Response Systems

Socrative 2.0 beta version and the new features of Poll Everywhere put these two student response systems at the top of the list for my favorite tools to use in the classroom. Greg Kulowiec, from EdTechTeacher, shares why student response systems are important in the classroom:

1. Response systems provide a check for student understanding.
2. Response systems make student thinking visible.
3. Response systems provide efficient feedback (and immediate if needed).
4. Response systems increase human interaction and debate.
5. Response systems create student-generated understanding.

Socrative 2.0 Beta Version 

Socrative 2.0 now allows students to skip, edit and navigate the assessment questions; the 1.0 version did not allow for student navigation or students to edit their answers. Teachers are now able to see a detailed view of how students are performing in real time as a group or per question; the 1.0 version only allowed teachers to see when students completed questions not how they answered the question. Below are some resources of what the new version looks like and how to get started. 

Socrative How To Guide: (click here)

Scan this QR code to see the new features of Socrative 2.0 or click this link to view video.




Poll Everywhere - New Features
Poll Everywhere has some exciting new features but before sharing I'd like to make a few recommendations:

• Push polls to students using the web address instead of the texting codes. 
• Here's what makes that important...teachers can put the unique web address on a board at the front of the room and the code never changes for the students. 
• Students can save the web address to their phone home screen, and it is all they need to access your polls being pushed. By the way, polls aren't started until you push them.
• Hide results from students
• This allows for efficient feedback and the possibility of debate on that particular question.

My new favorite feature is the Clickable Images Poll. This poll allows the audience to respond by clicking or tapping the image uploaded. This is great for questions where a picture (map, chart, graph, etc.) is needed to provide context. The results look like a heat map. Anywhere a student touches the screen a pin is dropped on that area. To see the Clickable Image Poll in action, click this link.



To read more about the new features in Poll Everywhere, click here.

Side by Side Differences between Poll Everywhere and Socrative. (This chart will help determine which platform is needed per activity in the classroom)

Be sure to visit with a CISD Instructional Technology Specialist for a demo and ideas on how to implement this in your classroom.