Introducing PLICKERS (Paper Clickers)
Fast forward a few years and today you can experience the future of classroom clickers – a free tool called Plickers. So, how does it work? Each student is given a card with a unique visual code. The code has 4 sides, each lettered A, B, C, and D. The student holds the card so that the letter they choose to answer the question with is at the top of their card. The teacher uses the iOS or Android app on their smartphone to slowly scan the room. The app recognizes the cards, records who the teacher assigned them to, and captures the answer that the student chose. The app will only record each student’s answer once, so you need not worry about a second scan skewing your data.
It’s a genius idea. You don’t need to be 1:1, you don’t need an expensive set of classroom clickers, and you don’t need to share devices among your students. All you need is some paper, and an app. The results appear live and in real time on the teacher’s device, or they can be projected on a large screen for the whole class to see via the Plicker’s website if required.
Does it work 100% every time? Not always. If you laminate the cards, you may have some issues recognizing the code due to the glare from indoor lighting, but for the price (free) it's certainly worth giving it a try.
- Plickers website https://www.plickers.com
- Tutorial to set up an account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zye3fyKl65c
- How it works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bejiz2HzUz8