Sigh.
Why not harness the power of cell phone use in your classroom for educational purposes? Poll Everywhere might be a step in this direction.
Poll Everywhere is free (for up to 30 participants a poll) and oh-so-easy to set-up. When you visit Poll Everywhere, you choose from three polling options:
- Multiple choice - You ask a question and provide the answers for participants to choose from.
- Free text poll - You pose a question and then participants can text in any answer they want.
- Goal poll - Participants text in numbers and a visual thermometer shows how steadily your group is reaching their goal (I have not found a use for this type of poll in my classes, yet). Maybe to track how many candles your class has sold for fundraising?
- To text in your answer, text a code to the phone number 22333 (yes, I know....this phone number only has five digits).
- To tweet your answer, tweet to @ poll + a code
- To use a computer, go to http://poll4.com/ and input your code. The question and codes are down below.
Answer this question: Which genre of blog posts on Upcycled Education is your favorite?
Answer choices - Only submit the numerical portion of the code:
179062: Tech Tuesdays (where I highlight interested web-based tools)
179063: Bonus Wednesdays (these posts usually contain teaching strategies and ideas)
179064: Theories on Thursday (where I highlight and explain a theory or concept)
Go text in (or tweet or use your computer) to submit your answer. Remember, you are only submitting the numerical code - not letters or words. Since this poll can only accommodate 30 users, if you try and submit your response and it doesn't let you, we've probably hit our max.
Play with Poll Everywhere yourself. Some of you might also want to try Wiffiti - it is another free, cell phone polling tool that is popular at concerts and nightclubs I've been told by my college students.
I'm a Poll Everywhere gal, myself.
Best,
Jen
