Georgetown classes have recently become click-happy. The iClicker – a device that made its Hilltop premiere in large science and math lectures – is now being used in classes from a variety of departments, including economics and government. While it has its charms, the iClicker can create unnecessary inconveniences for both students and professors.
A small, portable, four-button remote, the iClicker allows students to wirelessly answer on-screen multiple-choice questions posed by the professor. The system polls the answers of all the students, and presents the data in colorful, user-friendly graphs. It allows professors to engage large lecture halls and avoid the sometimes-awkward silences that can occur when students are asked to voice their opinions in front of 170 of their peers.
Some professors, however, have taken to using clickers as substitutes for written quizzes or to take and mandate student attendance. Both trends present logistical problems. How, for instance, should the Honor Code apply to students who click in for absent friends? Unless students are actually caught in the act, how can iClicker-based attendance rules be enforced? What headaches await students with malfunctioning clickers who are anxious about their participation grade – or, for that matter, the professors who have to deal with clicker issues?
Those concerns are secondary, however, to the bigger question of compulsory attendance. Many professors advise their classes that consistent attendance is necessary to adequately master the course material and earn a good grade. If students cannot take a hint and decide to skip class anyway, they ought to bear the consequences of that action. That said, those students who independently show up for class ought to be treated as adults, not as potential hooky players.
For many, the college years are a transition from the period of teenage rebellion to the increased responsibility of young adulthood. This is the last insulated experience most have before being thrown into the real world. College is a critical time for students to begin functioning as adults. While iClickers are certainly a good tool for increasing attendance, micromanaging students’ presence in class is not the best strategy for professors looking to prepare their students for post-graduation independence. If students do not develop the self-motivation to show up on their own, they could have trouble motivating themselves to go to professional meetings. Unlike in the lecture hall, there are no iClickers in the boardroom.
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