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Home > What is LON-CAPA? > LON-CAPA for Faculty > Clicker Device Support

Clicker Device Support

Registration

Users (both faculty and students) can register their clicker devices within LON-CAPA. The information is stored in their user profiles and is available across courses and semesters, so users only need to register each device they own once.

The two clickers which we are currently supporting have their IDs located in different places, please follow the instructions on how to locate the clicker IDs .

This mechanism is limited to clickers that come with a compatible "no strings attached" licensing agreement, and cannot be used for devices where the manufacturer reserves the right to handle the registration process, or where devices need to be registered involving payments. Thus, LON-CAPA currently only supports i>clicker (including the i>clicker2) and interwritePRS.


Grading a Session

Instructors can run their classes like normal, but if they would like to later grade based on response correctness, they themselves will need to vote on each question. At the end of the day, they can upload the raw clicker file directly to LON-CAPA - there is no need to bother with the vendor grading program. At any place in the table of contents for their courses, they would can insert a Grades Upload Form for the day (just like for any other external grade source).

Grading Choices

A number of choices can be made when uploading the clicker session file. Faculty can decide to award credit simply for attendance, or they can choose to give different credit for correct and incorrect answers. When grades are based on correctness, the correct answer can be determined by whatever a member of the course personnel entered, or a particular clicker ID can be specified.

Choices get stored in the course profile and will become default for the next session.

Analyzing the File

In the next step, LON-CAPA analyzes the uploaded file. LON-CAPA retrieves the enrollment and personnel for the course and then sets out to match clicker IDs with usernames, based on the entries in the user profiles. If grading is set to be based on instructor answers, it will automatically find those. For entries where a match could not be made (for example, loaners), LON-CAPA displays an input field and a "Select" link to the course enrollment listing.

Assigning Grades

In the final step, LON-CAPA grades the input file and stores the scores in the normal gradebook, where they are available like any other graded item in the course.



Questions and Answers

Why do you only support i>clicker and interwritePRS?

We would like to support more devices, and one student in their profile can register as many devices by as many manufacturers as they like. However, to our knowledge, only i>clicker and interwritePRS have a licensing scheme (in fact, lack thereof), which is compatible with handling registration in this way.

I have a number of teaching assistants running the same class for different sections throughout the day ...

Not a problem, you can use the same grade upload form to upload the data from all sessions one after another. However, if you grade based on correctness, make your TAs register their devices, and have them vote.

What if two students register the same clicker?

Not a problem, unless they are in the same class. LON-CAPA will tell you if conflicts arise.

So, students can share clickers?

Yes, if their schedules are completely separated and they come up with logistics to transfer the device back and forth ... and if they think 30 dollars are worth the trouble.

Can I run a class that uses more than one type of clicker?

Yes, but it's probably a hassle. However, you can upload session files from more than one system to the same gradeable item.

But my X-textbook comes with a deal for Y-clicker ...

You don't have to use the clicker that the textbook wants to sell you. But if you do, figure out how you can get the student clicker IDs matched with their usernames, use the grading program that comes with the device, and upload the scores as CSV file to LON-CAPA like you normally would.

Contact Us: lon-capa@lon-capa.org

Site maintained by Gerd Kortemeyer.
Supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF-ITR 0085921, NSF-CCLI-ASA 0243126, and NSF-CCLI 0717790. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Initial funding for CAPA has been provided by the Alfred. P. Sloan Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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