Q: What is a clicker?
A (from Popular Science's blurb):

• Gadget: EduCue Personal Response System (PRS)
• What It Does: Student-held transmitters beam answers to the instructor.
• How It Works: Infrared signals send name-coded data to a computer.
• Where It Works: Devices are now required fare for some 5,800 UMass undergrads.
• Real-World Apps: Some companies are now using PRS during meetings for instant feedback.
• Grade: C+ Handy for big classes but too totalitarian for our liking; bright fluorescent lights sometimes interfere with the system's reception.

Q: Do I need a clicker for Phys121?
A: Yes, it is like a "required text" -- needed to participate fully in the lectures. Clickers are used only in lecture, not in discussion or lab.

Q: When will we start using them?
A: By September 14, in every lecture thereafter

Q: Can I come to lecture without a clicker?
A: You certainly can, you may, you are encouraged to come even if you happen not to have your clicker with you. You will not be able to participate if there is a quiz, and in any case the computer will "think" that you are not there. We do not take attendance, but we may look at your clicker record if, for example, you should claim special consideration because you had an outstanding attendance record.

Q: How will the computer recognize me?
A: On the back of your clicker is a 6-digit number (black in white field) that corresponds to a unique code your clicker sends out with every clicked-in response. You register this number at http://www.physics.umd.edu/clickers/, and it will then be correlated with your name

Q: OK, you convinced me, how do I get this "personal response system"?
A: From your friendly local book store. I went to the Maryland Book exchange and found them near the Phys121 texts in a book-size box, costing $24 new, $18 used (but there are no used ones -- yet), including two AAA alkaline batteries.

Q: Is that a fair price?
A: The Book Exchange told me they are selling them at cost. From information on the web, the prices at other schools run or ran $15-70. The $15 price seems to apply if you buy it with a new text. If you buy a new text at the Book Exchange you should be able to get it bundled at no extra cost. (This is what they told Dr. Redish on the phone but he didn't check it out.)

Q: Can I order clickers online?
A: The only source I found is in Australia (booktopia) for $29.91. An australian $ is 0.69 US $.

Q: Will my clicker work in other courses?
A: Yes, it will work in any course that uses the interwrite PRS. Phys122 next term will likely use clickers

Q: Can I share my clicker with a friend?
A: Yes, provided your friend is in a different course or in a different lecture section of this course.

Q: Do students like the PRS?
A (from one survey, at http://rhosgobel.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_rhosgobel_archive.html): 79% of students would prefer that the class use the transmitters, a sizeable number considering that they each spent $15-$40 to acquire them.