force was organized to review four products based on features, support, pricing, technical reliability and T-Square integration. In the end, the unanimous choice was the TurningPoint system. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBenefits of the new system include the following: \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EInstructors aren\u2019t limited to using PowerPoint to design clicker polls.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe device is smaller, simpler, more responsive and less prone to interference than its predecessor.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStudent rosters can be imported from T-Square and grades can be easily uploaded back to T-Square.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaptop and mobile devices can be used as virtual clickers.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA couple of classes are piloting the new clickers this summer to help pave the way and identify last-minute issues,\u201d Fenlason said. \u201cThe bookstore should begin to stock the new clickers later this summer, and they should be the sole, supported clicker beginning in the fall.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFaculty will receive a free instructor kit, which includes a receiver and a clicker, and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) will offer training on the devices for faculty and teaching assistants at the beginning of each semester. Online tutorials are also available \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.turningtechnologies.com\/responsesystemsupport\/producttraining\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe price that students will pay has yet to be determined by Barnes \u0026amp; Noble @ Georgia Tech, which will sell the devices. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:cou@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EChaohua Ou\u003C\/a\u003E in CETL at\u0026nbsp; to obtain your system and to learn more about training opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFall semester will bring the opening of the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, the promise of a new football season and a new clicker system for faculty and students.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fall semester will bring the opening of the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, the promise of a new football season and a new clicker system for faculty and students."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-05-31 13:00:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:49","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-05-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-05-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cetl.gatech.edu\/it\/clicker.htm","title":"Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning Clicker Information Page"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.turningtechnologies.com\/responsesystemsupport\/producttraining","title":"TurningPoint Online Tutorials"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:cou@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EChaohua Ou\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECenter for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}