I want you to think of the first thing that comes to your mind when you imagine the following scenario:
The mood is solemn, the lights dim and the question is displayed on the screen. The person at the bottom of the large auditorium reads the question out loud for all to hear.
Silence and confusion fill the air and all of a sudden you’re asked for your input. You must vote A, B, C or D starting… now!
You lock in your answer, but are somewhat concerned about your selection.
The correct answered is finally revealed…
You are unfortunately not an audience member of the television show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” and the person at the bottom of the large auditorium is not Regis Philbin.
With the University’s many large auditorium classes, instructors had to think of a way to hold students accountable for showing up to class without spending the whole class period calling roll.
Thus, it established the “clicker” system around campus.I was required my freshman year to spend $40 on a TurningPoint ResponseCard for both my chemistry and biology classes.
That’s a bit expensive for a little remote control (considering a Wiimote is the same price, and I can get a lot more fun out of it), but I could see how they were useful because both of those classes had 300-400 students each.
Forty dollars is steep, especially for a poor college student. But using it in two classes, plus the rest of my college career, seemed like it would eventually be worth it.
I took those classes five semesters ago and still have found no use for my ResponseCard.
This semester looked bright for the little guy. I have two classes in the 1000-seat Cox Auditorium, the perfect scenario for my $40 remote.But, to my dismay, the first class I went to does not require it. No need to fear, entering my second class in the building, it appears my teacher will use a clicker.
Yet the clicker the teacher holds up did not resemble the clicker I grew to know and love — she held up an “i>clicker.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Not only do I have to spend another $40 on a piece of equipment that does the exact same thing as the remote I already have, I feel as if I’m cheating on my ResponseCard with this new i>clicker — and cheating is never a good thing to do.
I talk highly of my little ResponseCard, but the whole clicker system on campus is ridiculous.
Not only is it unfair to require students to spend $40 (now $80 in my case) on a little piece of plastic, to have a full letter grade riding on the system actually working consistently is absurd.
Almost all students at the University are of legal age — it should be up to them to decide whether they want to attend class and possibly pass a test or not.
By forcing some of these students to attend class against their will, the only thing this causes is distraction among the rest of class.
So many times in these clicker-required classes, I see other students register their answer then just check Facebook or watch videos on YouTube — some even with the sound on.
Sounds like a great learning environment, right?
I understand attendance usually leads to better grades, and the University looks better if grades are higher, but there has to be a better way.
Instead of buying the $40 ResponseCard, why can’t I just download the free Turning Technologies app on my iPod Touch and use it?
Oh, because the University doesn’t want to foot the subscription fee Turning Technologies requires for the service? That’s right … budget cuts.
There is a better solution out there, one that won’t cost me the same as a textbook — you know, the thing that will actually further my knowledge. I guess it’s me and my fancy new i>clicker until then.
Oh well, at least “Lost” is back on.
Adam Arinder is a 20-year-old communication studies junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]