Froshlife used Poll Everywhere – should you?

Duke’s Froshlife film festival features short films about campus life produced by teams of students from the first-year residence halls.  Films could be viewed in person or via webcast, similar to a course comprised of  students present in the room as well as students participating online simultaneously.   Votes from both audiences were included in a People’s Choice award, using Poll Everywhere.  Participants could vote via text message or the web.  The poll was open for about 10 mins, and about 230 people responded in that time.  According to Michael Faber, an OIT multimedia specialist and Froshlife organizer, “Everything went great….It was great to get responses from people watching online as well.”

For teaching, students can participate in a poll as though they have clickers, whether they are present in the room or located remotely; all students become active participants, whether they are physically or virtually present. Poll Everywhere would also be useful if all of your students are in your classroom and you’d like to use more active techniques for learning.  Contact CIT if you’d like help trying out Poll Everywhere, or want more ideas for involving all students.

For more about the Froshlife film festival, read Duke’s Oscars or go to the Froshlife website, where you can see the films.