UMass Amherst is coordinating with Peace First, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to teaching students and teachers critical conflict resolution skills, to put our old PRS devices to good use.
Please drop off your old PRS clickers and receivers at the OIT, Academic Computing, Instructional Media Lab
Stepping beyond clicker technology, the key to successful use of an audience response system is the development of GREAT questions! i>clicker is offering a series of free 30-minute webinars hosted by experienced users from various academic disciplines. Each webinar will offer practical tips for building effective clicker questions, specific to your field of study, that will engage your students, challenge the way that they think, and increase learning.
The workshops will be held:
To register for a workshop, go to:
Information for Students Purchasing the New i>clicker
In Fall 2011 the UMass Amherst campus is switching from using eInstruction’s PRS clickers to i>clicker. Instructors will be pre-ordering i>clicker remotes through the Textbook Annex. Check the “Class Overview/Textbook” page for you course(s) in SPIRE to see if your instructor(s) will be requiring i>clicker.
Be sure to purchase the correct clicker, the UMass Amherst campus is only supporting the i>clicker model 2, which has an LCD panel (see image below). The cost for a new i>clicker2 remote will be $45.50 at the Textbook Annex. During the 2011/2012 academic year, UMass students who currently own an eInstruction PRS remote are eligible for a $10 rebate.
The Textbook Annex will not be buying back eInstruction PRS remotes.
Visit http://iclicker.com/dnn/Ordering/UMassAmherstRebate/tabid/257/Default.aspx to obtain your rebate.
For general questions and technical issues visit www.iclicker.com/dnn/SupportCenter/FAQs/tabid/179/Default.aspx.
i>clicker remote
Campus PRS Users -
I am writing with an update on the Audience Response System (ARS) evaluation project I emailed you about in December 2010. I am pleased to announce that the evaluation committee has completed its work and recommended that the Office of Information Technologies (OIT) begin supporting i>clicker starting in Fall 2011. i>clicker will replace eInstruction’s PRS as the centrally-supported ARS at UMass Amherst.
Over the past several months, the evaluation committee and pilot testers examined the features sets of the top three systems on the market: i>clicker, Turning Technologies, and PRS. The committee concluded that, compared with the current system, i>clicker will provide the campus with a more reliable technology, simpler and more intuitive software and hardware, and superior customer support. For more information about the evaluation process, including the full committee report, see: http://blogs.umass.edu/prsblog
The decision to move to i>clicker comes as we try to address ongoing stability and support issues with PRS. We are confident that the transition to i>clicker will allow us to spend less time on day-to-day technology issues and more time on teaching and learning about the innovative ways ‘clickers’ can be used in the classroom.
Similar to PRS, i>clicker will provide all instructors who choose to utilize i>clicker with a receiver, software, and an instructor remote. OIT will also be installing receivers in the classrooms on campus where clickers are often used.
If you want to use i>clicker with your Fall 2011 course, we encourage you to place your order with the Textbook Annex. Students will be able to purchase i>clicker remotes from the Textbook Annex for less than the PRS remotes.
OIT/Academic Computing will provide instructors with workshops and one-on-one consultations on the use of i>clicker over the course of the summer. We’ll also be emailing you with information on the progress of the transition as the spring and summer progress.
For updates and documentation (as it becomes available) please visit this blog.
For questions or if you would like to see demonstration of i>clicker, please email ars@oit.umass.edu.
Sincerely,
John Dubach
Chief Information Officer