Students enrolled in Physics Prof. Stuart Wolf's PHYS 105, "How Things Work" course are required to not only buy a traditional textbook, but also an i-Clicker. For Wolf, the tool has made interaction with his 200-person class much easier.
The clicker, as it is popularly known, is just one of several technological tools used by University professors to enhance classroom dynamics. Podcasts and Web logs of lectures are also uses of technology recently introduced to the university classroom.
Edward Berger, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said he updates a Web log called HigherEd 2.0, where his students can access podcasts of his lectures, read his posts and discuss questions about topics covered in class and homework assignments.
Berger recently received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze the impact technology has on his students' ability to learn.
"I view this as a really fun experiment," Berger said. "We've learned a lot so far about what works and what doesn't, and we're still working on learning what the best thing to do is."
Although Berger posts many of his lectures online, he said he has not seen a drop in attendance at lectures or office hours, as his Web site is structured so students are not tempted to skip class.
"They still have to come to class to get the good stuff," he said.
Politics Prof. David Waldner, who teaches PLCP 101, "Intro to Comparative Politics," agreed with the assessment that attendance does not drop with the use of technology, such as posting lecture slides online.
"It is possible that a minority of students abuse the system and don't come to lecture, but I am much more interested pedagogically in what I believe is the majority of students, who still come to class," Waldner said.
The clicker has similarly given students a motivation to come to class. In many classes, students are automatically recorded as being present in lectures when they answer daily clicker questions.
"It gives people more of an incentive to come to class because they get something out of it," second-year College student Elizabeth Simonds said.
Thanks to the clicker, Wolf is able to jump right into his lectures, without having to think about who might be absent.
"In principle, [the clicker] is good at taking attendance," Wolf said.
Yet with its benefits, the convenience of using technology in the classroom has also presented a new set of problems. Preventing students from cheating on clicker questions, for instance, can be a challenge for professors, according to Economics Prof. Ken Elzinga.
Elzinga said although he did not want activities involving the clicker to generate honor offenses, he received several e-mails letting him know "there was a lot of conversation during the clicker questions."
In a subsequent lecture, therefore, Elzinga said he reminded his students that answering clicker questions was an individual effort.
Asst. Economics Prof. Lee Coppock acknowledged that cheating on clicker questions is an issue but pointed out that students do not have much motivation to do so.
"That's one reason why we keep the stakes so low," Coppock said. "You'd have to get at least 10 wrong for it to really affect your grade. There isn't such a great motivation to cheat on one or two clicker questions, [but] if you cheated on a clicker question and you get caught, the cost is really high: You'd be expelled from the University."
Several professors agreed that technology in the classroom is an asset, particularly for science courses.
"I think technology is particularly useful in the sciences, especially for a class this big," Wolf said.
Elzinga, meanwhile, said he believes technology has distinctly different roles in large and small classes. Although he uses a microphone, an overhead projector and clickers for his 500-person ECON 201, "Principles of Economics" sections, he uses virtually no technology for ECON 420, "Antitrust Policy," which he said he teaches through discussions.
"Teaching is a somewhat personalized activity," he said. "I don't look down upon someone who uses technology ... but I don't think I would be as engaged if I were just always behind the lectern."
Despite Elzinga's hesitation to use technology in some courses, according to Timothy Sigmon, Office of Information Technology and Communication director of advanced technology, "more and more faculty are using technology in their teaching."
Furthermore, lectures are increasingly being recorded and sent out among schools such as James Madison University, Liberty University and even Albemarle County High School, according to ITC Classroom Support Manager Lela Marshall.
For Elzinga, however, the smallest technological developments were the most important ones. Even today, he refuses to use the new Elmo projector, preferring an old-fashioned overhead projector and slides.
For him, "one of the biggest changes was the microphone," he said.
Although ITC was unable to provide data about technology use based on department and class size, Marshall said more than 90 percent of University classrooms provide computer and video projection capabilities.
"While these various technologies are not department-specific, they do reflect a particular learning goal and are based on a teaching need," she said.
-- Hannah Wallace contributed to this article
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