Community reviews for Poll Everywhere

As a teaching tool, I think that Poll Everywhere is very effective for gaining formative feedback from students, and students are often very engaged in this activity. However, it is not always user-friendly and can take a bit of time to figure out how to set it up. Many features also require subscriptions, although for occasional use the free subscription is sufficient. This tool is simply a convenient way to see where your students are at in their understanding of concepts. It may serve students better if there was a collaborative feature where students could make constructive comments on constructed responses and submit any questions or uncertainties they may have. Adding those features would make distance learning easier using this tool as well.

I consider this a "necessary and proper" app. It has become an essential part of my classroom, but like many tools, the value of Poll Everywhere depends on how the teacher chooses to use it, as well as parameters established for student use. I started using the free Poll Everywhere version about seven years ago and have been using it ever since, regardless of grade level or content of my classes. I can even look back to the very first question I posted, as well as the students' responses (who are probably graduated from college by now). Poll Everywhere is something I find myself constantly pulling out of the "teacher tool kit" because of the high level of engagement and critical thinking that it can encourage. I love that it makes every student feel like their voice is safely being heard, even if only for a few seconds. Of course, insightful responses are not always guaranteed, as that often depends on the question generated by the teacher. Poll Everywhere spices up lessons with a "hook" for students and provides me insight on student understanding that I otherwise may not have obtained in such a fast and efficient manner. Acknowledging that not every student carries a cell phone, I would use it more if I were in a classroom where every student had a laptop in front of them. Of course, the anonymity has allowed some inappropriate responses which have dampened a few lessons, but that can also be akin to someone verbally blurting out an inappropriate remark; it happens. With Poll Everywhere, however, I feel positive engagement happens a lot more.

Overall, I like the tool. I feel that it can work in any setting and with any demographic from advanced to special needs students. It is the educator's responsibility to use the tool in a manner that it will meet the students where they are academically.

It is fairly easy to start, although for some the technology is daunting. I've written a long guide on <a href="https://productivephysician.com/poll-everywhere/">getting started</a> which I hope people will find helpful.

I don't always use it but sometimes just to vary the ways that I engage students. It gives me a quick take on where they stand depending on the response that I am attempting to get. It can become a useless tool if you are not clear on what you need the students to say in response top your prompt.

Overall, I really want to like Poll Everywhere. I love useful, quick formative assessment tools; however, this one rarely meets my needs. I have personally found better engagement and ease of use with tools like Nearpod, Socrative, Quizizz, Kahoot, and Plickers. To utilize this consistently, I think the price would need to be lower (since there are superior free options) and more user-friendly. Creating the polls is quick and efficient, but my troubles always seem to be when we go 'live'! I'm open if anyone has any tips for me!

Poll Everywhere is a great tool for teachers. It is easiest if you are 1:1 in the classroom. Poll Everywhere provides instant feedback to the teacher, providing them with direction when writing lesson plans.

Perfect for quick responses from students/colleagues, like a survey tool. It's free, and easy to use.

It is a great and free to use, though it doesn't hold the data long term it's good for on the spot data gathering!

If the technology works in the classroom, then all students are engaged. I find that not all of my students have cell phones and lap tops are not always available for me to use in my classroom. They are on a laptop cart and takes 15 minutes to distribute and get online. I would tend to use it when I am doing a lesson where the computers are already open for another purpose. Even if I allow them to use their cell phones to incorporate the poll in an everyday lesson, not everyone's cell phone has internet, or a data plan, or is charged. If an administrator walks into the room they state that those students who's hardware didn't work missed out on the experience. I always have to have a paper exit ticket as a back up and it takes away from the excitement of seeing a real time poll. :(