Clickers as social computing tools?

I received the announcement below about clickers in the classroom, and it got me thinking: can clickers be used as social computing tools? Typically they're used as a way to record responses from students, which are then reported back to the professor and/or students after an answering period has ended. How could clickers be used in a mode where class trends positively influence students' learning in real time (as opposed to ex post facto)?

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Come join us for the second session of the new "Best Practices with Teaching & Technology" Series this week. Registration is not required.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) and the Instructional Development Center (IDC), the series will host a 2 to 3-member faculty panel each month. Faculty will present and discuss how they use a particular technology to facilitate learning in the classroom.

Please join us for the second session on "Clicker Technologies" Tuesday, March 3rd, 11am-12pm in KRAN G004. The faculty members who will present and lead the discussion will be Barny Dunning, Associate Professor in Forestry and Natural Resources, and Tom Walter, Continuing Lecturer in Biological Sciences . They will be discussing innovative ways they've used clicker technologies in class to improve student learning.

Questions about this session may be directed to: Hans Aagard ( haagard@purdue.edu )

Please feel free to share this information with others. Thank you!