PollEverywhere and 5 Classroom Uses

PollEverywhere is a web 2.0 tool that utilizes SMS text messaging to collect and track responses. It is a wonderful way to incorporate cell phones in the classroom for learning, rather than battling against them!

Students can use any device that is text capable to respond to PollEverywhere. Polls can be multiple choice, or open answer. Once a poll is created, there three venues for delivering it:

The poll is available for download as a PowerPoint slide show with complete instructions for students on how to text their responses
The poll can be delivered fully online (hosted by PollEverywhere)
The poll can be tweeted directly to a Twitter stream where audiences can respond by tweeting

Here is a great walkthrough video on PollEverywhere titled “An Educator’s Introduction to PollEverywhere,” created by November Learning:

The reason I love PollEverywhere is because it allows me to have students interact in the classroom in a way that they are comfortable: text messaging. I found that students love using their cell phones in class (even if they ARE learning!).

Here are a few ways to use PollEverywhere in your classroom:

Check for understanding after a difficult lesson
Do Now! activity when students enter class (ex: What did you do this weekend? How do you feel about the upcoming test?)
Make classroom decisions (ex: What should we name our class pet? How much more time do you need on the paper?)
Assign as a homework assignment (ex: Answer the poll by midnight)
Keep track of student progress (ex: Text “Done” to the poll when you are finished)

Below is an example of a question I asked to a group of educators as an ice-breaker to discussing educational technologies in the classroom: