Monday, February 21, 2011

Polleverywhere.com in the Classroom


For my technology tool this week I choose to investigate the website polleverywhere.com. This website is a virtual polling station that requires the responders to use their cell phones in order to respond. The teacher can create an account of on the website for free, which allows them to save polls they have made, the responses to pasts ones, and any new polls that they would like to use in future lessons. Within the account the teacher can even see who responded to each poll, which will help the teacher know which students are participating.  It is also possible on the website to create polls without an account, but then the save function is not available and all polls are lost once the browser is closed. Best of all; this entire website is free for everyone for make and account, and as long as 30 people respond to a poll they are also free.
This piece of technology is very simple to use, and doesn’t require the user to be technologically savvy. Creating polls is a breeze, and responding to them is as simple as sending a text message. There has been a recent push to have students use their cell phones productively in the classroom, instead of as a distraction. Now you can engage the students by having them participate in discussions, and following along with lectures. There are several ways that using this classroom would be beneficial to students. The first way would be to integrate the polls into a lecture so that the students could follow along with the lecture. The polls could be then used by the teacher as a type of formative assessment, which would provide the teacher with feedback on what the students understand and what they are still confused with. This information will help the teacher create lessons that will better cater to the students needs.

2 comments:

  1. I think that pushing students to use their cell phones in class is a great idea, but it also might create awkward situations for students who do not have a cell phone (there still are a few). Also, some students could possibly not have a "text message" phone plan and/or have to pay for each text. Is there another way to vote on this site?
    Overall, I think that this is a great tool to get students active in discussions because it doesn't put a lot of pressure on their direct response (i.e. speaking up in class).

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  2. Britt, I had the same reservations as you. Can a student participate if they do not have a cell phone or texting?

    I do like the idea that it's free for less than 30 people responding to the poll. Most classrooms have less than 30 students, so this would be great for getting student opinion.

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