New to teaching with TurningPoint?
*NOTE*: These steps are NOT for instructors who checked out clickers from the IT Help Desk. They are only for instructors whose students purchased clickers at the UW Bookstore or online as a class requirement.
*Learn more about using clickers checked out from the IT Help Desk.*
Table of Contents
- Contact the UW Bookstore to order clickers
- Create an account with Turning Technologies
- Set up your class in Turning Technologies
- Text to include in syllabus and/or email sent to students
- Downloading the class roster
- In the classroom on the first day...
- Further Resources
1. Contact the UW Bookstore to order clickers
- Contact the campus UW Bookstore to order clickers so that your students can purchase the clickers before the quarter begins.
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You may also point your students to this website to purchase the clickers online for a few dollars less: (FOR A DISCOUNT: Use the University of Washington School Purchase Code: 9mF5https://store.turningtechnologies.com/index.cfm
2. Create an account with Turning Technologies
- Go to http://instructor.turningtechnologies.com and click the "Need an Account?" button.
- Enter the email address you use most as a UW Bothell faculty member; create a password; and enter the letters in the security question.
3. Set up your class in Turning Technologies
- After you successfully create a Turning Technologies account, you are brought to a page where you can set up a class in the TT system. After you set up a class in this system, your students will be able to enroll themselves and identify their unique clicker ID numbers in your TT class roster. This roster, which you will download at the beginning of the quarter, is the basis for correlating clicker responses in your class with individual students, hence, enabling assessment and evaluation, if desired.
- To set up a class, simply type the title of your class (e.g. "BBIO180: Introductory Biology") into the field under the heading "Add a Class" where it reads "Class Name."
- Now, click "Add" under the field where you typed the class title. You're done creating that class!
- Now, you will need to prompt your students to enroll in the class roster with their clicker ID number
4. Text to include in syllabus and/or email sent to students
- Students must follow a number of steps before the quarter starts (or the first day of the quarter) in order to enroll in your Turning Technologies class roster.
- We recommend cutting and pasting the following text (adjusting the sections that require your input) in your syllabus and/or in an email to students before the quarter starts (this information is also on the Student Resources for Clickers page, to which you can link).
-------------- Syllabus and Email Text ------------------------------------
"After you have purchased your clicker, you must complete the following steps to register your clicker and enroll in this class's clicker system:
- Go to the website http://student.turningtechnologies.com
- Enter your ResponseCard ID (found on the back of the clicker)
- Enter your first name and last name in the appropriate fields
- In the “Other Info” field, type your @UW.EDU.
- Complete the security question
- Press Next
- Enter <insert instructor’s email address used to sign up for Turning Technologies account> when prompted to give the instructor's email address
- Click Display Classes
- Select class name that you are in for this instructor and add it to the list on the right by clicking the Add button
- Click Next
- YOU MUST click “Complete Registration” on the last page to finish registering. You may click Back if you find information you need to correct.
- Once you see the message “Registration is now Complete,” you may register your clicker with another class or leave the site.
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5. Download the class roster
- Log into your Turning Technologies account at instructor.turningtechnologies.com, if you haven't already done so.
- Click on the "Download Class Rosters" button
- Click the "Download" link next to the class roster that you want to use
- Save the roster file on a thumb drive or, to be safer, on your faculty U:\ drive in the same folder in which you have created your TurningPoint presentation.
6. In the classroom on the first day...
- When you arrive at your UWB classroom on the first day of class in which you plan to use the clickers, the first thing you should do after logging in is open TurningPoint by double clicking the icon on the computer's desktop. (*NOTE*: You must always open the TurningPoint software before opening the TurningPoint presentation in order to use the response system functionality.)
- Next, click File and then click Open.
- Select the TurningPoint presentation that you have prepared, which should be saved on a thumb drive or on your faculty U:\ drive.
- Once the presentation is open, click the "Participant List" drop down menu and select the class roster file for the class, which will make sure you associate clicker responses with the students' names.
- IF the roster is not showing up, click Participant List in the "TurningPoint 2008" tab; click Import a Participant List; and select the roster file that you downloaded from your Turning Technologies instructor page.
7. Further Resources
Basic How-To Guide For Clickers
7 Things You Should Know About Clickers
A Bibliography of Articles About Clickers from Vanderbilt University
TurningTalk Clicker Community
Best Practices Tips for Teaching with Clickers
- Have students predict an outcome for a question
- Use the clickers to promote and deepen class discussions
- Adapt to each class session with on-the-fly questions
- Use the clickers to surface unspoken viewpoints
- Check understanding by asking the same question before and after
More Best Practices
Examples