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

Hispanic Heritage Month starts in the US on September 15th and runs to October 15th. What’s the reason for the unique timing? The month-long observation starts on the 15th to correspond with the anniversary of independence in five Central American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. More trivia awaits you and your students in this month’s deck!  Download the Slide Deck Here! ... 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

We’re making things even simpler! Later this summer, the award-winning mobile student response system, iClicker Reef will be renamed the iClicker student app . Why the change?  Multiple surveys and customer interviews showed that the ‘Reef’ brand name can cause confusion for customers who frequently do not associate Reef with iClicker, or do not readily identify Reef as the student mobile app for iClicker. What does the name change mean for me?  For educators: Over the coming weeks we will be updating all of our customer-facing training and support materials to reflect the name change to the iClicker student app. Any links that currently use iClicker Reef will be re-routed to the appropriate webpage.  For students: The directions for how to download the iClicker student mobile app will be updated to reflect the name change. All of this will be provided over the coming weeks in preparation for fall classes.  When will this change occur? The formal switch is scheduled for early-to-mid August 2021. We will continue to update you as we prepare for this change.  Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to continuing to deliver simple, flexible, pedagogically-sound solutions for your fall 2021 classes. This new change to the student mobile app naming is one small piece of our efforts.  Click here to connect with a Student Engagement Specialist to discuss how to make your fall classes as engaging as possible ... 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

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2021 Higher Education Assessment Conference hosted by New England College! And now… drumroll please… the winners of our sweepstakes, represented by their institutions! Lehigh University (PA)  Juniata College (PA) Ball State University (IN) Midland University (NE) Thanks to everyone who entered! If you have not checked out the presentation decks and session recordings from this year’s Higher Ed Assessment Conference, we invite you to check them out! Here you will find: Assessments that Drive Desired Outcomes: Early Alerts, Interventions and Improving Student Success - Recording. In this session, Glenn Skaggs and Mandy Shaffer demonstrated how institutional outcomes could be improved by pairing brief retention surveys with program assessments. Assessments that Create Connections: Fostering Deep Learning in Person and Online - Recording. In this session, Dr. Edna Ross explored the ways that student engagement tools and best practices can have a real-time impact on insight and analytics that improve key student retention factors. Watch the recording to learn more about how to use polling and asynchronous quizzes to facilitate active learning, gain student feedback, and foster connections whether online or in-person. Infographics on using storytelling to share compelling assessment data. Tips for engaging students online and in HyFlex courses. On-Demand webinars and other resources. In the meantime, if you are interested in utilizing assessment solutions to improve student engagement and outcomes, connect now with an Assessment specialist! Congrats again to the winners! ... View more

On-Demand Are you looking for ways to make your class sessions more interactive but unsure where to find the time? Join Natalie Dougall as she shares ways you can easily incorporate iClicker polling activities into your classroom without sacrificing a lot of valuable class time or wildly altering lesson plans you’ve spent years perfecting. Natalie will also outline Macmillan resources instructors can use to easily turn their students from passive observers into active learners. Access the Webinar Here! Access Webinar On-Demand ... View more

We heard you and we are making things even simpler! We’re pleased to announce that by August 2021 iClicker Reef will be renamed the iClicker student app, helping instructors and students alike to more easily identify iClicker’s mobile/web app for students. The logo above will appear on student app login pages. The ISBNs for your student products will remain the same. Over the next few months, we will be updating all of our instructor- and student-facing training and support materials to reflect the name change to the iClicker student app. Any links that currently use iClicker Reef will be re-routed to the appropriate webpage. If you have created any of your own student-facing materials that mention Reef, replacing the Reef name with “the iClicker student app” will make it easier for your students. We will continue to update you as we prepare for this change— let us know if you have any questions in the meantime! Contact Us ... View more

If you're teaching this summer, we have a special Juneteenth trivia deck you can share with your students. Macmillan began recognizing Juneteenth as an official company holiday in 2020, giving employees a day to reflect, recharge and celebrate. Juneteenth Trivia Deck ... View more

We can't believe it’s been one year since we released Assignments! Our newest iClicker activity has taken student engagement to the next level in fully remote, asynchronous courses—but we’re also hearing from instructors who enjoy using Assignments for in-person and hybrid/flex classes. We've been continuously working to improve Assignments over the past year. Here’s what we’ve added recently for instructors using Assignments: Alt Text Support: We added the ability for instructors to enter and edit alt text for assignment question images. Alt text makes Assignments easier for students to use with screen readers. Learn more about best practices for writing alt text. Copy Assignments: We added an option for instructors to copy an already-built assignment. This will be useful for instructors who wish to assess what students have learned via the same set of pre- and post-class questions, and for instructors who wish to use the same assignment in multiple iClicker Cloud courses. Learn more about copying assignments. Gradebook Integration: Assignment scores appear alongside Polling and Quizzing scores in the iClicker Cloud Gradebook. Instructors are able to modify individual student Assignment scores and export or sync Assignment grades to their LMS. Due Times: Instructors can specify both dates and times for when an assignment becomes available and is due. The following Assignments improvements are now available to students: In-Progress Credit: Students automatically receive credit for all work in progress when an assignment closes. They do not need to click the submit button to receive credit for responses already entered before the due date. Mobile Support: Students can complete assignments via the iOS or Android student apps, in addition to the web app. Wondering how to get started with Assignments? Our Learning Science & Insights team developed a set of pre-built prompts that can help students reflect on their learning before, during, and after class, in any academic discipline. Check out our Assignments page to learn more and download sample slide decks to try out with your own students! ... View more

Access the slide decks and session recordings for the Higher Ed Assessment Conference sessions: 'Assessments that Create Connections: Fostering Deep Learning in Person and Online' and 'Assessments that Drive Desired Outcomes: Early Alerts, Interventions and Improving Student Success' here. ... View more

We hope April showers have brought May flowers to you wherever you may be. Our May trivia deck might also bring some fun to your classrooms.  We hope our focus on pop culture brightens things for you and your students! Download our May Pop-Culture Trivia Questions ... View more