[nabs-l] iClicker inaccessibility revisited

[Bryan Jones]

This Spring I successfully completed a class where the iClicker was used to take quizzes and to answer random questions and polls taken during class. This was my first experience with a clicker and I was mostly pleased with my experience. I took the following steps to make sure this would work out. As with all of my class preparations I started this process 2 or 3 months prior to the beginning of class. This is just an outline, so please email me if you have more detailed questions.

1. Determine which model iClicker your class is expected to purchase. In my case, the "iClicker 2" was specified in the course requirements.
2. Email your Prof and ask them to provide a list of *exactly* which functions you will be expected to perform in class using the iClicker. Not all models are able to perform all functions.
3. Forward that list to the iClicker customer support email address you will find on the iClicker website and ask them to tell you which iClicker model(s) can perform those functions in a manner that is accessible to you. In my case, I was told the iClicker 2 and the Webclicker iPHone App were not yet accessible to blind Users, but that the original iClicker was accessible and could perform all of the functions required by my Prof.. Note that this took place in late 2011, so the accessibility of their other hardware and software models may have changed by now.
4. Verify and double-check this information with your Prof.
5. Purchase the iClicker. In my case I called my college bookstore and they ordered it and had it in hand a week later.
6. You will need to read or have somebody read a registration number on the back of the iClicker in order to register it online.
7. Meet with your Prof and discuss how best to use the clicker. In my case, the Prof gave a ten question multiple choice quiz via powerpoint slides every few days. I was able to take all of the quizzes right alongside the rest of my class with no special modifications or adjustments aside from having the Prof read the questions and answer choices aloud to the class as they were projected on the overhead screen. Out of eleven quizzes, i think I only needed to ask him to repeat a question two or three times during the semester.

HTH,
Bryan

On Aug 3, 2012, at 11:48 PM, josh gregory <joshkart12 at gmail.com> wrote:
> For one of my college classes, one of the recommendations is the
> iClicker. Now I think this was the one a lot of people said was
> inaccessible. Now, how is it not, and how can I explain it to someone
> who has no idea of it's non-usability for visually impaired people?