Exploring the Use of Smartphones as Clickers

Abstract

Clickers or Quick Response Systems (QRS) have been used widely in classrooms for different purposes. However, no research has explored the use of smartphones when they are used as clickers instead of dedicated hardware devices. With their wide spreading among students and educators nowadays, it is possible that smartphones can be used in the classroom easily as clickers using applications or via the web. The main purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary assessment on the use of smartphones as clickers. Students’ views on their satisfaction, performance, participation, feedback, and ease of use of smartphones as clickers were surveyed with the help of a 9-statement survey with 5-point Likert scale. Teachers were also interviewed to know their opinions about the use of smartphones as clickers in their classrooms. Their functionality, features and user experiences are investigated. The collected data was analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations). The use of smartphones as clickers found to be beneficial for teachers and students. The familiarity with the technology made it easy for participants to take more active part in the classroom work which was reflected in their learning outcomes. Further, the positive attitudes regarding the use of smart phone as QRS devices were also noticed. The overall experience of teachers regarding the tool was reported in the study and found to be promising.

Keywords: Smartphones, Clickers, Active Classroom, Active learning, QRS