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

Starting each of your classes with an iClicker entrance ticket helps settle your students into class and frame their brains for learning. An entrance ticket is simply an open-ended iClicker question you ask students at the start of class. We’ve put together a deck of entrance tickets that can be used in any discipline. Simply ask one of these questions using an iClicker short-answer polling question while you and your students get ready for class. Asking questions like, “What was most memorable about our last class meeting?” doesn’t take much effort on your part, but it can have a large impact on your students. These open-ended questions encourage your students to think back and access memories of prior learning experiences, uniquely framing their brains for new learning experiences. Other questions can encourage your students to think about projects outside of class or upcoming exams. The results of these polls will also give you a unique running insight into what your students are learning, remembering and where they may need additional guidance. Habitually using entrance tickets will also help your students check into iClicker and ensure they are counted as present with iClicker Attendance. Lastly, try and end your class with an iClicker Exit Poll to easily bookend your classes with iClicker. With an iClicker Exit Poll, students are asked to rate their understanding of the day’s class. They also are able to ask if there is anything that they would like explained further. And bonus-- adding both of these activities to your lesson plans shouldn’t take away from your time with your students. ... 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

In a meta-analysis of 225 studies that spanned various class sizes, course levels, disciplines, and pedagogy, our researchers found that active learning has a positive income on student performance. Our research also identified common barriers among professors to implementing these active learning strategies, which we sought to ameliorate in the development of our classroom tools: Achieve & iClicker. Read on to learn more about the research behind positive outcomes in active learning classrooms as well as how to implement active learning techniques in your classroom. Download: Research-Backed Strategies for Implementing Active Learning For Better Student Engagement ... View more

As this term draws to a close, you may be looking backward to see what worked and what needs work for next term. Here are some ways you can use iClicker to gather feedback from your students and ways you can use the iClicker data you’ve already gathered to reflect on your lesson plans: 1. Use iClicker Assignments to ask students for course feedback You can easily ask your students for feedback by creating an iClicker Assignment and asking students to respond, perhaps as an extra credit assignment. You can allow students to respond with short answer for detailed feedback, though you’ll want to remind students that their feedback is not anonymous. We’ve created a PDF of questions you can use to gather your students’ ideas. 2. Use iClicker Anonymous polling questions for informal course evaluations You may also want to “take the pulse” of your class in your last class meetings by using our Anonymous question mode to get some frank feedback from your students. Using multiple-choice questions will keep students focused and make feedback collection quick. We’ve created a deck of iClicker questions you can ask your students in order to get some quick and easy feedback. 3. Review your iClicker activity, looking for trends and patterns You don’t have to do a fancy deep-dive into your data to learn a few things from your iClicker trends. Was attendance set to autorun? If so, you can look over your attendance data to look for your days of lowest and highest attendance. If you use iClicker polling regularly, you can look and see if polling has had any impacts on your attendance rates. You should also consider how much feedback you’re giving students and how difficult your questions are. Consider this activity along with a look back at your larger lesson plans to see areas where iClicker could be an even more dynamic tool in your classroom.   ... View more

Colleges and universities know that winter traditions bring a sense of literally sophomoric fun to the season. Explore some wild winter traditions with your students in this month’s trivia deck. Access the Trivia Deck ... View more

On-Demand Calling all English professors! Check out this demonstration on how Achieve, our course management system, and iClicker work together. Achieve is proven to increase student performance, engage students both inside and outside of class, and it's designed for students of all levels. Achieve includes special active learning resources for English professors. Check out this tour of the Achieve environment and learn ways you can use iClicker and Achieve in your English classroom. View the Recording Here! View the Recording! ... View more

On-Demand Calling all chemistry professors! Check out our demonstration on how Achieve, our course management system, and iClicker work together. Achieve is proven to increase student performance, engage students both inside and outside of class, and it's designed for students of all levels. Achieve includes special active learning resources for chemistry professors. Check out the tour of the Achieve environment and learn ways you can use iClicker and Achieve in your chemistry classroom. View the Recording Here! View the recording! ... View more

The introduction of a group project assignment can be met with a chorus of groans from your students. Group projects are often necessary for our classes. They’re also good preparation for your students’ futures in the workplace. Most students picture their future work life as highly independent but the truth is, most jobs rely on employees working in groups constantly. Here’s how you can use iClicker to manage group projects more effectively and help your students value the learning experience more. Sorting Into Groups Instructors often turn to group work when they want their students to gain experience collaborating with new people. However, when students self-select their partners, they generally pick the same students with whom they feel most familiar. Using iClicker to form groups can shake up a classroom and inspire new relationships in the classroom. Try an activity where you open a multiple-choice poll and click on the results before your students vote. Challenge your students to “balance the bars” Once the bars are balanced (and this can take a while!) ask all the students who voted A to gather in one spot, all the students who voted B to gather in another spot, and so on. This can break your class up in a new way and easily segue into a more dynamic group. iClicker is Ideal for Groups of Two Peer Instruction (PI) is a proven way to move students from passive observation to active learning. With this student-centered type of instruction, students learn by explaining core concepts to each other under the guidance of their instructor. Encourage students to Think, Pair, Share. First, challenge them to Think with an iClicker question. Instead of revealing the correct answer, ask students to Pair with another student who has a different answer. Challenge students to come to a consensus on the correct answer, then Share their results with the class. When you display the results the first time, instruct your students to find peers who picked a different answer. This enlivens your classrooms and encourages students to make connections with more of their classmates. Managing Polling Activities in Groups Often students work on problem sets or complex challenges in group settings. Unfortunately, some groups see finishing the exercises as the goal instead of exploring the materials deeply and coming to a consensus. On the other hand, some groups dawdle and fail to finish the work due to shyness or other factors. With iClicker, your students work on one question at a time, keeping the class in sync with each other. To keep answers from the same group together, use Short Answer as your response type and ask students to respond with their group name at the start of their response. This will easily group responses together while requiring every student to stay engaged in the group activity. Using Assignments for Group Work iClicker Assignments makes it easy to keep group work separate from the polling questions you’re already asking in your classes. With Assignments, groups of students are able to work through a set of iClicker questions on their devices at their own pace. Students can work through a lab activity, answer a set of discussion questions, or conduct a peer review of course writing and they can do it in groups, no matter where the group is located. iClicker Assignments work for groups in your physical classroom or with breakout groups online! ... View more

See if you and your students know the answers to this month's trivia questions, all focused on Native American Heritage.  Download the slide deck here! Native American Heritage Month Trivia Questions & Answers What sport was originated by the Saux, Foxes, and Assiniboine people? Baseball Basketball Chess Hockey Tennis The word “ok” comes from the ____________ language? Apache Choctaw Lakota people Shoshone Tulalip The first national Native American Heritage Month was in... 1952 1979 1990 2001 2021 ... View more

With the start of a new academic year, some institutions have changed email requirements for students. If your students need to update their iClicker email address, they can do so in the profile section of the student app at any time. They should not create a new iClicker student account if they already have one! When students create multiple accounts, it can cause problems and confusion for administrators, instructors, and students themselves. Share the instructions below with your students to help them update their iClicker profile information. Tip: Instructors can always edit the email address associated with their iClicker profile, too. Sign in to your iClicker student account You can open your iClicker student app on your smartphone or tablet, or sign in via a web browser on any device. Select the menu icon Select "Profile" Edit your profile information as needed If your iClicker points currently aren't appearing in your instructor's gradebook, check the information listed in your profile to ensure it is correct and update it as needed: You may want to make sure that the First and Last Name in your iClicker student app profile match the name you use in your campus Learning Management System (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, etc.). Make sure your university Email appears here. Make sure the CanvasID, Blackboard username, or whatever you use to log in to your online course portal appears in the Student ID field. Check your instructor’s directions if you’re unsure what ID to use. You can also change your iClicker account password or register an iClicker remote from your profile. The iClicker student mobile app saves changes automatically. If you are using the iClicker student web app, you will need to select Save Changes before exiting or returning to your courses.   Please note that even after updating your iClicker student account with the correct information, your iClicker points may not appear right away in your instructor's gradebook. This is because your instructor chooses when to transfer grades from iClicker to their gradebook; some add grades weekly or even less frequently throughout the term. Your points should appear the next time they transfer grades. The best way to keep track of your current iClicker points is to refer to the Statistics and Class History sections in the iClicker student app. ... View more