The use of student response systems, sometimes known as “clickers”, allows faculty teaching in a hybrid course, a quick mechanism to quiz or poll students in real time.
Application
Before class…
Determine the type of response system you will use. There may be many factors going into the decision on which system to select. There is a possibility of a system(s) which may have been adopted by your institution and some might be physical devices while others are web-based (or app-based). Currently at Penn State, Top Hat has been adopted and currently is free for students. Detailed information can be found at Top Hat at Penn State.
Other web-based options, which are also approved for use at Penn State, include Poll Everywhere or a more game-based option such as Kahoot. Depending upon class size these may have costs associated with them. For web-based (or app-based) systems they require students to have either a wifi-enabled laptop / tablet / smartphone, or to have the student use the data connection of a cellular data plan (be aware that there may be charges to the student’s data plan with this option and all buildings/classrooms may not have adequate reception).
Whether you are using Top Hat at Penn State or another platform, it is a good idea to plan ahead as to when and why you will be polling your students. Based on what you asked the students to learn in the online component, determine places within the lesson that could benefit from a stopping point during which students can demonstrate their comprehension or when a discussion could be generated. Not all instances of polling need to be planned – some spontaneity is good for instruction – but good planning will lead to more innovative, engaging, and interesting ways of incorporating polling into your instruction.
During class…
How would you use polling in the classroom? Some examples include:
- Attendance
- Comprehension checkpoints
- Diagnostic assessments
- Generate discussion
- Enabling students to share thoughts and questions anonymously
- Educated guesses on uncovered content
- Class wrap-up questions to gauge further interest and areas in need of more explanation/resources
The use of polling students in a hybrid course at Penn State is described in “Enhancing Student Learning and Retention with Blended Learning Class Guides”. The possibilities are endless, so be creative! You can find examples at the Top Hat Success Stories video playlist.
After class…
Based on your students responses, consider adding resources to the online component of your course to clear up confusion or enable further investigation of concepts.
If you used the TopHat platform and have it connected to Canvas, you can quickly review the student responses and reach out to those students who may need intervention based on their responses. Resources on how to set-up in this manner are at the Penn State ITLD Top Hat website.
Polling Students in a Video Conferencing Format
While institutions may utilize a variety of polling systems, due to Top Hat being Penn State supported and free, this will be the focus for the rest of this section. Some examples of polling in a video conferencing format include:
Low Tech When all student can be visible, ask your students, by show of hands, to answer questions. Display a polling question over the document camera and tally the responses with a pencil/pen. |
High Tech Conduct text polls using Top Hat. Share the poll question from the website via a Top Hat Quiz or an embedded question in their slide view and have students text their responses with their mobile devices. Watch the live results display. With this, depending upon the content determine and set-up if the questions should be anonymous or not. If it is not anonymous it allows for insights tracking the progress for each student. |
Low Engagement Ask for students to volunteer feedback. (Students are given the choice to participate or not participate.) |
High Engagement Students submit answers to poll questions via mobile devices. Again, determine if you poll students by tracking their answers or polling anonymously. Be sure to convey this to students. |
Top Hat Example
Using Top Hat at Penn State, which is currently free for all Penn State students as part of an online service, an instructor has multiple options when creating a survey, poll, or quiz. Recall that a student can participate using their cell phone or laptop.
Screenshot of a Top Hat Multiple Choice Question:
An example of what this looks like in a video-conferencing classroom setting is pictured below: