Ellington

Students sit in the front row of Kane 220, staring at their smartphones. Their professor, Cecilia Bitz, glances down at them and continues her lecture about the snowball effect. Instead of texting or updating Facebook, the group is receiving clicker questions and answering them on their phones. These students are part of a new learning method which utilizes smartphones in classrooms for educational purposes.

Everywhere around campus, you can spot someone with an iPhone or Blackberry. For large classes, such as ATMS 111, which has more than 230 students, smartphones are being used as a substitute for a clicker. A clicker, which is required for participation in large lecture classes, costs about $40 at the University Book Store. However, students now have the option to electronically register their phones for use as clickers. Students can save a substantial amount of money by using their existing technology instead of purchasing a clicker.

Students can an their iPhone, BlackBerry, smartphone, Windows Mobile device, laptop, or desktop computer to respond to a variety of questions, including multiple-choice, alphanumeric, multiple-response or essay questions.

The use of smartphones has changed the way that college students are able to socialize and learn.

Sophomore Sher-Min Yang sits outside the Music Building tapping on her iPhone. Yang, a music and English major, uses her iPhone for education-related purposes.

“I have a metronome and tuner [applications] on my iPhone, and now I don’t have to carry one for class … as a music major, it makes me have to carry less stuff,” Yang said. “It’s all in my iPhone.”

In order for students to use their cell phone and laptops to actively participate in class, they must purchase ResponseWare, which syncs the devices with the class. With ResponseWare, students can instantly respond to questions during lecture using a Wi-Fi connection. The company offers a 30-day free trial.

“So far, I think [using cell phones as clickers] has worked very well,” Bitz said, an associate professor in atmospheric sciences. “Only one student said her service slowed one day and she couldn’t answer in time.”

The use of the smartphones and laptops instead of clickers has a financial draw to both students and professors. With the overwhelming expenditure of textbooks, supplies and food, saving $40 is crucial to a student’s budget.

“I think it’s better than purchasing a $40 university clicker,” said Dalia Amin, a sophomore in Bitz’s class. “Purchasing a clicker can be very expensive, especially for one time use. If students were trained on using their phones, it would be most efficient and beneficial. All students have a phone with them at all times, so students won’t have the problem of forgetting their clickers. They can just use their cells.”

Professor Elizabeth Nesbitt, associate professor in the Earth and space sciences department has displayed interest in using this technology in her 700-student class and feels it would be useful in classes where students might be too afraid to ask questions.

Nesbitt teaches ESS 100 and said that using clickers is a great way to reach students. But she is concerned about possible cheating. Nesbitt uses clickers to track attendance and participation but doesn’t allow smartphones to be used class.

“The issue I do have is that there are people that cheat and bring in two clickers,” Nesbitt said. “With a phone, it would be easier to cheat.”

In contrast, Bitz believes that using smartphones has increased attendance and will “make clickers a thing of the past.”

Tom Lewis, director of Online Technologies, Learning and Scholarly Technologies, believes the use of smartphones and tablet technologies is beneficial to the campus.

“We’re one of the few schools doing it so far,” he said. “With the budget crunch, it has caused us to innovate. With Microsoft so close by and Google in the area, it’s very helpful, and we have deep connections with these companies.”

Innovations such as the Kindle and other digital-pad tablets are being tested around campus to see if these new gadgets will be beneficial for educational use. Ed Lazowska of the Computer Science and Engineering Department oversees a project in which 40 graduate students in computer science and about 70 technology master’s students in the Foster School of Business are working together to see if Kindles could be used in lieu of textbooks.

Lazowska said that the group found the advantage of having the Kindle anytime and anyplace was useful because it was easier than carrying a backpack filled with books. For students that were stuck in transit, it’s a benefit to be able to read materials on the go.

Although the Kindle has proved successful for pleasure reading, the use of the Kindle for educational reading was found to be ineffective because of the lack of color display, inability to flip pages or bookmark items efficiently.

“When reading novels, it doesn’t matter to have a color display, but it matters for computer-graphics textbooks to see the graphics in color,” Lazowska said. “The design choices were made for personal reading pleasures.”

For students on campus, these new technologies can revolutionize the way they learn. However, although these gadgets have benefits for students and professors, it is important to keep in mind that students have different styles of learning, and for those who are visual learners, the ability to see clicker questions on an iPhone could be advantageous, while reading a textbook on a Kindle could prove to be difficult.

“The question is not whether today’s Kindle is the right device but whether it is headed in that direction,” Lazowska said.

As the world becomes more technologically advanced, students have the advantage of having the ability to learn

while traveling, because smartphones and Kindles can condense information into tiny portable gadgets.

Last quarter, industrial-design graduate student Stephen Minarsch initiated a proposal for another digital-tablet device, Wacom’s Cintiq. This tablet would aid upper-level and graduate students in design coursework. The proposal would allow students the ability to use a pen on a digital screen and translate their work to a computer for future use.

“This tool hooks into a laptop and is like using a clicker in Photoshop, but it gives you more control of your tools,” Minarsch said. “It is like a digital piece of paper.”

If the proposal is accepted, students will be able to have 12 Cintiq 12WX tablets and four Cintiq 21QX tablets, equipping design students with the skills and tools that are needed in the design industry.

“In the industry, this is the tool that designers use, and it’s a good tool for students to start using it now,” Minarsch said.

These new technologies are revolutionizing student learning and playing an increasing role on campus.

“Like any other technology, when it’s thoughtfully integrated, it’s a great idea,” Lewis said. “It is another way for [students to] cheaply … participate.”

Reach contributing writer Charolette Anthony at development@dailyuw.com.