It is a never-ending battle . . . Students are habitually late; somehow only one or two manage to at least pretend to be paying attention. It can be so frustrating. I used to try to develop policies in my syllabi to combat such actions, but nothing really seemed to get to the heart of the issue—the students just were not engaged. There is a solution.
According to Jacques Steinberg in the article “More Professors Give Out Hand-Held Devices to Monitor Students and Engage Them” found in The New York Times, this does not have to be any longer. Professor Bill White at Northwestern University has started using clickers (similar to a television remote control). But how does he use them? The clickers are used by the students to sign in to class, to answer questions, or to indicate (anonymously) lack of understanding. What has be found is that with the clickers, it is harder for students to nap or to respond to texts or emails since they are frequently asked to provide some sort of feedback.
As an instructor, I find this tool solution to be ingenious. In my opinion, this is a win-win situation. My benefits are obvious to any educator, but the students will also benefit by hopefully feeling more of a commitment to the course because they will be accountable for actively participating.
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