iClicker’s new Confidence Rating feature encourages students to reflect on their learning in class and provides instructors additional real-time insight into student understanding. Here’s how it works and some best practices for using it!   Instructors Turn on the Confidence setting from the More button of your toolbar anytime during an active class session, before running a poll in which you wish to gauge student confidence. Keep in mind the following tips:  You can’t turn Confidence on after starting a Polling question (you also can’t turn it on outside of an active class session) Once you turn Confidence on, it stays on for the rest of the class session, until you return to the More menu and turn it off. If you’re familiar with Anonymous mode, Confidence Rating functions in the same way To avoid student burnout with Confidence Rating, we recommend asking Confidence Ratings strategically rather than including with every single polling question  After you stop the Polling question, students receive a five-second grace period  to finish submitting their Confidence Rating. During this time, students can’t answer or change their response to the poll question itself, and you can’t grade students’ responses using the Results chart Students’ individual confidence ratings are anonymized , but you can view aggregate confidence ratings using the Results chart in class You can also view aggregate confidence ratings using the Class History section of the iClicker Cloud instructor website after class. If you ask multiple questions with Confidence Rating enabled, you’ll see which question in the class session had the highest Confidence Rating and which had the lowest   Students Students can rate their confidence in their Polling responses: Very confident , Confident , Somewhat confident , Not confident .  Students won’t see Confidence Rating until after they have responded to the Polling question After you stop the Polling question, students have a five-second grace period to finish submitting their Confidence Rating   Software updates to support Confidence Rating   Instructors Cloud 5.2.1 was released to support Confidence Rating. This is an optional update, but you must update your desktop software if you plan to use Confidence Rating. To update, follow the in-app prompt to update your desktop software, use the iClicker Cloud menu option to 'Check for Updates', or visit the iClicker Downloads page.   Students Version 6.3 of the iOS and Android apps was released to support Confidence Rating. The iClicker student web app was updated automatically. This is an optional update, but students must update their mobile apps or participate with the web app to use Confidence Rating. ... View more

  We’ve long recommended that instructors run a few practice activities in a separate sandbox course before going live with iClicker in a real class, with real students. Students often get concerned when they see they’ve “missed” a few activities, and they don’t know you were just practicing before the term started.   Now that we’ve released our unlisted course feature, instructors can create a practice course that is truly hidden from students. When you limit course enrollment to only invited students, students will not be able to find it among the searchable courses associated with your institution in the student app. They can join an unlisted course by invitation only, whether it’s via roster sync, Quick Join, or an LTI link.   To set a course as unlisted, select the option that Students must be invited to this course under your Enrollment settings. You can do this as you’re creating a new course in iClicker Cloud or anytime after, through the Course Details page of your course settings. Learn more about creating a course and managing your settings. Then, you’re ready to start practicing on your own or with a colleague or two! Remember that you can use your instructor credentials to sign in to the iClicker student mobile or web app for free. Contact tech support if you need a student subscription extension. Learn more about running practice iClicker sessions. Interested in setting your real, live course as unlisted? Simply follow the steps to create a new unlisted course or modify an existing course , then add students to your course . ... View more

  As you run polls in class with iClicker Cloud, you’re able to select which screen or window you want to image capture and send to students as a Polling question. In our latest round of releases for Spring 2022, we added a feature to allow instructors to replace the original Polling image any time after class through the instructor website. The image replacement tool can be especially useful in the following scenarios: You are teaching remotely and your polling image includes your students’ faces or other toolbars associated with your videoconferencing interface You asked an “on-the-fly” question in class that was not written out in advance, and you wish to provide that question to students after class You wish to upload annotated versions of your slides  You accidentally image captured the wrong screen or window for your polling question in class Remember that students are able to turn any past Polling questions into study guides. As students bookmark Polling questions in their iClicker student accounts, the app automatically adds those questions to the Study Tools section , where they can review them as flashcards or practice test questions. All you have to do as the instructor is use the default setting to share Polling question images with students (you can also manage this sharing after class ) and grade the questions in class or after class , so that students have the correct answers to study from. To get started with Polling image replacement, navigate to your course on the iClicker Cloud instructor website . Select the Polling activity from your Class History . Select the three-dots icon next to the question you wish to update and select Replace Image . You can upload an image in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format. Learn more about using the Replace Image menu option or replacing the image through the grading panel .  ... View more

With iClicker Anonymous mode, you can ask any iClicker Polling question without connecting responses to individual student records. When you ask Anonymous questions, you put the focus on honest reflection instead of right or wrong answers. So what’s the best way to use this unique mode? Use Anonymous mode to give students privacy . You may be connecting your lesson plans to current events and long to know your students’ thoughts unfiltered. You also may want to give them a place where they can talk about their experiences with the pandemic, especially when it touches your subject. With Anonymous mode, students can fearlessly discuss the complicated world we live in without connecting their experiences to their academic achievement. Collect student questions fearlessly. There’s really no such thing as a stupid question when it can be asked anonymously. Using iClicker to collect student questions also gives you a record of what your students are really wondering, so it can help you refine your future lesson plans. Giving students a private way to ask questions is especially important in classes that may be changing from in-person to online classes! Preview responses before displaying them to the class. Anonymous responses are truly anonymous, so be sure to preview the responses to your short-answer questions before letting your students see the results. The easiest way to preview your results is to use the iClicker Cloud Instructor App on your mobile device. iClicker's Anonymous mode allows students to respond to your iClicker polling questions with complete honestly. We've put together a deck of sample questions to inspire you below! ... View more

  We’re ringing in the New Year with a few new features for iClicker Cloud instructors. Learn more and see the new releases in action at our Back to Campus webinar later this month! Confidence Rating: This tool encourages students to reflect on their learning in class and provides instructors additional real-time insight into student understanding. As they respond to polls in class using the iClicker student mobile and web apps, students will have the option to rate their level of confidence in each response. Instructors can display aggregate confidence ratings in class on the Results chart and view them after class through the Class History section of the instructor website. Software Updates to Support Confidence Rating: Instructors: Cloud 5.2.1 will be released to support Confidence Rating for 2022 classes. This will be an optional update, but you must update your desktop software if you plan to use Confidence Rating. To update, follow the in-app prompt to update your desktop software, use the iClicker Cloud menu option to 'Check for Updates', or visit the iClicker Downloads page. Students: Version 6.3 of the iOS and Android apps will be released to support Confidence Rating for 2022 classes. The iClicker student web app will be updated automatically. This will be an optional update, but students must update their mobile apps or participate with the web app to use Confidence Rating. Unlisted Courses: Unlisted courses will be invitation-only and will not appear in search results if students attempt to manually look up the course in their apps. Students must enroll via either the course’s unique Quick Join code/link or LMS integration (e.g., Roster & Grade Sync). Instructors can manage student enrollment options upon creating a new course or modifying an existing course’s settings. Streamlined Desktop Software Launch: To provide clearer messaging around when to use the instructor website vs. desktop software and a more consistent experience for users with and without computer admin rights, the “Start Class” button on the instructor website will no longer launch the desktop software. Instructors will instead see a reminder that they need to switch to the desktop software to run in-class activities. Improved Integration Settings: The Integrations tab of the course settings will provide information about the relevant grade sync type based on what the campus admin has enabled for the instructor’s school. ... View more

Before starting a new term with iClicker Cloud, we recommend taking a few moments to archive last term’s course(s) and set up your new term’s course(s): Make sure last term’s courses are archived. Your courses will automatically archive on the End Date you set during course creation. You can also archive a course at any time in the desktop software or on the instructor website. You are still able to access your course information, but the archived course will no longer appear in the iClicker student app search results and no new students will be able to join the old course in the new term. If you haven’t done so already, update your desktop software. Create a new course in the desktop software or on the instructor website for each course you’re teaching in the new term. While not required, the optional course information can help your students identify your course in their apps. For example, there could be multiple sections of the same course at your institution. This additional information provides more details for your students to recognize and join the correct class. Copy any Assignments you had previously created and wish to reuse in your new course(s). Customize your course settings. Choose how you would like to add grades from iClicker Cloud to your Learning Management System. If Roster & Grade Sync is enabled for your course, you’ll see the prompt to walk you through setup in the Integrations tab of your course settings. If you set up LTI Grade Sync in your LMS last semester, you cannot simply copy the link or assignment from the previous course for the new term. LTI links are course-specific, so you’ll need to set up a new link for each new course. Invite co-instructors or teaching assistants to your new course(s). Share registration instructions with your students. Our customizable syllabus templates and first day of class slides provide a good starting point. Check out the student onboarding resources below that most closely match your own class setup: I am using iClicker Cloud for a virtual class. I am integrating iClicker Cloud with Achieve. I am using iClicker Cloud's Roster & Grade Sync (requires prior setup by a campus administrator). My campus requires that students sign in to iClicker through a campus portal. I am using iClicker Cloud's LTI Grade Sync (requires prior setup by a campus administrator). I am downloading grades from iClicker Cloud and manually importing them to my LMS. I will not be adding any grades from iClicker Cloud to my LMS. I am using iClicker Cloud for Attendance only (no polling or quizzing). ... View more

On-Demand iClicker can be a breath of fresh air at the start of a new year. In this webinar, you'll have a chance to see iClicker in action. We’ll review what’s new with iClicker, and also discuss ways you can use iClicker in your classroom, whether it’s a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom or a hybrid approach. Lastly, we'll have some pedagogical iClicker activity ideas you can use with your students right away. View the Recording Here! View Recording ... View more

Need to keep your iClicker question screenshots and results under wraps until after all your class sections have met for the week? We have all the details you need to control exactly how you hide and share your Polling details. Before Class: Turn Off Screenshot Sharing Sign in to the iClicker Cloud instructor website, select your course, and select Settings. Select the Polling tab of your course settings. Under Sharing, select Do not send a picture of my screen. You can also select Do not send results. The changes you make to your settings will apply to all future iClicker class sessions. When you are satisfied with your choices, click Save. Do this for each relevant iClicker Cloud course. Note: You may also wish to keep Polling questions ungraded until all class sections have met. You can grade questions after class through your Class History. This is what students will see in class when you ask Polling questions. They will not receive a screenshot of your screen with the question (however, they will receive a screenshot if you choose to ask a Target question). They will see a message that the question was "Hidden by Instructor." After Class/After All Class Sections Have Met: Turn On Screenshot Sharing Once you are ready to share questions screenshots and/or results with your students, go to the Class History for each course and click on the poll you wish to share. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner to open Poll Settings. In the Poll Settings window, check the appropriate boxes to share questions images and/or results with the students in this course. Click Save. Do this for each relevant section of your course. After you have shared your screenshots with all of your class sections, students will be able to review those polling questions and bookmark them to use in the Study Tools section of their app.   ... View more

October is LGBT History Month. This month's trivia deck gives you and your students the chance to explore some LGBTQ+ champions and moments in history. Download the Trivia Deck ... View more

Finding ways to engage students in online & hybrid environments is more important than ever. And while teaching online offers challenges, active learning and engagement tools like iClicker better support students’ sense of support and collaboration, helping them to be successful and remain invested in learning. Check out this quick guide on how iClicker can foster engagement with your students and hear how it's already impacted other instructors' classrooms! Download the iClicker & Student Engagement for Remote Learning Guide ... View more

iClicker offers student engagement for every scenario, whether you teach in-person, hybrid, or completely virtual classes or are unsure how your term will end up. In-Person If you’re teaching in-person, it may have been a while since you’ve used iClicker in the classroom! Remember that you can enable physical remotes in iClicker Cloud—and new remotes now come with 5-year student app subscriptions for ultimate flexibility. We also offer Attendance with an optional geolocation setting to help get students to class and our Focus feature helps students stay on task once there. Watch our Back to School webinar for a full refresher of what’s new in iClicker Cloud. Hybrid and Virtual iClicker works just as well in hybrid or virtual classes, so in case you have to pivot from in-person learning midway through the term, you can continue to use iClicker Cloud. If you’re using iClicker Classic, you can still use the same instructor software—simply enable the student app in your Mobile settings. Here are some tips for a seamless transition to hybrid or virtual learning: Remember that bases and remotes only work in face-to-face classes. However, even if your students previously used remotes, they should already have their iClicker accounts set up and should already be enrolled in your course. If they purchased a new iClicker remote, they also would have received a five-year digital subscription upon registering their remote in the student app. Students will simply open up your course in the mobile or web app and respond to questions there, whether synchronously or asynchronously. If you had set a location requirement for in-person attendance, you’ll need to turn that off in your settings to let your students join class from wherever they may be. You may also wish to disable Focus, as it tracks the time students spend outside of the iClicker app. This is especially helpful for students who only have one device they are using to both access class via a video conferencing app AND participate in the iClicker student app. iClicker’s new Assignments activity is a great way to engage students as they watch recorded lectures, but it’s also great for pre-class and post-class questions and group work/breakout activities in synchronous classes. Read through our remote instruction checklist or watch our virtual classroom video to learn more about how iClicker works with your video conferencing and presentation tools. Watch our on-demand webinar for more great tips on how to supercharge student engagement in hybrid classes. ... View more

Many campus LMS admins have recently completed setting up Roster & Grade Sync, our most advanced integration option, which allows instructors to sync their rosters from their LMS for easy student onboarding and sync iClicker grades to their LMS gradebook. Roster & Grade Sync is available for Canvas, Blackboard, and Brightspace by D2L, but some institutions are using a different version of grade sync. Here’s how to figure out if Roster & Grade Sync has been made available to you. From the iClicker Cloud instructor website, navigate to your course and click on Settings, then select the Integrations tab. If Roster & Grade Sync is enabled at your institution, your Integrations settings will look like the image below with your own LMS name and icon and a Connect to... button. Learn more about how to set up Roster & Grade Sync. If, on the other hand, your Integrations settings resemble the image below, with a Grade Sync Integration on/off toggle button, you may still be able to take advantage of an LMS integration (and this applies to all Moodle and Sakai schools). Check with your LMS admin to see if LTI grade sync is enabled. If you’re using LaunchPad, you can also switch the toggle button on and select that option from the drop-down menu, then follow the steps to integrate iClicker with LaunchPad without LMS admin setup. Finally, if you’re using Achieve and already have grade sync set up with your LMS, you can include iClicker scores in the grades that are transferred to your LMS (no admin setup required!). Click the Sync iClicker button in your Achieve gradebook and follow the steps to connect your iClicker course. ... View more

Here’s a pro tip from iClicker veterans that we like to share at the start of each term: practice makes perfect. As an iClicker instructor, there’s no limit to the courses you create for yourself, so we always recommend that new instructors create a practice or sandbox course that is separate from any “official” courses (and not visible to any students). You can also take advantage of the free iClicker instructor subscription to our student app to step through the complete classroom experience from both the instructor and student perspectives. Use our new video with our step-by-step guide to get comfortable running class sessions with yourself (or maybe a colleague!), before going live with your students on the first day of class: Video: How iClicker Works Article: How to Run Practice Sessions in iClicker Cloud As you familiarize yourself with iClicker, our checklists will walk you through everything else you may want to consider as you create your courses for the new academic year, from setting upgrade sync with your Learning Management System to onboarding your students: Checklist: Getting Started with iClicker Cloud Checklist: Using iClicker for Remote Instruction Checklist: Getting Started with iClicker Cloud Attendance-only Courses ... View more

The return to campus is just moments away! We’ve collected our best tried-and-true tips for student onboarding that you’ll want to keep in mind as you welcome students back to the classroom. We’ve also created a deck of icebreaker activities that you can use to get to know your students while they get comfortable with iClicker. Check Out Our Ice-Breaker Deck 1. Message students early (and often!) We’ve created lots of resources that make it easy for you to communicate with your students about how to get ready to use iClicker in your course. These iClicker Cloud Student Registration Overview & Resources include syllabus language and first-day-of-class resources that you can use to set your students up for success. We even have guides for instructors who will be teaching virtually, so be sure to explore! 2. Explain your teaching rationale for using iClicker to your students. Students get more out of iClicker when they know why you’re requiring it in their class. Let students know that iClicker use leads to better classroom engagement, a significant rise in student confidence, and an increase in end-of-class grades. 3. Keep stakes low during your first polling sessions. Students are quick to catch on to how iClicker works on their laptops, tablets or phones. However, the enrollment of your class may shift in the first weeks of class, which can create grading headaches down the line. Students may also need to become familiar with joining the wifi in your classroom, causing them to miss a question or two. Here’s information you can pass along to your students to help them troubleshoot their connection. 4. Using Enhanced Grade Sync? Introducing Roster and Grade Sync! The new Roster and Grade Sync (RGS) is now available for Blackboard, Brightspace, or Canvas once it has been set up by your LMS administrator. With RGS, you can pull your roster into your iClicker Cloud course with no additional linking steps for students. Take a look at our support article on transitioning from iClicker's Enhanced Grade Sync to Roster & Grade Sync for more information. ... View more

The temperatures are rising across the country. As you and your students sweat through the term (if you’re lucky enough to be teaching this summer!), consider treating everyone to some fun iClicker questions about ice cream. Check Out the July Trivia Deck ... View more