About PollEverywhere
PollEverywhere is one of the world’s largest real-time response systems. These guys helped create the field of vote-by-texting. Their systems can handle huge audiences and display immediate results. Their customers include a list of who’s who of Fortune 1000 companies. They’re relatively new to the education field but already established a large presence with an easy-to-use tool.
PollEverywhere’s Strengths
- Vote via website or SMS texting, WiFi not required
- Colorful results can be displayed within PowerPoint or Keynote presentations
- Simple setup process
- Integrated with Canvas Learning Management System (and more on the way)
PollEverywhere’s Weaknesses
- Designed for a different sort of audience engagement, limited classroom applications
- Segmented data makes it difficult to track the growth of student comprehension
- Lacks advanced features such as warnings if student performance is dropping, achievements students earn for growth, and ways to learn from students data beyond their average on a single assessment
Conclusion
When giving a large presentation during a conference or professional development session, I would turn to PollEverywhere. It’s a snap to collect a quick response from a large group in a display that’s professional and attractive. But inside my classroom, I want depth from a student response system. I want to be able to break-down assessment results and see patterns over time within the data. Automatic grading can do more harm than good if there isn’t an exchange of rich feedback to inform a student’s learning.
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