• How the Interwrite PRS System Works
• For Students
• For Faculty
• Lab Packs for One-Time Use

Introduction Student Response Systems (SRS), also known colloquially as "clickers", have become standard equipment in many college classrooms. These handy tools allow us get almost instantaneous feedback from a large audience. This can be used in a variety of ways in a classroom learning environment. Student-held transmitters work with classroom receivers to record student answers to short questions, capture student opinion, and help instructors quickly assess whether students understand the main points of the day's class instruction.

In 2006, Cal State San Marcos went through an extensive faculty-directed process to choose one campus standard  from among a variety of vendors that make products of this type. It was finally decided to standardize the campus on the Interwrite PRS product.

The benefits of this standardization for the campus include: ease of providing support, simplified training, lower cost to students, less confusion, etc. Other important aspects were:

• ease of use of the proposed system for faculty and students;
• cost to students;
• functional features;
• compatibility with the WebCt/Blackboard learning management system;
• cross-platform support for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

How the Interwrite PRS System Works

Each student has a clicker. A receiver is installed in the instructor's station in each classroom and the PRS software is installed on the computer. The system sends data back and forth between the RF Clickers, the RF Receiver and the Interwrite PRS Software.

PRS clicker

The PRS RF clicker is a battery-operated device that features an LCD display and a keypad that includes numeric, lettered and math symbols, as well as navigation keys. The PRS RF clicker’s LCD display makes it possible for the student to see and edit their answers before they are sent, and to receive status messages about each answer they transmit.

The Interwrite PRS RF receiver hub is connected to the computer via a USB Cable. It sends transmitted data to the Interwrite PRS Software on the computer and status messages from the Interwrite PRS Software back to the PRS RF clicker.

For Students If a clicker is required for one or more of your classes, you may purchase one at the CSUSM bookstore along with your books and other supplies. Since we have standardized on one particular model, this should be the only one you will need for the duration of your attendance here. When you leave CSUSM you can sell the clicker back to the bookstore. The clicker units use three AAA batteries.

Important: When you first start up your new clicker it will ask you to enter an ID. This is the unique identifier that will let the system know who you are in each class. Please use your CSUSM email username for this, NOT your student ID number. This will ensure that you are properly credited for graded work and attendance.

• Clicker User's Guide Online (.pdf)
• Clicker Interactive Online Overview

For Faculty

Interwrite PRS receivers and software are installed in most classrooms on campus now. Complete coverage will be achieved sometime during the Spring semester 07. You may use the instructor's station computer in each room, or you can install the PRS software on your own laptop.

Questions can be asked using the Interwrite PRS software or by embedding question slides into your Powerpoint presentations. Questions can also be asked impromptu if something occurs to you on the spot. It will take careful thought to decide how best to incorporate clicker feedback into your classroom teaching and Academic Technology Services is here to help you with the process.

A complete kit including clicker, receiver, and software is available to you free of charge. Please contact the Student Technology Help Desk (6505) for more information.

Useful links:

• Interwrite PRS User's Guide Online (.pdf)
• Professional Resources
• Vendor FAQ Page
• Clicker Interactive Online Overview
• Online Video Tutorials for Clicker Software

Lab Packs for One-Time Use

Occasionally you may want to get feedback from an audience that is not a regularly constituted class, i.e. the users won't have purchased clickers ahead of time. For this purpose we have lab packs that can be checked out from Technology Support and Equipment Checkout (T-SEC) on the second floor of the Kellogg Library. Lab packs can be checked out for 48 hours and include: 32 clickers, a receiver, Interwrite PRS software. The PRS software can be installed on a laptop you are taking with you. Installing on an unknown off-campus computer, for example at another institution, may not be easy and is not recommended without testing well ahead of the event.

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Comments from other institutions:

"These student response systems are especially promising in terms of what they can do to reduce the psychological size of large-scale classes. One early adopting professor, for example, has pointed out that clickers allow students to "speak" even in a class of several hundred students. The interactivity of the student response systems thus offers an excellent way of keeping students engaged in the class, in addition to providing the instructor with a gauge as to how well students are learning."

Student Response Systems Committee Final Report, Iowa State U., June 2006

Case studies page.