Using Clickers in Information Literacy Workshops Jack Hyland

I propose to deliver a workshop on my experience of using TurningPoint audience response handsets (clickers) in the course of my information literacy workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students in DCU Library. I have found clickers to be invaluable in eliciting feedback at all stages of my classes: what the students know and don’t know before a class; whether they have understood a concept or not; and to gauge their overall satisfaction at the end of a class. Using the clickers I have learnt a lot about what students learn and retain and this has informed how I plan and deliver workshops since: concepts I thought were simple are often the ones students have the most difficulty with; or what I considered a clear explanation does not always make sense to students. In the workshop I propose giving a hands-on demonstration of the use of the clickers and offering participants advice on the benefits and limitations of the technology and on what I feel works and doesn’t work in a classroom. I will present this in the context of the literature outlining others’ experiences using clickers in higher education. While the use of clickers is well established, I feel it would be timely to offer a personal appraisal of the technology and a snapshot of best practice in their use.