The Click of the Brave New World

The Bruin reports that UCLA students will soon have free use of the iClicker app, smartphone apps that allow in-class polling. There may also be discounts on physical iClickers. Excerpt:

The iClicker program subscription will be free for students and instructors beginning June 20, the Bruin Learn Center of Excellence announced March 28. iClickers are an interactive polling tool utilized in many UCLA classrooms. UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez said in a written statement that more than 10,000 students utilized the tool last year, and an average of 160 courses use the tool for instruction. iClicker usage is expected to increase when the free version of the tool is made available, he added. The mobile app version currently costs between $15.99 and $49.99, depending on the length of the subscription, while one version of the physical remote costs $27.99.

Instructors encouraged the university to provide an equitable solution to the lack of free iClicker tools on campus, Vazquez said in the written statement. He added that the Bruin Learn Center of Excellence funded the program, costing the university less than $2 per student. Some students have had issues purchasing the iClicker program in the past. UCLA’s Financial Support Commission created the iClicker loan program in 2015 with funding from the Undergraduate Students Association Council to provide physical iClickers for students to rent out if they could not afford the $50 purchase.

The digital iClicker program subscription will be free for all students by creating a student account, Vazquez said. He added that while some professors may still require a physical remote, the university is working on creating a program to reduce these prices as well...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2023/04/13/iclicker-subscriptions-to-be-free-for-ucla-students-starting-summer-2023.

Of course, it used to be possible to poll students by asking them to raise their hands. No subscription was required. But that approach is not sufficient for the Brave New World, apparently.