I would have to agree that it can be very time consuming to program the clickers, create the questions, etc. I use the Smart Response Clickers in my classroom and although they are very easy to use, creating the actual questions takes up quite a bit of my time. I have seen a huge improvement in my students' level of engagement, however.
Lindsay, How cool that you were able to solve your initial problem! I think it is great that even over time your students stayed engaged. Bummer about the set-up time, although I suppose like all lesson plans you will be able to "keep" it for next year and eventually you will have a whole bunch. I really like your idea of using the clickers during warm-up. This helps check for understanding without letting the atmosphere get too competitive or placing too much pressure on students to perform, especially the ones who need more time. You could then pull out the clickers again at the end of the class session to reinforce ideas and 'reward' engagement during class. PS I really like your photo mash-up :-)
A few years ago, I won a classroom set of CPS clickers at the MACUL pre-conference. I agree, it does take time to create the lessons and populate the grade book with student names. The good thing, is that the lessons can be reused, from one year to the next. Just like you, I would like to see CPS working more effectively with other technologies - would save a lot of work-around time. One problem I had to deal with was competitive students - they were more worried about being the first one to answer the question, rather than taking the time to answer the question correctly. Boy, were they bummed out, once they saw the grade book. Looking forward to reading your next post ~ Sue
This project has really come along nicely. Using the clickers as a warm-up is a great idea. The competitive nature of kids is hard to get rid of when you have them all interacting at the same time like this. Will you show them the grade book with all their incorrect answers like Susan mentioned?
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear how well your project went!
I would have to agree that it can be very time consuming to program the clickers, create the questions, etc. I use the Smart Response Clickers in my classroom and although they are very easy to use, creating the actual questions takes up quite a bit of my time. I have seen a huge improvement in my students' level of engagement, however.
Congrats on your successes!
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you were able to solve your initial problem! I think it is great that even over time your students stayed engaged.
Bummer about the set-up time, although I suppose like all lesson plans you will be able to "keep" it for next year and eventually you will have a whole bunch. I really like your idea of using the clickers during warm-up. This helps check for understanding without letting the atmosphere get too competitive or placing too much pressure on students to perform, especially the ones who need more time. You could then pull out the clickers again at the end of the class session to reinforce ideas and 'reward' engagement during class. PS I really like your photo mash-up :-)
A few years ago, I won a classroom set of CPS clickers at the MACUL pre-conference. I agree, it does take time to create the lessons and populate the grade book with student names. The good thing, is that the lessons can be reused, from one year to the next. Just like you, I would like to see CPS working more effectively with other technologies - would save a lot of work-around time. One problem I had to deal with was competitive students - they were more worried about being the first one to answer the question, rather than taking the time to answer the question correctly. Boy, were they bummed out, once they saw the grade book. Looking forward to reading your next post ~ Sue
ReplyDeleteThis project has really come along nicely. Using the clickers as a warm-up is a great idea. The competitive nature of kids is hard to get rid of when you have them all interacting at the same time like this. Will you show them the grade book with all their incorrect answers like Susan mentioned?
ReplyDelete