How well do your students understand the information presented in lectures and course readings? What misconceptions do they have about core concepts? How many of your students actually get an opportunity to participate during class? In-class engagement and participation options can be especially challenging in larger courses. Classroom response systems provide a way for you to quickly assess your students’ understanding of course subject matter, demonstrate important course concepts, and spur class discussion.
About Class Response Systems
Some class response systems use third-party devices known as clickers, while others, such as Poll Everywhere, allow students to use their cell phones, smart phones, or laptops at no cost. ITS Educational Technologies offers free Poll Everywhere accounts for faculty members and graduate instructors in support of student learning. For information on how to request an account and get started with Poll Everywhere, visit poll.unc.edu.
Resources to help you plan your use of Poll Everywhere:
Why use polling in your course? (Center for Faculty Excellence)
Best practices for using Poll Everywhere (Center for Faculty Excellence)
Poll Everywhere FAQ (Information Technology Services)
Primer on class response systems (Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching)
Poll Everywhere at UNC
| Students can respond using | Basic cellphone texting, smart phones, laptops, and other mobile devices |
| Requires wireless internet access or cell phone reception | Yes |
| Cost to students | None |
| Cost to instructors | CFE offers free “pro” licenses that faculty and graduate instructors may apply to use. |
| Can present multiple-choice questions | Yes |
| Can present short-answer questions | Yes, 160 character maximum response length |
| Can create clickable image questions (browser only) | Yes |
| Can correlate results across more than one poll (segmentation) | Yes |
| Can have student rank response options (browser only) | Yes |
| Allows for anonymous responses | Yes |
| Create questions using | Web interface |
| Polls integrate easily with Powerpoint and Keynote | Yes |
| Transfer Poll Everywhere scores directly to Sakai or Canvas gradebook | Yes |
| Supported by | ITS Educational Technologies and CFE |
For more information about using response systems in a course you teach, contact Bob Henshaw (bob_henshaw@unc.edu).
Related Areas of Excellence : Teaching & Learning Programs/Resources
Related Career Stages : Open to Early Career Faculty, Open to Graduate Students, Open to Mid-Career Faculty, Open to Senior Faculty