Using the iClicker Classroom Response System to Enhance

Student Involvement and Learning

Christopher WHITEHEAD

Computer Science, Columbus State University

Columbus, GA 31909, United States of America

and

Lydia RAY

Computer Science, Columbus State University

Columbus, GA 31909, United States of America

ABSTRACT

Classroom response systems are emerging as a novel

technology to enhance involvement and learning of a new

generation of students. In this paper, we describe our

experiment of using such a classroom response

technology in an introductory computer science course

offered to students of all majors. The results of the

experiment provide evidence that the use of classroom

response systems positively impacts student learning.

Keywords: Classroom Response System, Student

Involvement, Student Learning, Computer Literacy,

iClicker.

1. INTRODUCTION

Modern society is becoming increasingly dependent on

information technology. As a consequence, the demand

for skilled workers who can understand and take

advantage of the new methods of communication and

information management is also growing [6], [9]. This

trend greatly impacts the mode of higher education in the

United States by requiring that a computer literacy course

to be an integral part of liberal arts education [7], [8].

Although this computer literacy course is typically a very

basic course that offers simple fundamentals of computer

and information technology, teaching this course is

particularly challenging for several reasons. The group of

students taking this course is typically very diverse with

students coming from various disciplines and various

backgrounds. While some students attending this course

may already know a lot about computers, some students

can be absolutely illiterate about computers. Therefore,

presenting course material in a learning style that is

optimal for such a wide range of students and fully

engaging students during class periods pose a great

challenge.

At Columbus State University, the authors have been

experiencing the difficulties mentioned in the previous

paragraph while teaching the introductory computer

literacy course (CPSC 1105) for last few years. Since the

course is relatively easy and not related to any major,

students often appear uninterested and tend to skip lecture

periods. Even if students are forced to attend lectures by

enforcing attendance rules, they do not pay attention to

the lectures and engage in other activities instead. The

authors have tried various quiz schemes. Too many

graded quizzes in addition to regular assignments and

examinations created additional pressure on students and

additional administrative activities for the faculty. On the

other hand, students did not take quizzes that were not

graded seriously. In either case, quiz schemes did not

succeed in enhancing student involvement or learning for

this particular course. As a result, the authors sought a

different solution and came upon an emerging classroom

response system called iClicker.

In order to study the effect of this new technology on

student engagement and learning, the authors

implemented the use of the iClicker devices in two

sections of CPSC 1105, while using two other sections as

a baseline. At the end of each class, students were

required to complete a survey which was carefully

designed by us to extract the views of students on the use

of this technology and on the course. The authors

analyzed the results of the survey as well as students’

performance at the end of the corresponding courses. In

this paper, the authors describe our experiment, the results

of the survey and the analysis of the impact the devices

had on student learning in detail.

The paper is organized as follows. The next section

contains a brief description of iClicker system including

usage and costs. Section 3 documents outlines of

previous research related to education and technology. In

sections 4 and 5 we describe our experiment and the

results correspondingly. The paper is concluded in section

6.

2. CLICKER CLASSROOM RESPONSE SYSTEM

2.1 The Technology

iClicker is a flexible and easy-to-use classroom response

system, invented in 2005 by a team of physicists from

University of Illinois [5], that enables students to instantly

provide feedback and answer questions posed by their

instructors. It is used in the following way:

The instructor and all students each possess a

portable handheld device called a “clicker”.

The clicker device contains several buttons (A, B, C,

D, E), which when pressed, transmit a wireless signal

to a wireless receiver, which is connected via a USB

(universal serial bus) connection to a computer

An easy-to-use iClicker application running on the

computer allows the data received by the receiver to

be managed.

By registering his/her clicker with the receiving

device, the instructor is able to use his/her clicker to

manage the iClicker application and the data

transmitted by the student clickers.

To solicit student responses, the instructor first

presents a multiple choice or true/false type question

on a Microsoft PowerPoint slide, then starts a timer

which allows student responses to be recorded.

While the timer is going, the students can select an

answer by "clicking" on the appropriate button (A, B,

C, D, E) on his/her clicker.

When a button on a student’s clicker is clicked, a

wireless signal is sent immediately from the clicker

to the receiver.

The receiver, through iClicker’s application software,

logs and stores the data of each individual student. If

a student clicks on multiple buttons, the last button

clicked is recorded.

Using his/her clicker, the instructor can stop the timer

which then discontinues the recording of any further

responses until the timer is started again.

The instructor can then use his/her clicker to display

the correct answer and the response results including

individual percentages in a bar graph. If the instructor

chooses, he/she can also display the response results

dynamically in a bar graph while the timer is still

going.

The response results are also available for later

analysis, grading, and exporting to any gradebook

software or course management systems.

2.2 Benefits and Issues

The iClicker classroom response system provides the

following benefits:

It enables an instructor to test for student

understanding instantly in the classroom, initiate

class discussion and enhance the quality of

interactive teaching.

The instructor can integrate iClicker with his/her

course management plan and save student responses

for later analysis. The instructor can make a variety

of statistical analyses on student performance data

collected using iClicker.

This system enables students to anonymously

respond in the classroom so that they are more

encouraged to participate in classroom activity

without any fear of being embarrassed for making

mistakes. While this is an advantage from students’

perspective, it prevents the instructor from knowing

individual performance of the students. Therefore,

this classroom response system is not a replacement

for quizzes, assignments or examinations.

3. RELATED RESEARCH

As an emerging classroom response system, the use of

iClicker technology is in its infancy and is not yet

widespread. A few reports have been published in 2009

Clickers in the Classroom conference [3]. Studies have

been done on freshmen courses such as Introductory

Geology, Communication, Psychology, Management,

and Statistics in various universities across the United

States. Issues such as student participation, anonymous

response on sensitive issues such as gender bias or racial

issues, teaching in a very large classroom were discussed

in these papers. Dr. Terry Hancock, from College of

Business at University of Louisville, documents his

experiment with the iClicker system for managing large

classroom and testing students’ understanding of

complex material in [4]. In [1], Dr. Leilani describes her

experience with using the classroom response

technology in Environmental Geology in order to

enhance student participation in class. In [2], the author

documents use of iClicker to enhance critical thinking in

an atypical class on “Communication and Gender”. All

these experiments show that this novel technology

positively impacts student learning.

4. ICLICKER EXPERIMENT AT CSU

4.1 Overview of the Course

Introduction to Information Technology (CPSC 1105) is

an introductory, interdisciplinary course designed to

enhance students’ knowledge of information technology.

The course covers the nature of information, computer

hardware, software, communications technology, and

computer-based information systems. The theory is

complemented by practical work aimed at gaining basic

proficiency with different types of widely used

application software including Microsoft Office (Word,

Excel, PowerPoint, and Access).

4.2 Motivation for Using iClicker

The primary motivation for using the iClicker student

response system was to enhance student participation in

the classroom and actively engage students in the learning

process thereby increasing student learning. As explained

in the introduction, students who enroll for this course

come from all disciplines at CSU with a wide range of

background in information technology. Therefore,

meeting demands of all students and engaging them in

classroom activities is a great challenge. Schemes such as

quizzes and classroom discussions have not yielded

satisfactory results. Therefore, the authors sought a new

solution with this novel technology.

4.3 Implementation

The study involved the two authors who taught four

different sections of CPSC 1105 during the Spring 2009

semester. The course content, exams, assignment grading

and other course material in the four sections were

identical. The lectures delivered throughout the course

were one hour and fifteen minutes in length and were

based on the use of PowerPoint presentations provided by

the textbook publisher. Except for individual instructor

styles, the lectures were delivered in as much the same

way as possible.

Unfortunately, the iClicker devices were not acquired

until the second month of the semester. As a result, the

devices were only used in the seven lectures following the

midterm exam. Each instructor taught two sections of the

same course – one in which the iClicker devices were

used and one in which the iClicker devices were not used.

Each instructor selected the weaker section with worse

average student performance in the midterm for iClicker

use.

The authors independently developed their own set of

iClicker questions, ranging from 5 to 14 questions per

lecture with a median of 8 questions.

5. RESULTS

5.1 The Survey for Students

Appendix A contains the survey (questions 1 - 20) that

was administered to students in the two different sections

of the course in which the iClicker devices were used. 43

students participated in this survey; 28% males, 73%

females. Appendix A also contains the survey (questions

11 - 20) administered to students in the two different

sections of the course in which the iClicker devices were

not used. 50 students participated in this survey; 32%

males, 68% females. To aid in comparing the results from

the sections using the iClicker devices and the sections

not using the iClicker devices, questions 11 through 20 of

the survey administered to sections using the iClicker

devices were identical to the questions 1 through 10

administered to the sections in which the iClicker devices

were not used.

5.2 The iClicker Survey Results

Table 1 lists the mean responses for the survey questions

administered to the two sections in which the iClicker

devices were used based on a scale of 1 to 5. The

questions are grouped according to the categories:

Pedagogical Impact, Device Functionality, Delivery

Methodology and Administrative Utility. The results from

questions 2, 3 and 6 indicate the use of the iClicker

devices had a significant impact on student learning,

while the results from questions 8 and 9 indicate

somewhat less of an impact though still positive.

Category Question # Mean Response

Pedagogical

Impact

2 4.5

3 4.2

6 4.1

8 2.6

9 3.5

10 4.4

Delivery

Methodology

4 4.0

5 2.7

Device

Functionality

1 4.7

Device Utility 7 4.0

Table 1. Survey responses in sections in which

iClickers were used.

As previously mentioned, the iClicker devices were used

over a series of seven lectures. During the seven lectures,

the number of iClickers questions asked ranged from 5 to

14 with a median of 8. According to the results from

question 4, the students felt this number was appropriate.

In general, the type of questions asked was recall type

questions. For example, “When a computer is turned on,

the first step in the boot process is:”. Although the results

of the survey indicate the students felt this type of

questions was relatively easy, these results need further

investigating to evaluate their impact on student learning.

The results from question 1 clearly indicate the iClicker

devices were easy to use. This information, however,

would be more valuable in comparison to the use of other

similar devices.

The final question, question 7, was designed to ascertain

the student’s willingness to accept the iClicker device as a

method of taking attendance and earning grades. The

results of the survey indicate the students would be

willing to accept the use of the devices in this capacity.

5.3 Comparison Between Classes Using iClickers and

Not Using iClickers

Table 2 provides the mean responses for the survey

questions that were asked in all four sections of the

course. As can be seen, except for the questions, “The

course lectures were informative and helped me better

understand the course material.” and “I have developed a

better understanding of the subject by taking this course.”,

the mean response in the sections in which the iClickers

were used appear to be higher than the mean response in

the sections in which the iClickers were not used.

However, t-tests assuming equal variances showed that

none of the paired values were significantly different at

the 0.05 level of significance. The authors believe that the

small amount of data and the assumption of equal

variance contributed to this conclusion.

Question

#

Mean Response

in Sections Not

Using iClicker

Mean Response in

Sections Using

iClicker

1/11 3.73 3.90

2/12 3.53 3.30

3/13 3.55 3.78

4/14 3.12 3.28

5/15 3.38 3.68

6/16 3.34 3.63

7/17 3.09 3.28

8/18 3.66 3.90

Table 2. Comparison of survey responses.

5.4 Impact on Student Grades

Table 3 lists the percentages of grade distributions in the

two sections in which the iClickers were not used

compared to the two sections in which the iClickers were

used. The results are also displayed graphically in Figure

1.

As previously mentioned, the sections with worse average

midterm performances were selected for iClicker use.

Table 3 and Figure 1 show that while the percentage of

students who received passing scores just after the

midterm exam was higher in the sections in which

iClickers were not used, the percentage of students who

received a passing score at the end of the course was

significantly higher in the two sections in which the

iClickers were used. In addition, the number of students

who received a passing grade decreased between the

midterm exam and the final grade in the sections in which

the iClickers were not used, while the percentage of

students who passed the course increased in the sections

in which the iClickers were used. Likewise, the

percentage of students who received a non-passing grade

was lower initially but increased in the sections in which

the iClickers were not used, while the percentage of

students who received a non-passing grade was initially

higher in the sections in which the iClickers were used,

but which decreased between the midterm exam and the

final course grade.

Without iClicker With iClicker

Midterm Final Midterm Final

A 11.5 40.7 16.7 14.0

B 50.7 31.5 35.4 42.0

C 24.4 11.1 29.2 32.7

Total

Passed 86.7 83.3 81.3 88.7

D 3.8 7.4 6.3 6.5

F 9.5 9.3 12.5 4.8

Total

Not

Passed 13.3 16.7 18.8 11.3

Table 3. Results (values in percentage)

Figure 1: Performance comparison between classes

with and without iClicker

6. CONCLUSION

The results of this study provide evidence that the use of

iClickers positively impacted the students’ learning

during the course. These results are supported by the

increased number of students who received passing

grades in the course in the sections in which the iClickers

were used. However, these results are based on the

limited sample size of four sections of the course, and are

subject to numerous outside factors including possible

instructor bias. Additional research is needed to

substantiate these results and to provide clear evidence

that the use of devices such as iClicker do indeed

positively impact student learning. In addition, the survey

results indicate that students preferred approximately

eight questions per one hour and fifteen minute lectures.

More data is also needed to support this finding as well as

the optimal number of questions for maximizing student

learning. Lastly, the type of questions asked during this

study was general recall as previously mentioned.

Additional research is also needed to support the impact

of the use of different types of questions, including those

involving teams.

7. REFERENCES

[1] Arthurs, D. L. (2008). Expanding the Use of

Classroom Response Systems (CRS): CRS

Integration with In-Class Group Activities

in Large Classrooms. Inaugural Conference

on Classroom Response Systems 2008.

Louisville.

[2] Ashlock, D. M. (2008). Communication

and Gender: Using the i>clicker to

Generate Critical Thinking. Inaugural

Conference on Classroom Response Systems

2008. Louisville.

[3] Conference Papers. (n.d.). Retrieved October

10, 2009, from iClicker:

http://www.iclicker.com/dnn/UserCommuni

ty/ConferencePapers/tabid/171/Default.asp

x

[4] Hancock, D. T. (2008). Use of Classroom

Response Systems (CRS) in Formal Testing. Inaugural Conference on Classroom Response

Systems 2008. Louisville.

[5] Inventors. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2009,

from iClicker Web Site:

http://iclicker.com/dnn/Abouticlicker/Inven

tors/tabid/146/Default.aspx

[6] Kai S. Koong, L. C. (2009, June). A Study of

the Demand for Information Technology

Professionals in Selected Internet Job

Portals. Journal of Information Systems

Education , Vol 13(1).

[7] Mohan Rao, J. K. (2006). Computer

Literacy: Implications for Teaching a

College-Level Course. Southwest Decision

Sciences Institute Annual Conference.

Oklahoma.

[8] Nitham M. Hindi, D. M. (January1, 2002).

Computer Literacy: Implications for

Teaching a College-Level Course. Journal of

Information Systems Education , Vol 13.

[9] Richard Ellis, B. Lindsay Lowell. (1999).

Assessing the Demand forInformation

Technology Workers.

http://www.cpst.org/IT-4.pdf.

APPENDIX A

SURVEY ADMINISTERED TO STUDENTS

Questions 1 - 20 were administered to “iClicker” students; questions 11 - 20 were administered to “non-iClicker” students:

Question # Question Possible Responses

1 The iClicker handset was easy to use. 1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

2 The iClicker questions encouraged me to actively participate in

lectures.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

3 Answering iClicker questions during the lecture helped me better

understand the concepts in this course.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

4 The number of iClicker questions asked in class was: 3 = Too few | 4 = Just right | 5 = Too many

5 The iClicker questions asked in class were, on average: 1 = Very easy | 2 = Easy | 3 = Just right | 4

= Difficult | 5 = Very difficult

6 The iClicker questions helped me focus and pay more attention in

lectures.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

7 Grades and/or participation points should be allocated for

answering iClicker questions.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

8 The iClicker questions would have been just as useful if they had

been presented in class without the use of the iClickers.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

9 The use of iClickers encouraged me to come to class. 1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

10 Overall, how would you rate your iClicker experience in this class? 1 = Very negative | 2 = Negative | 3 =

Neutral | 4 = Positive | 5 = Very positive

11 The course lectures were informative and helped me better

understand the course material.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

12 The textbook helped me better understand the course material. 1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

13 Assignments in this course were appropriate, reflected the course

content and helped me to learn course material.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

14 The assignments in this course were: 1 = Too easy | 2 = Easy | 3 = Appropriate |

4 = Difficult | 5 = Too difficult

15 MyITLab is an effective learning environment: 1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

16 Splitting the course into a lecture period and a lab period helped me

to learn course material.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

17 The overall difficulty of this course was: 1 = Too easy | 2 = Easy | 3 = Appropriate |

4 = Difficult | 5 = Too difficult

18 I have developed a better understanding of the subject by taking

this course.

1 = SD | 2 = D | 3 = N | 4 = A | 5 = SA

19 My gender is: 4 = Female | 5 = Male

20 Please provide any additional comments not covered above including suggestions for improving the course:

Note: SD = Strongly disagree; D = Disagree; N = Neutral; A = Agree; SA = Strongly agree