I>clicker 7. Synchronization. Guide for Instructors

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1 I>clicker 7 Synchronization Guide for Instructors

2 What does synchronization mean? Why sync? How do I sync? These are questions instructors new with i>clicker often ask. As synchronization requires a number of how-tos both within and outside of i>clicker, it is important to understand how different elements work together to enable a successful synchronization. What does synchronization mean and why sync? If you just want to use i>clicker to get anonymous feedback in class, the experience is almost like plug and play. However, in most cases, you will want to know which students answered your questions and what responses they gave so you can assign credits for participation or performance. To associate students with their responses submitted through i>clicker, you need to have students register their i>clicker remotes, each distinguished by a unique code known as a remote ID. There are two main options for registration in-class roll call registration and web registration. As roll call registration takes up class time, instructors teaching larger classes would necessarily prefer web registration. This is where synchronization comes in: when students register on a web server, the established association between student names and remote IDs needs to be transferred to i>clicker. This transfer process is known as synchronization. Synchronization functions through mapping of the same information from the online registration database to the i>clicker software. In order for the mapping to occur, three things need to happen: 1. Your i>clicker software must point to the web server that hosts student registration data. This means entering the server URL (to be provided later) in i>clicker settings. 2. Your i>clicker software must hold the same information as the online registration database, i.e. student names, student IDs, and i>clicker remote IDs. This means you ll need to create and place in your course folder an i>clicker compatible roster file (Roster.txt) that contains student names and student IDs. To capture students remote IDs, you ll need to conduct at least one polling session in class. 3. The Final step is to activate the mapping by pressing the Sync button located in i>grader. This will enable i>clicker to search the online database to match student names/ids with the corresponding remote IDs. See the diagram on the next page for a visual illustration of how i>clicker synchronization works. 1

3 How i>clicker Synchronization Works 2

4 How to Sync? As you can see in the visual illustration, major steps for synchronization are highlighted in blue. This section will show you how to complete each of the four steps so you can be ready to sync. Please note that the four steps can be done in any order. For example, you can conduct polling sessions before students register all previously recorded responses will be retroactively assigned to your students once you sync. You can even re-sync to accommodate late registrations. Nevertheless, we recommend syncing after the add/drop period has passed to avoid multiple updates. Instructions will be given in the following order: 1. Students register 2. Enter the server URL 3. Create a roster file 4. Conduct a voting session 1. Students Register At Concordia University, we require students to register their i>clicker remotes in their MyConcordia Portal, NOT on the US-based i>clicker company website. This is in accordance with our university s policy on the protection of student data. To register online, students will need to: 1) Log into the MyConcordia Portal at 2) In the MyConcordia menu, select Student Services. 3) Select I>clicker Registration. 4) Type their remote ID in the field provided and click Enter. 2. Enter the Server URL Please note that you need to enter the server URL for each section or course in which you will be using i>clicker. If you have already downloaded the i>clicker 7 software and created the course for which you will be syncing, you can skip steps 1 through 5. 1) Download i>clicker 7 from and unzip the downloaded zip file either in a USB drive or your laptop whichever you will be running i>clicker from. 2) Plug the USB end of the base receiver cable into a USB port of your computer and plug the other end into the base receiver. 3

5 3) Open your iclicker v7.4.2-win or iclicker v7.4.2-mac folder and double click the iclicker icon to run the application. The i>clicker home screen will appear. 4) Click the Create tab. 5) In the pop-up window, enter your course name and click Create. 6) Back on the home screen, select the course name you just created and click the Settings tab. 4

6 7) Select the Gradebook tab. 8) From the Roster Source dropdown menu, select General (no LMS). 9) In the space marked Server URL, copy and paste the following address: sqlhttp://agena.concordia.ca/clickerregistration/register.asp?c= 10) Click Save. 3. Create a Roster File Every time you create a new course, a sample roster file (Roster.txt) is automatically generated in your course folder. As you can see from the following screenshot, an i>clicker roster file must have one line for each student with each line containing, from left to right, last name, first name and student 5

7 ID separated by commas. You can type the required student information into this text file following the sample entry (Be sure to delete it afterwards). However, it is easier to generate an i>clicker roster from an existing class roster if you have a larger class. Note that a class roster downloaded from the Student Information System (SIS) does not lend itself to this purpose as it has students first and last name in one column. We recommend obtaining a student list by downloading a user report from your Moodle course site. Download a student list (.csv) from Moodle course site 1) Log in to the MyConcordia Portal and select your course under My Moodle Courses. If you do not see the course you are looking for, click the More courses link. 2) In the Course administration block, click Grades. 3) In the Grade administration block, under User report, click Export and then select Plain text file. 6

8 4) On the Export to Plain text file page, in the Grade items to be included section, uncheck all items in the list by clicking the Select all/none link at the bottom. 5) Click Export format options to expand the section menu; make sure comma is selected for Separator and leave all other items at the default. 6) Click Download. Note that the.csv file you downloaded from Moodle has students first name in the first column and last name in the second; it also contains student information other than names and IDs (see an example below). To be i>clicker compatible, this file needs to be edited. Convert the downloaded.csv file into an i>clicker roster 1) Open the xxx.csv file; rearrange the columns following the last name, first name, student ID order and remove any extraneous columns and rows, including headers. After cleaning up, it should look like the left screenshot below: 2) Save the changes and close the file. 3) Rename the.csv file to Roster.txt. Click Yes to the question Are you sure you want to change it in the warning message that pops up. Now you should have a text file that looks like the right screenshot above. To change a file name on a PC, move your mouse over the file and right click, select Rename from the menu, and then type the new file name; on a Mac, select the file, hit the Return key, and then type the new file name. Alternately, you may open the.csv file using a plain text editor, such as Textpad, and save it as a text document (.txt). 4) Open your course folder, replace the existing Roster.txt file with the one you just created. 7

9 Now if you open the gradebook, you should see your students names appearing in red like in the screenshot that follows: If you have conducted one or more voting sessions before creating the roster file, you will also see remote IDs listed in red on this screen. Please note that if you have an existing student list in an Excel file instead of a.csv file, you ll need to convert it to a.csv file before changing the file name and extension to Roster.txt. Follow the steps below: 1) Open the Excel file. 2) Click on the File menu and select Save as. 3) Choose CSV ( comma separated or comma delimited ) as the file type and then click Save. 4. Conduct a Voting Session Make sure your base is running firmware v5.04 or above (the latest version is v6.02) before conducting a voting session in class. You will be prompted by i>clicker if your firmware needs to be upgraded. To update your base firmware, click the following link Scroll down the page until you see the I>CLICKER UTILITIES section. Download i>clicker Base Firmware Utility. Make sure you consult the User Guide before running the update. 8

10 Follow the instructions below to conduct a polling session: 1) Plug in your base. 2) Double click the iclicker icon in your iclicker win or iclicker-7.4. Mac folder. The i>clicker home screen will appear. 3) Select your course name and click the Start New Session button on the right. The Session Toolbar will appear in the top-left corner of your screen. You can reposition the toolbar anywhere on your desktop and it will always appear on top of any applications you are using to pose your question. 4) On the Session Toolbar, click the down arrow next to the Start button and select a question type from the dropdown menu. Multiple Choice is the default question type. 5) Present your question and answer choices. 6) Advise your students to turn on their remotes. 7) Click the Start button to begin polling. When polling is active, the Start button switches to a Stop button and a timer appears. A counter on the far right of the toolbar displays how many students have voted. 8) To end the polling session, click the Stop button on the toolbar. 9) If desired, click the Results button (the graph icon) on the toolbar or press the B key on your instructor remote to show a graph of the class responses. 9

11 You can inform students that both i>clicker and i>clicker2 remotes have a way of indicating if their response has been successfully recorded the Vote Status light will turn green for i>clicker remotes and a checkmark will show up on the LCD screen for i>clicker2 remotes. Note that after conducting a polling session, your students remote IDs appeared in red in the Gradebook (see the screenshot below) connected with the voting results. If you have already created the roster file, student names will also show up in red but not yet connected with the voting results. Now that you have completed all four steps (student registration, server URL, roster, and polling), you are ready to press the Sync button located on the top of the Gradebook (see the screenshot above): The two screenshots that follow show a sample Gradebook before and after syncing. As you can see, before syncing, student names and student remote IDs appear separately in red; while after syncing, successfully registered remote IDs have disappeared from the screen and successfully registered student names have turned blue. Those unregistered or unsuccessfully registered remote IDs and student names remain in red. 10

12 Before Syncing After Syncing Since the roster does not sync automatically, we recommend setting a deadline for registration. If you have unregistered students after syncing, you can either ask the student to go to the Portal to (re-)register and then press the sync button again or register the student yourself within i>clicker. To learn how to manually register individual students and remove unwanted remote IDs, please refer to the i>clicker 7 Registration Guide. Troubleshooting Tips: If you are unable to sync successfully, check if: 1) you are connected to the Internet 2) your roster file is correctly named, formatted and placed in the right course folder 3) you have set up the server URL for this particular section or course (this step has to be repeated for each section or course) 4) you have used voting at least once in class 11