Hunter Somerville

ETEC 588

Spring 2015

Select a technology innovation that has been or could be diffused in your school (or
a school) and describe the stages of the innovation process in that organization
(Rogers, 2003, p. 420-430)

Teaching with Clickers

Agenda-setting
How can we reduce grading time for tests and quizzes and improve score
reporting times?
Matching
Scantrons reduced grading time and improved score reporting time but still
required the teacher to take the paper forms to the scanner and then manually
input the grades into the grade book.
Clickers allow for immediate feedback to overall performance of the class and
students can check their individual grades online while in class or immediately after.
Redefining/Restructuring
Teachers first use clickers to integrate new technology into the classroom by
having fun quizzes and interactive question sessions. After the newness of the
clicker has worn off, the teacher can then utilize the clicker to administer quizzes
and tests. Students are allowed to log into their grade reports and see their grades
online. Teachers can field questions from students as to why an answer was missed
or she can allow another student to explain the answer. This involves the entire
class and reduces anxiety for test taking over time.
Clarifying
After several test classrooms have demonstrated the functionality of the
clicker and students are accustomed to getting their scores immediately, other
students will want to get their scores faster and this will speed up the adoption
process. Teachers will have to attend training to learn how to set up slide
presentations for test questions and how to download scores into a digital
gradebook.
Routinizing
At this point, the clicker has become a regular part of testing in the school
and all are accustomed to the new technology. Teachers are happy with not having
to grade as many tests and students are happy with getting their scores almost

Hunter Somerville

ETEC 588

Spring 2015

immediately. Teachers are able to explore subjects more in depth and spend less
time grading tests.

Who were (or will be) the champions? Was this a collective- or authoritativeinnovation decision?
The champions of the clicker technology will be the teachers that are in the
appropriation or innovation stages of technology. Students will also be champions
of this technology because they get their grades faster and are ready to move on to
the next subject. Overall, the adoption process will be a collective decision once the
benefits and the relative ease of using the clicker in the classroom has been shown
to all the teachers.

Finally, describe the following consequences (there are always consequences) as a

result of this diffusion within the organization:

anticipated/unanticipated
Anticipated consequences is the amount of time saved grading quizzes and
tests, reduction in out of classroom grading, feedback given to students
immediately after the test, and reduced paper usuage.
Unanticipated consequences could be increased cheating, test anxiety, grade
uncertainty, no paper response from teacher, lost grades due to computer failure or
user deletions.
desirable/undesirable
Desirable consequences is increased student participation in the classroom,
parent /teacher/ student interactions due to quicker grading responses, posting of
grades to student accounts makes parents happy, and school saves money in long
run with reduced paper cost and machine repairs.
Undesirable consequences could be temptation of students to cheat, parents
not happy because there is not a paper test to compare scores to answers, less
ambiguity and subjectivity in grading, and addressing concerns of students with
learning disabilities.
direct/indirect
Direct consequences are improved grade reports, faster grading times, less
papers to grade, and improved classroom participation.

Hunter Somerville

ETEC 588

Spring 2015

Indirect consequences could be increased test anxiety, lack of parent

understanding of new test taking techniques, and student not prepared to take
state exams on paper or computer.

Are any of these consequences legal or social concerns as described in the course
textbook?
Social concerns could stem from increased temptation of student to cheat.
Teacher would have to be more observant of students and less focus on the screen
or board. School would have to adopt new policies for grade reporting and how
grades are viewed.