Online polling is one of the best ways to integrate technology into education. It is a simple yet effective method used by many educational institutions. In this method, educators pose questions to students in real time to increase student engagement, enhance the in-class experience, and improve learning outcomes. In broader terms, it can help shape the future of education by making classrooms more adaptive and responsive.
In this blog, we will learn how online polling in classrooms can boost student engagement, the benefits and tips of creating online polls, and how to take a poll in a classroom.
A better understanding of Online polls
According to a study from Bond University Conducted by Charlotte Phelps and Christian Moro, online polling in the classroom can increase engagement in hybrid-delivered courses. It also improves classroom dynamics, promotes active participation, and is valuable for learning.
Some of the Key Findings include :
- 54% of face-to-face and 89% of online participants found the classroom polling engaging, fostering better participation.
- Both face-to-face and online cohorts reported similar benefits; Participants thought interactive classroom polling was helpful for learning and revision.
- Live polls provided valuable insights into learning outcomes and performance.
What are live polls?
Live polls are questions asked in a live environment to get instant feedback. They typically involve questions for the audience to answer immediately using mobile phones or other electronic devices.
Many tools, such as Theysaid, Google Forms, and Survey Monkey, can create online live polls. They have user-friendly interfaces that allow you to create polls quickly and intuitively. Depending on your chosen tool, you can create multiple-choice, true/false questions, ratings, rankings, open-ended questions, and more on live polls.
Benefits of using Online Polling in classrooms
Classroom Polling is a great way to keep students engaged. By getting feedback from students, you can evaluate their comprehension skills and make sure everyone is on track.
Some of the benefits of Online Classroom Polling are:
All the students can engage at the same time
In classrooms, polls help students express their views, giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate. Some students hesitate to speak up in traditional settings, but polls offer a comfortable way to share their opinions.
Classroom polling shows students that their opinions are valued
Classroom polling allows students to be themselves by giving honest feedback and expressing their concerns. When the students see their responses shaping the direction of class, they feel heard, encouraging them to continue participating in class.
Understanding Students' Expectations
Online Polling in classrooms helps teachers understand students' expectations, fosters good relationships, and enables them to adjust their course outlines accordingly. It also allows teachers to pinpoint struggling students so they can help them according to their specific needs.
Encourages critical thinking
Classroom polls can spark students' curiosity, assess their prior knowledge, and encourage them to share their perspectives. Opening the door to so many discussions helps students think critically and share their thoughts.
Active learning Technique
Polls are an active learning technique that helps students consider potential issues and solutions. When Montana State University switched from traditional lecture halls to active learning classes, its pass rates increased from 63% to 81% in mathematics and 65% to 86% in introductory statistics.
Fun, Quick, and Engaging
Polls make lessons fun and interactive, boosting student participation and response rates. They also offer an opportunity to get quick responses on ideas and key concepts that will help you develop teaching strategies.
How can you use online polls in classrooms?
A few use cases for online polling in classrooms are:
Instant quizzes
Teachers can create quick quizzes in classrooms to assess students' understanding or create interactive assessments from previous lessons, adjusting the pace of the lesson if needed.
Research Feedback
Polls are an effective way to gather data for classroom research. Teachers can use them to help students conduct discussions with peers and collect project research data.
Reinforce Learning
Teachers can use polls in the classroom to review content before exams or assignments and reinforce material.
Course Evaluation
Online polls are used in classrooms to gather student feedback on teaching effectiveness, lesson clarity, and overall satisfaction, thereby effectively improving the areas that need improvement.
Tips for Creating Practical Poll Questions
Here are some of the bonus tips for writing poll or survey questions for teens:
- Use simple and engaging language—online polls aim to gather detailed information quickly, so it’s best to create short and simple questions.
- It’s essential to strike a balance between timing and frequency. Set a timer for each question, and Don't overwhelm students with too many polls. Aim for key moments, such as weekly or monthly surveys.
- Focus on a single idea or topic per question to avoid confusion. Use Interesting Words to Ask questions to encourage engagement.
- Avoid leading and open-ended questions that are difficult to analyze. Before launching your polls, test them with a small group of people to avoid disrupting the classroom.
- Keep your polls anonymous. This will help you get honest feedback from students. To make the questions fun and engaging, use different formats, such as photos, videos, and audio.
When to Conduct Online Polls in Class?
Beginning of Class
Online polls can be conducted at the beginning of the class to get target information about the student's background, interests, level of understanding of certain concepts, etc.
Mid-semester
Conducting a poll halfway through the semester can be beneficial for adjusting lectures and improving the student experience.
Class engagement
Use classroom polls for active learning, quizzes, and research to engage students once a week or month.
End of semester
At the end of the semester, online polls gather data about student satisfaction through feedback on courses, institutions, and teachers.
How to Take a poll in the classroom
- You can use a QR code that students can scan on their mobiles to participate in the poll.
- Platforms like Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, or Slido can access polls on phones or laptops.
- You can add interactive polls directly to your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentations for students to respond to during the lesson.
Here comes The World's First Conversational AI Survey platform, Theysaid, to create interactive classroom surveys that allow students to provide personalized feedback. Teachers can also get real-time feedback on student engagement, teaching methods, and course material.
Conversational follow-up questions enable students to provide detailed reasoning for their responses. This makes the experience more enjoyable and allows the teachers to get more detailed feedback to better understand students' viewpoints.
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Final Words
Through online polls, educators can encourage participation, facilitate feedback, and even foster critical thinking. They are great for instant feedback, quizzes, information retrieval for research purposes, and gauging student expectations. This blog covers everything you need to know about online polling in classrooms, from its perks to tips on creating effective polls and how and when to integrate them for optimal feedback.
FAQs
1. How to take classroom polls?
Teachers and students can access classroom polling using mobile phones, computers, tablets, and iPads. Students need only basic training on using polls and have a good internet connection, and they're all set!
2. What are the benefits of using polls in the classroom?
Polling is used to stimulate active learning in a classroom environment that ultimately:
- Increases student participation
- Promote group discussion
- Allow students to apply new concepts
- Check course understanding
- Provide student feedback
- Great for formative assessments like quizzes
3. How often should I use polling in classrooms?
That depends totally on your teaching methods. You can use it for daily quizzes and assessments and occasionally for class discussions, but do not overwhelm students with polls. It is recommended that you use it once a week.
4. What types of questions work best for polling in the classroom?
You can use different types of poll questions in the classroom:
- Multiple choice questions
- Yes/no poll questions
- Conceptual questions
- Scales and ratings
- Questions that spark discussions
5. Are online polling tools easy to use?
Absolutely! Online polling tools have easy-to-use interfaces. You can create polls in just a few minutes, even if you are a beginner. Most of the tools have built-in templates for you to get you started quickly.
