MU’s switch to the new i>clicker2 was not a result of cheating, but rather of substantial software issues.
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s article, [“With cheating only a click away, professors reduce the incentive”](http://chronicle.com/article/Cheating-Is-Now-Only-a-Click/128879/), explained national university professors’ critical response to clickers.
“Cheating is fairly common,” Vanderbilt University senior mathematics lecturer Derek Bruff said in the Chronicle article.
Professors from schools such as the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Florida see clicker cheating in many of their classrooms. One professor observing a colleague’s class at UC-Boulder saw one student with with four clickers in front of him, according to the article.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with academic honesty,” MU Director of Educational Technologies Danna Vessell said of the software switch. “The former clickers had some serious software issues, and were unreliable.”
CPS clickers have been causing frustration among many professors at MU, according to the Educational Technologies at Missouri website.
Education Technology specialist Guy Wilson said the major issues included the device managers failing, slow upgrades for and machine complications within both Mac OS and Windows, slow devices and many issues with PowerPoint and CPS.
“My colleagues complained about technical difficulties, but I never had any problems,” journalism professor Beverly Horvit said. “Education is your own responsibility.”
Horvit uses the clickers as a way to encourage students to engage in class. However, she said she does not make clicker responses a substantial part of students’ final grade, a practice many universities are now applying to their classes.
Horvit used CPS clickers for the first time last semester. She said would definitely use them again if students like them.
MU piloted the new clickers in one course during the summer. The university decided the i>clicker2 best met the campus needs, Vessell said.
Reliability, accessibility, simplicity, plug-and-play, cost and registration were reasons the university chose the i>clicker2, according to the Educational Technologies at Missouri website.
CPS clickers cost students $35 up front and $10 per semester for three semesters. Educational Technologies at Missouri anticipate the new clickers to cost students a one-time fee of $43.99. CPS clickers purchased by students last year can be returned for a $10 rebate.
