Want to know our PRS grades? check in OWL. As I drop the lowest 10% at the end of the semester, plus add points for hardware malfunctions, your actual PRS grade will be somewhat higher than what you observe in OWL. Unfortunately, it is not simple for me to add points into the gradebook at present – instead, I will account for collisions only after I drop the lowest 10% of PRS scores; this will happen at the end of the semester.
Personal Response System Clickers
There are two numbers that you’ll need for this: one is your student ID, and the other is the PRS transmitter ID.
Clicker Setup:
A. Enter your student number into the clicker
- Turn on your PRS unit
- Press the * key until you get to Setup menu .
- Press the down arrow until the bottom of the screen says ID.
- Press Enter.
- Enter your 8 digit student number.
- Press Enter.
B. Find your Transmitter ID
- Turn on your PRS unit
- Press the * key until you get to Setup menu .
- Press the down arrow until the bottom of the screen says Diagnostics.
- Press Enter. The bottom will read Transmitter ID xxxxxx.
C. Register your Radio ID in OWL
This will allow you and me to keep track of your PRS responses.
- Log into OWL for Chem 111.
- Click on Clicker Registration on the left toolbar.
- Click on Add New Clicker.
- Enter your Transmitter ID number.
- Click on Save Clicker Registration.
Professor Knapp,
I was present in both 11/16 and 11/23 lectures and I had the same problem with my PRS grade as the others commented above.
Thanks,
Ariel Brooks
Hi Professor Knapp,
I was just looking at my grades and the grade log says that I did not receive PRS points for 11/4, 11/23, and 11/30 but I did attend lecture and I logged in and answered the questions.
Thank you,
Laura
I had the same problem but only for 11/23.
Prof. Knapp,
I looked through my PRS grades and I see that I did not get credit for 9/25, 9/28, 11/16, and 11/23. I know I registered my PRS after you told us in class to in order to get credit for participating. I have not missed a class and have answered all PRS questions.
Thank you,
Jessica
Hey Professor Knapp,
My PRS somehow didn’t register my answer on Monday 11/23. I was definitely in class, and I heard the annoucement of OWLs due on Sunday instead of coming to class on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I noticed on OWL that my grade for this day is a 0, but I’m not sure what happened, because I was in class and answered the few PRS questions that were asked.
Thanks,
Christina
If you look at the syllabus, PRS only accounts for 3% of our total grade, and if Prof. Knapp is only taking into account 90% of our total PRS grades, as long as you’re going to class and attempt to answer all the questions, the days that there are collisions won’t significantly effect your grade.
I agree with Mehreen I think we should get a little more time on the PRS questions then one minute because it would give us a little more time to figure the problem out ourselves to see if we understand the material….or at least on the calculation ones.
Brendan,
I checked OWL’s PRS grades, and I believe that we get credit for PRS per day because I know I missed a question once, but got the second question in the same day. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
Say we only answer 1 out of 2 PRS questions in the same day because of malfunctions with the PRS, do we get credit for PRS per day or is it per question?
Rose,
that’s right. The lowest 10% of PRS scores get dropped, so hardware malfunctions on a few days will have no effect on your grade. PRS works more than 99% of the time, and I hope that you find it helpful for lecture, but I know that the rare failure can be very frustrating.
suggestion- i know we do not have a PRS question every day but the days that we do have it i think we should have atleast two PRS questions so that people who cant get their answer in on the first question can still get it in on the second.
How much does the PRS affect our grade? I had a problem with mine a couple of days so I didn’t get credit for being there but if we are allowed to miss a few this shouldn’t be too big of a deal, right?
If i missed class for a legitimate reason can i make up the missed PRS grades
Prof. Knapp,
I still haven’t received credit for 9/9, 9/14, and 9/25 which I was there for and did participate, and I believe were collision dates. I have given you a note with my ID on it, I just wanted to know if your going to give credit at the end of the term so I don’t keep giving you notes.
Thanks!
-Madeline
I think there might have been PRS collisions on 10/2. Because I did PRS that day and my score is a 0 on OWL.
Hi Allison,
I am also a little disappointed at how PRS can work so well 99% of the time – but fail 1% of the time. If a problem beyond your control occurs, I will not punish you for it. At the end of the semester, I will account for such problems by giving you credit manually.
I already know about the collisions-days from the second-week.
Any further problems: drop me a paper note on the day that the problem occurs. I’ll keep it in my “PRS-doomsday book” for the end of term.
Professor,
I am having the same problem with the PRS clicker. I have attended every class and tried to use the clicker on several of the days when there were collisions occuring. Is there any way to receive credit for these days? Thanks!
~Allison
Hi Professor Knapp,
I do not have credit for 9/23, and I did use my PRS. Please let me know if you can fix it. Thank you.
-Caitlyn Shatford
where can i see my prs grades? and all my other grades
hello professor knapp,
i was wondering..where on earth do i find out my prs grades? is it in owl? i am super confused.
also, i didnt know about registering my prs with owl..so i only did it this week if i am correct. is that going to affect my prs grade since i registered it with owl late?
thank you!
Hi Sherwood,
The PRS system has about three different problems that I know about. One is that each user must register their PRS within OWL. Two, the registration number is only 6-digits (not the 8-digit student ID). Third, collisions during response.
The first two problems are very easy to solve. Once they are solved, I can focus on the harder problem.
Thanks to everyone who has checked their PRS registration!
In owl, I didn’t get graded for some of the PRS questions. I was in class those days and remembered doing them. Is there anything I can do or is it going to be counted against me?
Prof.Knapp,
I am in the same boat as Arielle, I have received credit for all of the PRS thus far except for 9/16. I don’t know how many people have a similar problem, but I wanted to let you know that it’s not just one, it’s at least two students with the same issue.
Thanks!
Laura
Thanks for putting this up Prof.Knapp!
Very helpful.
See you in class Monday…
Andy,
Yes. absolutely. The PRS receiver just knows the clicker ID and studetn ID. Registering the clicker on OWL will allow me to correlate the IDs with a name –> this leads to credit!
If we registered our PRS in class, do we still need to register with the instructions above?
This was answered in my blanket email to the class from earlier this afternoon – I am having file compatabilty problems. Please help me to fix this by ensuring that your PRS clicker is registered in OWL – directions are on the blog under “PRS.”
In your case, it is possible that you are registered (and got three days of credit), but something is weird with the fourth file – I am working on a solution right now.
When I looked to see the course grade book on OWL under PRS I had recieved credit for all of the classes except for 9/16 but I was present in that class and I had used the clicker successfully so I don’t understand why I had not received the grade. Did those grades just not show up yet for that day or did something go wrong?
Thanks,
Arielle
I was just browsing this blog when i came across the PRS tab on the top. I just registered my PRS today (Wed Sept. 16th) because it was the first I had heard of doing so. Just wondering, does that means that I haven’t been receiving PRS participation credit for the past week in a half?
Thanks,
Devin M
Is there a way we can check to make sure our clickers are responding in class so we can be assured we are recieving our class partricipation points? Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Robert Kane
P.S. Does this post qualify me to recieve the extra credit points for posting on this blog?
Hi Nick,
Thanks for letting me know about this.
I will find a way to ensure that nobody is punished by the hardware limitations.
I am working on a solution to the problem – it should be fixed by Wed. Here is a link to the UMass PRS group, with some solutions to common problems: PRS link
I will also give you feedback about the PRS grades before the week is over, as I understand that everybody wants (and deserves) credit for their participation and work.
As you probably already know many students are having trouble getting their prs to work properly in class. Is there any way to find out if I have received full credit for my prs responses.
A Q from one student:
“I play on the varsity — team. I have compared my schedule to the class syllabus, and luckily I won’t have any conflict with the test dates. I will however be missing a few Friday lectures.
I will be able to keep up with notes, but I was curious as to how much missing a few Friday lectures might impact my PRS grade for the class. Will I be penalized for missing select PRS sessions due to athletic travel? If so is
there a way I can make up the credit? Thank you for your time.”
The answer is that 10% of PRS responses are dropped – only the first 90% count. So if you miss a few days, your grade will not suffer directly. BUT – the best learning time is during class, so come to class whenever possible.
Josie-
I think that your fellow student was about to offer you a bridge for a low, low price.
The PRS is about $45. The programming is free – DIY.
when i asked a fellow student about the cost of this, they said it was $45 to purchase and that it cost another $40 to program your i.d in it. is that true?