Clickers in Education : Do students perceptions of clickers differ with the purpose?

How can we encourage student participation in large classes? More specifically, how can participation best be encouraged with clickers; if they are used with anonymity for the student, or if the teacher can track each student and her/his performance? In this study, we evaluated student’s experiences of clickers in two settings; one where students used clickers anonymously, and one where clickers were used both for controlling attendance and as a part of setting the grade for the student in the course. We found pros and cons of both approaches. It seems that students are more satisfied and learn more from clickers’ activities as such when used without control, but that students that have experienced control are more positive to this and that the control as such can force them to participate more in the lectures and, by that, learn more. For both settings, we noted positive attitudes towards clickers, indicating that the use of clickers makes students more positive to the course and its content, irrespective of if clickers are used for control or not