There is some value to using CPS clickers in large lectures. By quizzing the class after the introduction of challenging topics, professors can quickly assess whether the majority of people are following the day's lecture and keeping up with the material.
I have seen clickers uncover widespread confusion many times. When a large number of people vote for the wrong answer, or the class is split, everyone feels relieved that they aren't the only ones in the dark. They are more likely to pay attention to the rephrased explanation and they want to vote again to make sure they, along with a majority of the class, have now grasped the concept and are ready to move on. It really works.
What I don't understand is using clickers to take attendance in large lectures. Many of these classes tie a portion of your grade to whether or not your clicker is present and voting during class every day. This makes no sense to me.
Traditional lectures, as they are currently conceived, are supposed to test a student's discipline in addition to their ability to learn a specific topic. Their size allows for anonymity, so if a student does not want to attend lecture he doesn't have to. If he wants to skip for months on end and only read the textbook he may. If he wants to skip for months on end without reading the textbook he may.
Lectures are designed to teach the largest number of people using the fewest resources and they demand that each individual be responsible for him or herself in order to make the whole operation function. Though there are definitely pedagogical downsides to the lecture format, I think the major thing they have going for them is the way they place the burden of learning squarely on each student.
Though of course I do not want students failing or doing poorly in courses because of unfair circumstances, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to demand that legal adults be responsible for themselves in this small way. If you don't go to class you will do poorly unless you do not need to go to class to understand the material and excel. If you are in the former group you have to accept the consequences or turn things around, and if you are in the latter group you shouldn't have to go to lecture if you choose not to. When clicker attendance is tied to final grades they turn college into high school.
