All right class, get out your cell phones and let’s get to work.
What? Really?
You can imagine the reaction the first time you utter these words in your class. And not just from your students, but probably administrators, too. Relax. It can be done – and it should be done. Really. We could debate the use of technology in the classroom, but we’ll assume we are talking to the converted or preaching to the choir here at the moment. If not, keep reading and maybe you will be persuaded.
The fact is students have cellphones and there is nothing you can do about it. Their parents want them to have them for a myriad of reasons – some of which we may agree with, others we may not. And yes, they can be a distraction in the classroom. The question is, why not use them as an extra educational resource? The only thing preventing this may be an application of how to do it.
Enter PollEverywhere.com. This resource actually allows you to text answers to polls or multiple choice questions live from your cellphone. Is there a better way to engage students at the start of class to do an informal assessment? Ask your students to take a pop quiz or a survey to see if students have read the previous day’s material.
You can create an account on PollEverywhere.com for free and can even manage several polls from their web-based system. This is what is also great about the site, it is “cloud” based which just means everything is up on the internet.
There are tons of options for your polls, too. You can stylize them as you wish by editing the poll. You can start and stop polls – to capture and contain the results. You can even download a PowerPoint slide to add to your presentation in class.
So play around with it a bit and find a way to use it in class. It is free, for a small audience of 30 and you can post the poll website in class and watch your students whip out their cellphones and become quickly engaged in your class!
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