Polling in the Classroom With Cellphones
See Point SolutionsIt's exciting to work with students who are enthusiastic and actively engaged. Unfortunately, holding the attention of students who are distracted or getting the quieter kids to participate can be an uphill battle that requires extra effort and creativity. In order to get students excited about the learning process, teachers should incorporate interactive, hands-on activities in the classroom. Active learning improves student performance and helps with retention. However, asking questions and inviting students to participate in the normal type of discussion may only help a handful of students who are the most outgoing and interested in the subject being taught.
That's why Turning and Echo360 have come together to redefine learning engagement through our suite of products including Point Solutions and its polling capabilities. This technology can be used right on students' own cellphones to achieve maximum engagement and active dialogue with full participation in the classroom. Created based on our e³ philosophy of equity, engagement, and evidence, our suite of in-person and online learning products will enhance any classroom.
5 Ways Polling Can Make the Classroom More Interactive
Quizzes and competitions
Healthy competition in the classroom is a great way to enhance learning and make students use their full potential. With Point Solutions' polling features, teachers can run quizzes or competitions to challenge students on their knowledge of certain topics. This can be integrated with gamification features available with our Dojo360 learning engagement platform to award badges and other digital rewards and to keep a running leaderboard to further motivate students to do their best. These types of fun, interactive games help reinforce the key points of the material and help students better prepare for tests.Check understanding of a topic
As a teacher is going through a lesson, they may ask the students if anyone has questions. Students who have questions may not feel like they should speak up for whatever reason, and the opportunity for learning is lost. But running a quick poll partway through the lesson can gauge the students' understanding and the teacher can then adjust the lesson based on the needs of the class. Since Point Solutions offers immediate access to student responses in the form of a graph or chart, the teacher can quickly and easily see the responses and take the necessary action on the fly.Track student attendance
In-person attendance tracking with the calling of each student's name and the responding, “Here,” takes valuable classroom time. With Point Solutions, the teacher can run a poll with each student's name as an answer and have each student choose their name as their answer, and attendance can be done in a quick minute. By allowing only one answer per student, the teacher can make sure no clever student also votes for their absent friend.Receive anonymous feedback
Students may have feedback about a lesson, but not be willing to share their thoughts if they think it may affect them negatively. Through anonymous polling, Point Solutions allows for occasional feedback surveys that allow teachers to learn the students' thoughts about how they could improve and refine their teaching methods. This anonymity also keeps the teacher from developing negative feelings about any student who might have a less tactful way of sharing their feelings.Have fun
Maybe the class just adopted a new pet and the students need to choose a name for it. Take a poll to narrow down the choices and take a poll to pick a winner. Maybe you're having a pizza party after the class achieved a goal. Take a poll to determine which toppings each pizza will have. Once you have Point Solutions available, there's no reason it has to be serious academic challenges every time you use it. Having fun creates class spirit, which is helpful in engaging your students as well.
How can I use cellphone polling in the classroom?
Point Solutions works hand-in-hand with our other products including Dojo360, a dynamic learning engagement platform; ExamView, a content-rich test generator; and Echo360, a video management platform that helps you create and share great educational content and automatically create closed captioning for your videos. Each product offers you a way to upgrade learning, whether that's in person, online, or hybrid. To see how you can use cellphone polling for teachers in your school, contact us today, and we'll be happy to share all the excellent features of Point Solutions.