Teaching with Technology

What: Clickers are devices used for polling students in a face-to-face classroom setting.
When: Use when you want to get instant feedback about certain topics, make the classroom more interactive or when students need to provide peer-to-peer feedback and hold group discussions on the feedback.
Why: Clickers can make the classroom more engaging and interactive. They can also provide answers for sensitive topics where anonymity is preferred.

Additional Resources: - Educause Research Study (2007): Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach by Margie Martyn - InsideHigherEd: Inteview of Derek Bruff on book about clickers; provides info on usage in classroom and book title

What: Survey Monkey is a free, online survey creation tool.
Where: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
When: Course evaluations, student feedback and testing. For a minimal fee, users can use more advanced features survey analysis and download results into PDF or Excel formats.
Why: For evaluation involving more than yes/no feedback, this tool allows for a simple web interface that can be emailed to students via Blackboard. Responses can be quickly and easily obtained.

Additional Resources: - SurveyMonkey: Take A Tour and learn more about question creation, templates, and more - How to analyze survey data

What: Poll Everywhere is a real-time survey tool that accepts responses through mobile phones, laptops, and other web-enabled devices. Results can be instantly displayed within a PowerPoint presentation or through a web browser. Services are free for audiences of 40 or less.
Where: https://www.polleverywhere.com/
When: Use Poll Everywhere during instruction sessions to gather instant feedback and engage students. 
Why: Poll Everywhere displays instant results, allowing you to assess the effectiveness of your session in real-time. If you can uncover gaps while class is in session you have the opportunity to correct the problems before moving on. Post-class assessments may help in planning future sessions but are of little value to the immediate class.
In addition to the benefits of real-time instant assessment, Poll Everywhere encourages students to respond honestly and freely. Besides the fun of watching real-time results display instantly, Poll Everywhere brings a bit of fun to the classroom. Since most classes have a "no-cell-phone" policy, students will be immediately engaged by the novelty of actually being asked to text in a class!

Additional Resources: - PollEverywhere FAQ's and Help Documentation - Take A Tour and learn more