We understand students can be a hard bunch to please.In an age of iPhones and Facebook, instructors sometimes face a difficult task in trying to keep students interested. Faculty often try unconventional methods to try to engage students, encourage participation and increase learning.One proven method of engaging students is to use “clickers,” small remotes instructors use to take participation, conduct quizzes and increase student participation in class. Clickers are effective, easy to use and a way to introduce some novelty into what can otherwise be a snooze-inducing lecture.Faculty and students both benefit greatly from using clickers in the classroom. But LSU’s clicker procedures need some work.First, there is more than one brand of clicker students may be required to purchase. Students may be required to use either the Turning Point brand clicker, the small rectangular version, or the iClicker, the larger device. Students might very well be required to have both devices during a single semester, as different professors require different versions.Such a system is redundant, and since the clickers can cost as much as $40 a unit, expensive.If it is at all possible to standarize the University’s clicker requirements — officially dictating use of only one version — such a system would greatly benefit the students.Second, professors often have problems operating the clicker receiving devices. Sometimes clickers are mis-registered, and attendence checks and quizzes go unrecorded. The University should provide instructors with the necessary training to fully utilize the clickers’ capabilities, and provide them with knowledge of how to troubleshoot should the system glitch.Clickers are useful teaching tools. And the University should ensure these tools are used to maximum effect.—————Contact the Editorial Board at [email protected]