Poll Everywhere is one of many online survey services available. I used this free service in a previous course to poll the cohort during a group presentation. The feature that drew me to this site was the ability for audience members to text responses, without fees. This may be especially helpful for teachers of older students, ones likely to possess cell phones. Still, many other options exist, including emailing, touch-tone (via 800 number), embedded link, smartphone, and tweeting.
A teacher could use this in a variety of ways. For me, I am tired of messing with the batteries and the screws of the PRS clickers. This is a simple way to replace the clickers, or another option if you are unable to obtain clickers. As a technology teacher a big part of my lessons focus on content, and I could use this to review the important parts of the lesson. I may also use this to create a technology vocabulary quiz for my 3rd and 4th grade students. Poll Everywhere allows for a few different types of polls too, including Free Text (open-ended), team scoring, goal setting, and more. Visit PollEverywhere.com to learn more!
Try a free poll now!
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of poll anywhere but in my middle school, students are not allowed to have cell phones in the classroom with them. Also, how do you deal with the issue of text messaging fees? Poll anywhere may be free, but for some students, texting isn't.
Joe, I really enjoyed when we used this in our class presentation. It was a great way to get everyone involved and people love using their cell phone! I do have the same questions that Sherri does about the cost of texting. I am not quite sure how to get around that.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an awesome find! I loved how instant the poll results were when we used this program in class. Obviously this is not a tool that can be used by elementary school teachers or maybe even in middle or high school, but I think it is worth the attention. Right now this program might not be ideal for students who do not have cell phones or don't have a texting feature, but soon enough those things will be rampant and this will be a real attention getter. I am still shocked when I find out my fourth grade students have their own cell phones. I mean what do they need them for?... but that is another topic entirely. Way to go Joe!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the thought that the weakness is how you have to use the phone. I will be posting about a better service like Survey Monkey next.
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