1. Required Equipment:  InterWrite PRS RF (Handheld Transmitter, also known as a clicker or classroom remote) made by GTCO CalComp. NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS THE H-ITT REMOTE.
    
You can find more information on the remote and the technology at:

http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/supportprsrf_students.htm

You can purchase the InterWrite PRS RF at the campus bookstore new for $46.70, but you might want to buy the textbook first, since the Campbell/Reece text bundle at the bookstore ($156.85), includes a $20 rebate towards the price of the remote. You can also purchase used remotes.

Net cost: When you are through taking courses that use the remote (there is no extra charge to use the system for multiple classes), you can sell the remote back to the bookstore (or directly to another student). The amount you get back from the rebate and resale should make the net cost for use less than $10. Note that Physics is now adopting the same remote (it has been decided it will be the new campus standard).

One set of three AAA batteries should easily get you through the quarter.

2. Registering your remote:
      
  Registration is automatic. The first time you use the remote in class you'll enter your student ID #. That's it.

Once you are registered for the course, your PID and clicker # will get matched up with your name.  Concurrent enrollment students should make up a PID # and E-mail it to the instructor with their full name
 
3. How it will work:
    Throughout the course, you will use a transmitter (or "clicker") like a TV remote to answer questions that I
pose during class time. A receiver linked to my laptop will enable me to project a graph showing the
distribution of responses among all the students in the class. This rapid feedback will let you see whether
you grasp the material and will provide me guidance as to how well I am communicating particular important
ideas.
 
I will use the technology to gauge student participation and understanding*.  This will count towards your final grade in the following way:  at the end of the quarter, you will have a point total consisting of the sum of points from the two midterms and the final.  Different ranges of points will correspond to different letter grades.  If you are near a transition (for example, you have a high C+) participation in 80% of the clicker questions will earn you a promotion to a B-, in this example.

For the BILD 2 summer session classes, this policy resulted in about 10% of the students in the class getting a higher grade than they would otherwise have received.
 


* For the first three class sessions, we will only practice using the clicker system.  During these classes, your answers will not count toward your grade.  This practice time should give everyone enough time to purchase a remote transmitter, register it online, and become familiar with its use.  Beginning Oct. 8th, your answers and participation will count toward your grade.

3. Forgotten, missing, or malfunctioning clickers:
    Getting 80% of the available clicker points over the quarter will earn you full clicker credit. What this means is that you can come to class and discover that you have dead batteries or no clicker and not have to inform me or worry. The responsibility for limiting such problems to just one or two class sessions is entirely yours.