Mobile App of the Week - eclicker

Everyday classroom technology seeks to balance out practicality with affordability. Most nursing departments are riddled with trying to manage financial strains while a select few are able to obtain illustrious funding resources for projects and programs. The rest of us are left to utilize available resources and methods to find ways to keep up the pace with trend setters and education evolution.

Mobile. These days, the desktop computers is being morphed into a handheld mobile device. Cellular phones and Personal Digital Assistants have combined into what we now call "smartphones." But they are now much more than just phones. Over the past 6 months I have converted from Android to IPhone for many reasons. However, initially I struggled with leaving behind Android. Many, many tech websites will argue back and forth which is better between Android and IPhone. In the end, I have found that each individual has to chose what they want their phone to do.

So the app for this week is eclicker. This app for iOS replaces the need for costly classroom clickers that often go under utilized after the initial requirement for one course. According the to the program description, you can create and edit questions right from a mobile device and even host the survey on the device itself (with available Wifi connectivity). Participants only need an internet enabled device (such as a smartphone, laptop, or desktop) to participate.

Real time responses allow educators to immediately evaluate a variety of things such as class wide opinion, understanding, and more. While I have yet to try out this application within the actual classroom setting, this app should prove handy when the opportunity presents itself.

Please comment if you have trialed out the eclicker app in a presentation setting.