View source for Clicker review eInstruction Response on Mac OSX

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[[Image:Clicker receiver presenter audience view.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The eInstruction clicker system for audience interaction - clicker, USB receiver, PowerPoint integration, and projector output]] 

eInstruction is a company making [[Clicker in the life sciences (audience response systems)|clickers]] for audience response in lectures and seminars. As of Aug 2013, eInstruction is owned by a previous competitor Turning Technologies. For the time being, the eInstruction software Response is being continued and works in parallel with Turning software.

This page is a review of the hardware clicker CPS Pulse and the accompanying software Response v6.71 (12/2012) and it update v6.74 (04/2014). The software appears to be mostly in Java and thus runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I'm testing on a Mac, so the comments may not extend to the other run-time environments.

=== [[Image:1stars.png]] update: Response 6.74.0.5 (2014) ===
After deleting the Response preference file (Applications/eInstruction/Response/Prefs.ps) the Powerpoint plugin finally started working ([http://openwetware.org/wiki/Image:Clicker_Response_in_PPT_Presenter_View.jpg screenshot]). Using the plugin instead of Response, the clicker software also no longer forces an unwanted exit from the PPT Presenter Mode. The Response window is still badly designed (see screenshot) - my major issue with the software. The installation is still as needlessly cluttered as in the previous version, leaving files all over the computer. It still too many steps from creating a quick quiz since too many options that most lecturers won't use have to be set/skipped, e.g. when setting up the class.

=== [[Image:0stars.png]] Mac software: Response v6.71 (2012) ===
==== Installation ====
* The installation is very '''cluttered'''. The application should limit itself to one directory but instead dumps often various files with subdirectories into no fewer than 4 different locations: home, applications, documents, and library folder. Couldn't be much messier!
* The name space for files is often too short. Are we still in the 8+3 era?
* Ignores the custom path during install. I selected Applications/eInstructions. The device manager was installed in a separate directory named eInstruction without s. What???

==== Use ====
* The '''windows''' don't behave properly, for example, they cannot be minimized. And worse, a 2nd window can block another, e.g. preference pane makes the response bar inaccessible.
* The clicker control '''panel is oversized''' and largely empty. It is also always on top blocking what's underneath.
* The clicker panel when using it from Response w/o the Powerpoint plugin '''breaks the Presenter View'''. Whenever I start a question, it briefly exits from Presenter View and jitters back only if I click onto a Powerpoint window.
* The Powerpoint plugin '''ignores toolbar customization''' and instead always resets to default (toolbar position reverts, icon only resets to icon+text).
* '''Font is too small''' in the Powerpoint plugin window and there's no obvious preference command to increase it. On my MacBook Pro it looks like 6 or 7 point Arial.
* Deactivates common shortcuts like Cmd+W to close the question results summary window, for example.

==== Data analysis ====
* Clicker answers '''cannot be exported into a convenient format''', i.e. a spreadsheet last allows for fast analysis and number crunching. Instead Response creates an export in a strange RTF format that only Word can convert and that is composed of table cells / text boxes rather than text. PDF export is also possible but similarly inconvenient.
* Clicker IDs are not ordered in Response exports which makes them hard to compare.
* Points are not counted in the data output despite the ratio of correct answers being listed.


=== See also ===
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstruction eInstruction Wikipedia]
* [http://www.amazon.com/CPSPULSE-CPS-PULSE-RESPONSE-eINSTRUCTION/product-reviews/1881483819/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 CPS Pulse clicker customer reviews on Amazon]
* [http://www.chanatown.net/2010/03/click-it-to-check-it.html eInstruction vs. Turning Point comparison]
* [http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/teachingandlearningresources/technology/crs/faq.php UCF eInstruction FAQ]
* [http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/eInstruction-Reviews-E237129.htm eInstruction company rating]

[[Category:teaching]]
[[Category:learning]]
[[Category:software]]
[[Category:review]]