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Learning and teaching

Learning and teaching

i>clicker

UVic supports iClicker, an electronic polling system that instructors can use to collect students' opinions, administer quizzes, and engage students in collaborative learning. Instructors typically use iClickers by asking students questions then electronically gathering their responses, promoting discussion in the classroom.

Note: The currently supported version of iClicker is iClicker Classic. iClicker Cloud is the cloud based version of iClicker and needs to be approved at UVic before it can be accepted for adoption. If you are looking for iClicker Cloud information about converting your free trial access to full access, please refer to the iClicker Macmillan website.

Student iClicker support

First steps

How do I find out whether I need an i>clicker for one of my courses?

Look up your course on the UVic Book Store web site; if an iclicker is required, it will be listed along with the text books for that course.

Where can I purchase an i>clicker?

The UVic Book Store sells new and used i>clicker remotes. Please contact them directly for details about pricing and availability.

i>clicker registration

How do I register my i>clicker?

You can register your iClicker through Online Tools:

  1. Navigate to Online Tools and login with your NetLink ID and password.
  2. Click on the Student services tab.
  3. Scroll down to the Tools & forms section and click iClicker.
  4. Enter your iClicker's serial number and click submit.

Important:

Do not register your iClicker through the iclicker.com web site, as UVic instructors will only synchronize their iClicker rosters with the University of Victoria's own registration system.

Does my i>clicker registration ever expire? Will I need to re-register my i>clicker every term?

No. If you have registered your iClicker following the process detailed above (through Online Tools), your registration will only expire if you register a different iclicker serial number to your name – or no serial number at all.

My i>clicker's serial number has rubbed off. How can I retrieve it?

If you have a first-generation i>clicker remote (non-LCD remote), just take it to the Central Computer Help Desk (Clearihue building, room A037) or to the UVic Book Store and they will be able to assist you in recovering your serial number (a.k.a. remote ID).

If you have a second-generation i>clicker (LCD remote), the serial number is displayed on the unit's LCD when you switch it on. (After a few seconds, the serial number is replaced with the word 'ready'.)

Basic i>clicker troubleshooting

How do I know if my i>clicker votes are being received by the base station?

First-generation (non-LCD) remotes
Your unit has three LEDs: "power", "low battery" and "vote status". If you click a button (A to E) and the vote status LED flashes red, your vote has not been received; if it goes green, your vote has been received successfully.

Second-generation (LCD) remotes
 If a tick mark is displayed on the unit's LCD, your vote has been received by the base station. If instead you see a crossed-out circle and the words 'no base' on the LCD, your vote has not been received.

Both generations
If your vote is note being received by the base station, there are three possibilities:

  • a polling session is not currently under way, i.e., your instructor has not initiated a polling session yet, or has already ended it (by far the most likely explanation);
  • your instructor – possibly by mistake – has set the base station to a radio frequency other than the default, which is AA (see the instructions below on how to change your clicker's frequency); or
  • you are too far from the base station (extremely unlikely, as the transmission range of an iclicker is enough for even the largest lecture theatre on campus).

How do I change the frequency of my i>clicker remote?

In the unlikely event that a particular classroom's i>clicker base station is at a frequency other than the default (AA), you will need to set the frequency of your remote accordingly. In order to do this, follow the instructions below.  Please note that these instructions for changing the frequency are also available on the back of your remote.

First-generation (non-LCD) remotes
Press and hold your remote's on/off button until the power LED starts blinking. Release the on/off button and press the sequence of two letters corresponding to the desired frequency. As soon as you press the second letter, if the operation has been successful, the "vote status" LED will flash green and the power LED will stop blinking. If the "vote status" flashes red after you press the second letter, either the base station is not in 'receive mode' (a polling session must be under way in order for this operation to work) or you pressed the wrong sequence (i.e. a frequency that is different from what the base station has been set to).

Second-generation (LCD) remotes
Press and holdyour remote's on/off button until you see 'set freq' on the LCD and two blinking letters corresponding to the current frequency code. Release the on/off button and press the sequence of two letters corresponding to the desired frequency. If you see a tick mark on the LCD, the new frequency has been successfully set; if you see a crossed-out circle instead, either the base station is not in 'receive mode' (a polling session must be under way in order for this operation to work) or you pressed the wrong sequence (i.e. a frequency that is different from what the base station has been set to).

Instructor iClicker support

Note: Instructors can also find additional pedagogical information about iClicker by visiting Technology Integrated Learning.

***If you use an Apple computer and are running macOS Catalina or newer you will need to adjust your macOS settings before running iClicker. Please refer to the iClicker support article for more information on the privacy settings that need to be adjusted and contact the Computer Help Desk if you require assistance. 

First steps checklist

  1. Request an AV cabinet key from your department. The iClicker base station for your room is stored in the AV cabinet.
  2. If you are teaching in a classroom that is not equipped with an iClicker base station, contact the Computer Help Desk and request one be provided for your classroom.
  3. Request a master clicker (a.k.a. an instructor's clicker) from the Computer Help Desk. Master clickers allow you to remotely start and stop polling, as well as display and hide polling results. You will need to provide a FAST account before a master clicker can be assigned to you.
  4. Do you have the latest version of the iClicker application for your PC or Mac? If not, download the software package and unzip it to a USB stick (preferable) or to your laptop's hard drive.
  5. Configure the iClicker application for the specific course that you are going to teach. (see the instructions below).

iClicker software set-up

Adding a course into the iClicker application

  1. Download the i>clicker software package and unzip it.
  2. Open the directory (folder) to which you unpacked (unzipped) the i>clicker software package. This should preferably be on a USB stick (thumb drive) for portability.
  3. From your i>clicker folder, double-click the i>clicker icon (.exe) to start the program.

    double click icon
  4. In the i>clicker window, click Create.

    click on create
  5. A New Course window appears. Enter your Course Name. It does not have to match your official course name. You can always change your course name later.

    enter course name
  6. Click Create.  You will now see your course in the Welcome to i>clicker window. To add another course or section, click New and repeat steps 4–5. You can add as many courses as you like.

Basic iClicker instructor settings configuration

There are a few basic settings you need to make in your settings before you start polling. These are described below. Edit each of settings described below, and then click “Set for Course.” You can return and make changes to your course settings at any point.

Access your settings

  1. Select your course on the i>clicker page and click Settings.
  2. On the new page, click the "My Settings" button.

    click on my settings

Enter your Instructor remote ID (General Tab)

  1. Click on the the "General" tab, enter your instructor's remote ID (located on the bottom of the back of your i>clicker under the bar code) in the Instructor's Remote ID field.  This will allow you to start/stop polls and display results using your instructor remote.
  2. Leave other settings on this page as is.  Do not change the frequency code.

    enter instructor clicker remote ID
  3. Leave other settings on this page as is. Do not change the frequency code.

Enter the UVic registration Server URL ID (Gradebook Tab)

  1. Click on the "Gradebook" tab
  2. In the Server URL field enter the following URL sqlhttp://www.uvic.ca/BAN1P/iclicker.reg?c=  This will allow you to associate your students' names with their unique i>clicker remotes numbers that are collected during polling.
  3. Leave the roster sources as "General (NO LMS)" even if you are using CourseSpaces.

    iclicker URL

Select your polling preferences (Polling tab)

The Toolbar tab allows you to customize the session toolbar appearance and set the polling timer preferences.

  • Count up: Polls count up beginning with zero. You must click the stop button to end polling.
  • Count down: Define countdown time (e.g., 30 seconds). Whe you start a poll, it will count down from your defined time and automatically stop when the time elapses.


polling preferences

Select your scoring preferences (Scoring tab)

The Scoring tab allows you to establish the point values students earn for i>clicker responses. If you do not wish to award students points for responding, you can skip this step.
scoring preferences 

Participation (Session-Based) Points  
Points are awarded to students for participating in an overall session (e.g., points per lecture).
  • Session Participation Points: Enter the number of points students earn for participating in the session (e.g. each session/lecture is worth 1 point).
  • Requirements to Earn Participation Points: The percentage of session questions students must respond to in order to earn the session point(s) defined above.

Performance (Question-Based) Points
  • Points are awarded to students for each question (e.g. points per question)
  • Points for Responding: Number of points awarded for responding to a question (regardless of whether the answer is correct).
  • Points for Correct Response: Number of points awarded for choosing the correct answer to a question.
  • Limit total performance points: Define a maximum number of points students can earn for the session.

In the example above, students will get 1 point for the session if they respond to 75% of the questions (participation points). They will also get 1 point for each question they respond to regardless of whether or not it is correct (performance points).

Other Settings (Optional)

The default settings for the i>clicker software are chosen to make this classroom response system the easiest to learn and quickly use. However, settings include many options for customizing how results are displayed to students.

Results tab
The results tabs allows you to customize how results charts are displayed to students. The default settings are often most appropriate, but in some cases you may find it useful to customize these.

Add your class list

iClicker keeps track of which students participated in polling session, what their responses were, and allows you to assign points for participating. If you do not wish to award students points for responding or do not need to know ‘who’ has participated, you can skip this section.

There are 2 main steps to adding your class list to iClicker.

NOTE: You may need to perform these steps more than once as your enrolment changes and students register their clickers.

Download and add your roster file from UVic My Page

You can think of a roster file as a ‘class list’ for i>Clicker. I>Clicker rosters are plain‐text files containing students' surnames, names and NetLink IDs. To use your roster file, follow the steps below:

  1. Login to your UVic MyPage (http://uvic.ca/mypage) 
  2. Look for the My Courses channel and select the correct term for your course
  3. Click the LMS set up link for your course

    download roster
  4. Click on the Download Roster link next to your course.
  5. Save the file to your course's folder within the i>Clicker software. Your course folder is found in the "Classes" Folder (see image below). The correct folder will have an existing sample roster file in it already (roster.txt).

    save to course folder
  6. Check your roster file. Open the file named "Roster.txt" inside your course folder. If it looks like the page on left, you still have the sample roster file and need to try the above operation again; if you see a list of your students’ names and NetLink IDs (like the image on the right) you have succeeded.

    check your roster file

Syncing i>clicker

In order to associate student names (on your roster file) with their i>clicker remote serial numbers (captured when remotes are clicked in a polling session), you will need to click sync in the i>clicker software.

  1. Before you sync, you must run a poll in class. i>clicker can only match a student’s name to their remote's serial number if a vote has been received from their clicker in your class.
  2. After you have run a poll, open i>clicker
  3. Select your class and click “Open Gradebook
    open gradebook
  4. Click "Sync" to match names and i>clicker numbers.

    Note: Before syncing, student IDs and i>clicker serial numbers will be displayed in red signifying that the names have not yet been associated with i>clicker serial numbers (see below). Once sync is complete, student names will be displayed in blue.

    click on sync

FAQ: Why is iClicker not syncing properly?

iClicker will only sync (e.g., associate iClicker remote serial numbers with students' NetLink IDs and names) if the four conditions below are met. These conditions can be met in any order and at any point of the semester.

  • You must have added the web registration URL to your iClicker settings.
  • You must have downloaded a roster file for the class in question and saved it to the right directory in your iClicker software (folder). NOTE: Your roster file must be up to date. If course enrollment has changed, you will need to download a new version and replace the old one in the iClicker folder and run sync again.
  • The student must have participated at least once during a polling session in class. (iClicker can only match a student’s name to their remote's serial number if a vote has been received from their clicker in your class). Each student must have registered their iClicker remote's serial number.
  • You must have clicked “sync” in the iClicker gradebook.

If all conditions have been met and you are still experiencing difficulties, contact the Computer Help Desk.


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