When teaching with clickers, choosing clicker activities is a lot like getting dressed in the morning. There are just so many possibilities; some ideas that work well in one classroom might be a "home run" for another!
Teaching with classroom clickers is just like that; there are so many combinations you can implement in your classroom that the technology itself stays motivating and effective.
Using clickers on a daily basis in your classroom will take some work on your part to slowly migrate them into your classroom routine. However, few technologies have as much potential to totally change your classroom dynamics.
Using clickers as a formative assessment tool will transform your classroom.
If clickers are only used on summative assessments, they may become thought of as an element of torture by students rather than the awesome classroom motivator and feedback tool that they are!
Using Clicker Activities on a Daily Basis
Although classroom clickers are incredible assessment tools that make grading a snap and saves the teacher a ton of time, many of the ideas below are for using clickers on a daily basis in your classroom to engage and motivate your students.
It is so much fun to see a lethargic, unmotivated class perk up and sit higher in their seats, simply because the instructor has taken time to engage them! It's up to you to decide which (or just how many) of these creative ideas you'll adopt to make clickers a hit in your classroom.
Clicker Housekeeping
- Introduce clickers to your audience in creative ways
- Organize, store, and distribute clickers effectively
- Provide makeup-work or missed materials with clicker reports
- Use clickers for bell work
Using Clickers for Assessment
Use clickers to deliver pre- and post-tests
Curb cheating by delivering multiple test versions
Move question-by-question through an activity or test
Use clickers with formative writing assessments
Lecture/Discussion Strategies
- Use clickers with lecture or discussion
- Ask clicker questions with zero preparation
- Use clickers with peer instruction or think-pair-share
Using Clickers to Grade Work
Spotcheck homework using clickers
Give a clicker participation grade
Give "partial credit" with clickers
Varying the Classroom Routine
- Liven up test reviews with fun clicker games
- Use clickers to generate a journal topic
- Review reading homework
- Use clickers to study conventions
- Use clickers to expand vocabulary
- Use clickers in a station setting
- Motivate with clickers
Using Clickers With Other Software
Use clickers with an online quiz
Use clickers with any instructional content or software
Ready-Made Clicker Activities
- FactMonster - quizzes over lots of topics
- BrainPop - BrainPop quizzes work great with clickers!
- www.freerice.com - A source for clicker-friendly questions dealing with several subjects (famous paintings, basic math, multiplication tables, chemistry symbols, english grammar and vocabulary, identifying countries and world capitals, French, German, Italian, or Spanish). For every question you answer correctly, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.
- NCES KidZone - Dare to Compare - compare quiz scores with students nationally