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Over 800 Educational Institutions opt to use the “iclicker”, but what does this mean for the student budget?

By Stephanie Trembath,
Life and Style Editor

uition fees: the never-ending
; battle we students face each

year each balancing our budget
between work and play. While an arts
student will spend roughly $300 on
textbooks, those in sciences usually have
to double that number. More credits
equals more money, and the less time
you spend searching for books in the
library or on craigslist means you’re
going to spend more money. As I am an
art student, this semester alone cost me
$2993 in textbooks and tuition; which
is minimal compared to my friends
with science majors. Having said this,
it comes to my dismay to learn that in
the one chemistry class I am taking this
semester, I was forced to buy an iclicker
at $42 to earn a measly 5%.

This new form of technology, the
audience response system, which has
been likened to “ Who wants to be
a Millionaire” has replaced the pen

and paper in that students are able to
instantly engage with their instructors
with a simple “click”. The clicker is a
light plastic remote control that when
activated, immediately response to a
wireless signal set by the professor.
With modern advances in technology,
and a “go green” attitude, it should
really come as no surprise that raising
hands and wasting paper are becoming
obsolete through wireless response
systems; however, I have to ask if it
is absolutely necessary that while in a
classroom one needs a remote control
to poll in answers and sign into class. I
mean, honestly, do I care about seeing
the polling results in graph form on
an overhead? Not really. Sometimes I
barely care what is going on in lecture,
never mind who else is in class with me.
One of the profound ideas of the
iclicker is that they “enable you to
assess your students’ knowledge, keep
their attention, provide immediate
feedback, and encourage all students
to participate” as taken directly off the

iclicker website. Correct me if I am
wrong, but holding a remote control and
pushing buttons labeled “A B C D E”
hold my attention span no longer that
yelling “PRESENT” when called. Nor
does it encourage me to participate in
lecture topics that are difficult, boring,
or tedious. If a particular topic or class
is interesting I will be participating

and interested, but just giving students
something that resembles the controller
to a TV doesn’t necessarily mean that we
are going to give you the same attention
we give our favorite TV shows.

The initial concept of the audience
response system was introduced first at
Harvard University where conceptual
questions were posed and the students
were allowed to discuss with the persons
nearby. From there, physicists Tim
Stelzer, Gary Gladding, Mats Selen,
and Benny Brown decided to develop
the iclicker: a wireless radio frequency
system used to build a relationship
between Professor and pupil with a
focus more towards peer learning and

total student engagement.

More realistically, the iclicker
is a pain. While it may be easier for
teachers and university professors, it
has become one more thing we students
have to purchase in order to succeed in
school. We are currently living between
two worlds; hard copy text books
and notepads are still necessary, as is
online web access and other forms of
technology. Rather than purchasing one
set of school materials, students now
are required to have both hard copies
and online access of all their work. The
price to education is a constant battle
we certainly aren’t going to win, but
we continuously have to pay for. While
I am one of many students who bowed
to the wishes of the iclicker, I couldn’t
help notice the half dozen students who
decided to forgo their 5% and thumb
the institution. Kudos to those who
refused to conform, but given that I am
miserable in the field of sciences, my
5% iclicker may be the entire grade I
receive.

 

 

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