2008 Grant Proposal Details

Clickers for Math and More   District 4J

Total: $4256

Description:  Teachers and students alike praise clickers, and not just in math class where numeric answers and multiple-choice questions come up every day. A "Student Response System" (of one identifiable clicker per student, plus a receiver and computer to register responses) is useful in many ways. Clickers can be used to stimulate spontaneous discussion; they can be used for anonymous responses to surveys or practice questions; they can be used to administer tests. Feedback to the class can be immediate, showing them how many people clicked on each possible response, and/or it can be stored (each student’s individual responses are noted) for later review by the teacher. When the classroom sees its clicking results on the screen (as a table, bar chart or pie chart) it jump-starts the conversation. Nobody is singled out as "wrong," because clicks on the screen are anonymous. Some of the earliest adopters of clickers were elementary schools, because clickers are so simple and robust that even kindergarteners can use them. Now that these students are progressing through the grades it’s a opportune time to get clickers into all classrooms where they can be put to good use.

Why is this important?  First, because a teacher may be reluctant to dedicate money to a tool before learning all the options. Sets to loan will help. Second, a school eager to adopt a new technology may not be able to equip all classrooms in the first year. Sets to loan will help transitions.

Who will be served?  All schools stand to benefit.

How will this be evaluated?  With any new technology it’s hard to predict where the benefits will lie, yet already teachers report students are more on task and quicker to learn.

Does this build on existing programs?  Yes. Computers with projectors and SMART Boards are common in 4J classrooms, and by adding clickers a teacher really speeds things up: somebody poses a question (perhaps using a computer projector), every student clicks, the results are instantly tabulated and displayed. This way, a class's progress can be measured throughout the day, instantly, with no teacher time lost to marking papers.

Budget:  Budget - Regarding the amount requested, please itemize by breaking out the categories of salary, supplies, equipment and services. All is equipment, being enough to provide at least two classroom Student Response Systems, depending on the configurations chosen..

Proposal #:  117