WHAT'S REALLY IN A CLICK: PollEverywhere's doing it's best Progressive Insurance impersonation with a semi-objective classroom response system comparison chart, but what does the research have to say about clickers in the classroom?
Jennifer Funk of Edcetera did the dirty work of compiling years of research from Dr. Angela Hoekstra, and produced this sharp summary. A quick Google Scholar search of Hoekstra's work reveals at least five publications, directly related to clickers, dating back to 2008, and numerous citations by other scholars. She also puts research into practice -- her course syllabus provides a blueprint for clicker implementation -- so it's safe to assume she's much more than a talking head.
We were floored to find out that according to Hoekstra's research, RF clickers still get the nod over smartphone apps. "Unlike dedicated clicker devices, smartphones require a satellite connection to work. When that connection is weak or 500 students in the lecture hall next door are also trying to tap into it, the data gets jumbled if it even shows up at all," writes Funk. Looks like we just found a pretty decent reliability test for Poll Everywhere and it's competitors. Who's game?
