First you generally have to create an account in order to use online programs like the ones mentioned below.
There are many options out there for live polling. We have found that the best ones are those that DO NOT require students or participants to sign up for an account. Having to sign up and give personal information can be seen as a barrier to getting participation because most people feel that they already have enough subscriptions to apps and do not appreciate the hassle just to participate in your poll.
For live class interactions, try Mentimeter, Kahoot, Poll Everywhere, and Plickers. The teacher will need to create an account with each of these programs, but the students (or participants) do not. Here is a brief overview of each tool and why people like them.
Mentimeter
Easy to use interface with templates available. Can also include stock photos and gifs to spruce up the question slides.
We like Mentimeter because you can embed it right into your power points – even the free version has a simple power point add-in.
It is for live situations both face-to-face and online. Students join by scanning a qr code or entering a session code.
You can see multiple choice results of polls/quizzes as bar charts.
Can show text responses as word clouds, text bubbles, or others.
Kahoot
They have many templates created and are available for you to look through for ideas or to use in your classes.
Everyone can type in answers anonymously (but this is also something to keep in mind because they can type in anything and you don’t know who wrote what.
Kahoot is nice for live situations either face to face or online. For instance, if you have a weekly zoom for your class, Kahoot is a nice way to get the whole class to share ideas right in the moment. In face-to-face classes, you can also let students type in thoughts from their seats and have the Kahoot up on your projection. This could be used during small group work as a place for groups to share their thoughts or questions to be discussed once they return to the whole class as well.
You do have to open a separate window to monitor the Kahoot
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere allows you to create different types of polling. You can create a multiple-choice question, a word cloud, a Q&A session with upvote and downvote, clickable image, survey, open ended questions, and much more! Try starting your class with an emotion scale on how they are feeling that day with emoticons.
Students can respond by either going to a link to the question on their computer, or they can text the answer on their phone. You can also make them identify themselves or keep them anonymous. You can also set a timer for responses if you want. Responses can also come in live if you want your students to see how everyone is responding in real time.
You can embed the polls into your PowerPoint/Google slides so that you don’t have to go to a separate link to administer the poll.
Plickers
Plickers let you collect data from each class and each student that is anonymous during class, but that you can evaluate after the fact. This means you can use plickers for a graded quiz or for attendance in your live classes.
You will enter your class list into the dashboard and assign each student an ID number. Then you print out the set of plickers (this is free!) and each student must use the correct numbered plicker during your class. This 4-sided plicker is held up by the student to answer questions by holding the “answer” (A, B, C, D) side of their card at the top.
When the teacher gives the poll or quiz, they use an app on their phone to scan the classroom – the best part about this step is that each student’s name will appear on your phone screen to acknowledge that the app picked up their answer. This also helps when learning names! The app is scanning the codes and assessing which side is “up” to record answers.
On the screen, during class, you can see WHO has answered, but not what their answer was. This allows students to remain anonymous while still letting you address misinformation or wrong answers live during your class.
Only multiple choice questions work with Plickers and you can only have up to 4 answer options since it is a 4-sided card.
For online classes, you can use the quiz function within Canvas to poll your classes or create a Google Forms so it is anonymous.
Once you have determined which program you want to use, you have to decide how you are going to use it. What part of the class session do you need to collect feedback about? Just like when you are planning out class discussions, you have to consider the flow of the class and when polling is the most appropriate. It is a nice way to break up a lecture and get students to check in with how well they are listening. It can also be used to preface a class discussion by choosing questions about which you expect students to have differing opinions. If you do icebreaker activities the first day of class, this could also be a way to include a question about themselves.
If you use slides for your class lectures, then integrating these systems into your class can happen very seamlessly. Even if you do not embed the questions right into your slides, you can have the program window open in the background and bring it to the forefront when it comes time to use it.
It is helpful to at least have a holder slide in your presentation so you don’t forget when you intended to use the strategy.
After you have used this strategy a few times, check in with your classes. Ask them if they like the new tool you are using. Ask them which types of questions are the most helpful to them. You could have the students rank the lesson or even rank the polling tool by using the polling tool!
Think about including questions in your summative assessments that are from your in-class polls and see how the students do.
This is a great strategy to use after you have looked back at previous semesters to identify content students struggled with in previous semesters. Integrate a live poll opportunity and facilitate a class discussion to help students discover new ways to connect with the content. Then compare the answers on your exam to previous semesters. If more students are getting that concept correct, then your new strategy may be helping them.
Work has been previously done looking at students studying public relations (PR) and the use of interactive technologies such as live polling in the classroom (Narren & Vierra, 2020). Since students in most majors need to understand bigger pictures, and be able to understand the use of evidence to make professional decisions, strategies like this model for them how to collect and use data. For instance, if only 14% of a class understands a concept, then it is justifiable to slow down a bit and break away from the originally planned course flow.
References
Narren, J. B., & Vierra, J. (2020). Combining pedagogy and modern technology into the public relations classroom: Arousal theory as a roadmap for student success. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 20(1), 106-117. https://unk.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/combining-pedagogy-modern-technology-into-public/docview/2401324816/se-2
