Center for Teaching and Learning

Introduction

Want to learn how to use online polling in your classroom to engage your students? Echo360 is a great tool for this purpose. 
  1. Engage students: Online polling can be a great way to keep students engaged throughout class. By asking 1 - 3 questions per class, the instructor can keep the students actively involved in the learning process.
  2. Encourage participation: Providing students with an anonymous way to answer questions in class encourages participation by lowering student anxiety about appearing “dumb” in front of their peers. Using Echo360 allows the instructor to give students credit for participating in the poll at the end of the semester, further incentivizing their participation.
  3. Assess student understanding: Online polling can help instructors assess whether their students are following along with instruction during class. By asking questions to check for understanding, the instructor can quickly determine if there are any areas that need further explanation or if they can move on to the next topic. Displaying the results of the students’ answers to polls can also spark discussions and provide students with real time feedback on understanding of course concepts. 
  4. Increase classroom inclusivity: By giving every student in the class a chance to share their thoughts with the instructor, anonymous polling gives every student in a classroom a stress-free way to express their understanding with the instructor, which is one reason why using anonymous polling has been shown to improve course performance for all student populations while also reducing performance gaps
  5. Enhance Student Learning: Research has shown that active learning techniques like online polling encourage active processing of concepts and ideas, increasing student retention of information.When students process concepts and ideas through questions, they are more engaged in the learning process. 
Overall, online polling is a simple and effective tool that college instructors can use to enhance student engagement and participation, assess understanding, provide instant feedback, and increase retention.

 

How do I do live anonymous polling during my in-person class?

We recommend using Echo360 to anonymously poll your students in your class. Using Echo360 polling is free for Brandeis faculty and it allows instructors to give students credit for participating in the polls (thereby incentivizing the students to attend class and to be intellectually engaged).