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iClicker Instructor Setup

1. Download iClicker Cloud and Create Your Free Account

Start by downloading and installing the iClicker Cloud standalone application. Classroom computers have Deep Freeze and are wiped clean after each use. You should install the iClicker Standalone application on a flash drive that can be carried from classroom to classroom. Once you’ve installed iClicker Cloud, create your instructor account.

1.1. Download and Install iClicker Cloud

  1. Go to http://iclicker.com/downloads/iclicker-cloud.
  2. In the middle left of the page, click the Download the Windows standalone version link.

a screenshot of the Download window  

3. Locate the downloaded iClicker Cloud x.x.x. zip file.

      • Check your Downloads folder.
      • Note: x.x.x. in place of actual version number
a screenshot of the zip file  

4. Open the zip file.

5. Inside the zip file you will find the iClicker Cloud.exe file.

a screenshot of the .exe file  

6. Click and drag the .exe file onto a flash drive (Removable Disk).

7. The flash drive that can be carried into multiple classrooms.

a screenshot of the iClicker Cloud application and files stored on a removeable drive  

1.2. Create an iClicker Cloud Account

  1. Open the iClicker Cloud application.
a screenshot of the iClicker app icon  

2. Click the Create Account button in the iClicker Cloud Sign In window.

a screenshot of the create account button  

3. In the “Primary Institution” field, enter: University of Houston-Downtown.

4. Fill in the rest of the form and agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

      • Use your uhd.edu email address.
      • The password is not integrated with Single Sign On (SSO).

5. Click the Create button.

 
a screenshot of the Create Account dialog box  
 

2. Create Courses in iClicker Cloud

 
Now that you have installed iClicker Cloud and created your instructor account, you should set up your courses. Create one course for each class that you are teaching in Blackboard.
 
  1. Open the iClicker Cloud application (if it’s not already open).
a screenshot of the iClicker app icon  

2. Sign In with your iClicker Cloud credentials (created in previous section).

3. Click the Create a Course button.

      • Alternatively, click the + button in the bottom left of the Courses menu to create a new course.

a screenshot of the Create a Course button
a screenshot of the + button  

4. Fill in the Course Details.

5. Recommended:

      • Course ID: Your CRN #
      • Term example: Fall 2016
      • Check boxes: Meeting days and times

6. Click create.

a screenshot of the Create a Course dialog box  

7. Confirm that your course appears in the Courses menu on the left.

      • If you need to make edits to the course details, click the course title and click the gear icon at the bottom of the menu.
a screenshot of the Courses list  

8. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each additional course.

3. Sync Your iClicker Cloud Courses in Blackboard

 
iClicker Cloud is one of many third-party applications with Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). Syncing your iClicker Cloud Polling courses with Blackboard is as simple as creating a web link. First, you’ll need to copy the link from your iClicker Cloud course settings, then you’ll paste it into the Web Link tool in Blackboard.
 

3.1. Copy the Course-Specific Link from iClicker Cloud

 
  1. Open the iClicker Cloud application and sign in.
a screenshot of the iClicker app icon 

2. Click the course you’d like to sync in the left-hand menu.

3. Click the gear icon at the bottom to open the course Settings.

a screenshot of the Courses list 

4. Click LMS Sync in the settings menu.

      • LMS = Learning Management System (e.g. Blackboard).

5. Click the Copy Link button in the middle of the window.

a screenshot of the LMS Sync url  
 

3.2. Create an LTI Link in Blackboard

 
    1. Open your web browser and login to Blackboard with your UHD username and password.
    2. Open the course that you’d like to sync with iClicker Cloud.
    3. Click a content link (e.g. Course Content) in the left-hand course menu where you’d like to set up the iClicker Cloud link.
      • For more about the course menu, go here.
a screenshot of the Course Content button 
 
4. In the content area, click the Build Content button near the top of the page.

5. Click the Web Link option in the dropdown menu.

a screenshot of the Build Content drop down menu with Web Link selected 

6. Give the link a Name.

7. Paste the link that you copied from the LMS sync.

8. Important! Check the box labeled: This link is a Tool Provider.

9. Click the Yes radio to Enable Evaluation.

10. Enter the total Points Possible

11. Click Submit.

a screenshot of the Web Link dialog box 
 
Important notes:
  • Instruct your students to sign in to your Blackboard course and click the LTI link.
  • Repeat these steps for each Blackboard course that needs to be synced with iClicker Cloud.
  • Click for additional information about syncing iClicker Cloud in Blackboard.
 
 

4. Start a Polling Session and Grade User Activity

 
It’s easy to start polling sessions, but remember that iClicker is separate from your presentation software like PowerPoint. You will open your presentation file and the iClicker Cloud separately, and both will run at the same time. The iClicker window will stay in the foreground to give you quick access to the polling controls and results menu.
 

4.1. Start a Polling Session

 
    1. Open the iClicker Cloud application.
a screenshot of the iClicker app icon 

2. In the left-hand menu, click the course in which you’d like to start a polling session.

      • Example: course title is Info Literacy.

3. Click the Start Polling Session button.

a screenshot of the Start Polling Session button 

4. A small iClicker window will open in the foreground of the presentation.

5. Click POLLING to open a second small window with a blue play button.

      • POLLING opens the session for students to Join

a screenshot of the Polling type selection menu 

6. Before clicking the Play button, make sure that your presentation file is open.

      • Example: PowerPoint presentation with multiple choice questions.

7. Click the Play button to start a timer.

      • A tally of the responses received will appear to the right.

8. When all responses have been received, click the Stop button.

a screenshot of the Stop button 

9. In the iClicker window, click RESULTS to show a chart of student responses.

      • Students cannot submit responses once the polling has stopped.
      • Feel free to discuss the results with students.

10. Click the correct answer column to grade the question.

      • Grading can also be done after the session is closed in the Session History.

a screenshot of selecting the correct answer column 

11. Click the X icon in the upper right corner of the iClicker window to end the session.

      • Click the End Session button in the dialogue window.
 
a screenshot of the close button  
 

4.2. Viewing Session History/Grade Book

 
  1. You will find a list of all past sessions in the Session History tab of the iClicker software.
  2. Click the Session Name of the session you’d like to review and grade.

a screenshot of the session history screen  

3. To view a list of all students, session, and grades, click Launch Gradebook in the upper right corner.

a screenshot of hte Launch Gradebook button  
    A. Students who have clicked the LTI link in Blackboard will have a green dot in the LMS Connection column.


B. Students who have NOT clicked the LTI link in your Blackboard course will have no green dot. 

a screenshot of the LTI connection showing a student who has clicked with a small green dot and a student that has not clicked  

4. Click the Sync Scores to LMS button to automatically publish iClicker scores to Blackboard LMS.

      • Students who have not synced will receive an email reminder.
 
a screenshot of the Sync Scores to LMS button  
 

5. Understanding iClicker Scores in Blackboard

 
Currently, Blackboard does not display individual iClicker session scores in the Grade Center, so understanding how grades are calculated can be a bit confusing.
 

5.1. Calculating iClicker Scores

 
  • Each students’ score that you see in Blackboard is a combined total of their polling sessions so far.
  • Each time scores are synced to Blackboard, this score may go up and down depending on students’ performance.
  • It may seem confusing, but it’s quite simple.
 
Example:
Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4
iClicker Score: 4 / 4
Blackboard: 100% (4/4)
iClicker Score: 2 / 4
Blackboard: 75% (6/8)
iClicker Score: 3 / 4
Blackboard: 75% (9/12)
iClicker Score: 3 / 5
Blackboard: 70.6 (12/17)
Q: How is the iClicker grade calculated?
A: Let's look at the four sessions in the example above.
  1. The total number of questions in all four sessions is 17 (4 + 4 + 4 + 5 = 17)
  2. The total number of questions answered correctly in all for sessions is 12 (4 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 12)
  3. Divide 12 by 17
  4. 12 / 17 = .7058
  5. .7058 = 70.6%
  • Again, Blackboard only displays one overall grade for their iClicker total, not individual session scores.
  • Whether they’re using physical remotes or the cloud application, all students can check their individual session performance by logging into their iClicker accounts at https://app.reef-education.com.

5.2 Edit the Blackboard score primary display to match iClicker

 
  • Individual session scores DO NOT sync to Blackboard.
  • Only the Total column is synced to Blackboard.
  • The iClicker Total column displays a total by percent of ALL polling sessions.
 
a screenshot of the total percentage of all iClicked polling  
 
  • When setting up the LTI link in Blackboard, you entered a score in the Points Possible field.
  • Changing the Primary Display from Score to Percentage will reflect the same score in both iClicker and Blackboard.
 
a screenshot of the iClicked total in edit mode  
  1. Open the Full Grade Center
  2. Click the action link in the iClicker column header
  3. Click Edit Column Information

a screenshot of the Edit Column Information  

4. Below the main Description container, you will find the Primary Display field.

5. Click the dropdown menu and select Percentage.

a screenshot of the Display drop down menu with Percentage selected  

6. Click Submit

7. The score will now display as a percentage to match what students see in iClicker.

a screenshot of the iClicker score as a percentage  
 
 
  • Alternatively, toggle between % and Pts in the iClicker Gradebook.
 
a screenshot of the percent and points toggle  
 
 
If you have any questions or comments regarding the steps outlined in this document, please contact UHD TLS Training Services by calling (713) 221-8200, or by sending an email to ttlctraining@uhd.edu.