What is a Personal Response "Polling" System?
Personal response systems (PRS) enable students to use a remote control or “clicker” to answer questions posed by their professors. They can also be used by an instructor to obtain real-time feedback on student comprehension. A typical PRS comprises hand-held transmitters, or “clickers,” for students to submit answers, receivers that collect the answers, and software that creates the question slides and displays the statistics of the student answers in real time. PRS technology has potential value in large-enrollment courses because it can be used to quickly collect and display information. Taking attendance, checking for understanding during a lecture, administering quizzes, and engaging students in peer-to-peer learning are some examples. When an instructor or professor asks a question using PRS, students answer with their clicker. The responses are sent to a computer and, after a set time, tabulated and projected so that both the professor and the students see a “live” picture of the group's understanding, performance, or opinion. The format of questions and answers varies with the software and hardware (multiple choice, true/false, numerical, etc.). Responses can be anonymous or tracked by students over the course of the semester.
Personal Response "Polling" Systems at Cornell
As of the spring 2007 semester, CIT is supporting the i>clicker (http://www.iclicker.com/) Personal Response "polling" System. The i>clicker system offers a simple clicker with five large, multiple-choice buttons, an on-off button, and lights that confirm responses have been received. The software is flexible, cross-platform, and open source.
During 2006, CIT sponsored a pilot project on the use of polling technology in the classroom. Visit the Polling Pilot web site (http://www.cit.cornell.edu/projects/polling/) for more information about the pilot and PRS recommendations.
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