Poll Everywhere is a software whose sole purpose is for polling, which allows the software to be less expensive while offering several types of questions that may be used to engage students. 

The types of questions Poll Everywhere currently offers include multiple choice, word cloud, Q&A, clickable image, survey, open-ended, and rank order.  When a question is presented, students will be able to respond on their devices, and the professor will get real-time feedback on their answers, which allows them to quickly gauge if students are on the right track by the accuracy of their responses and be able to correct any misconceptions in real-time. 

In the interview, one of the questions types I found most intriguing was the clickable image. This question type presents an image to the students and they must click the correct area for the image. For example, say the image is a photo of a heart and the question asks you to identify the Pulmonary Valve, students will have to click where they believe the Valve is located and the professor will get a “heat map” of where students are clicking.

Additionally, professors are able to automatically share responses with the class. They are also able to mark what questions they would like to be graded and ungraded, which translates into the gradebook within Poll Everywhere. 

Poll Everywhere also makes it easy for professors as they are able to embed questions right into Poll Everywhere and link the software to slideshow presentations. For example, Jessica embeds her Poll Everywhere questions into Microsoft Powerpoint, which creates a separate tab labeled “Poll Everywhere.” Within the tab, it allows professors to insert questions, create new questions, and edit existing questions. Jessica especially loves the convenience of editing existing questions, making it so you can edit them directly in the PowerPoint. With other software, like Top Hat, you have to launch the PowerPoint from their website and lose the ability to make any edits. However, with Poll Everywhere, you insert the questions into the PowerPoint, and you are able to edit directly there without too much hassle.

Christopher also brings up that the tool is extremely useful to a Professor when it comes to office hours. For example, when a student requests to meet, he or she can pull up their past responses and check through their work to see what place the student is in the class and know if they have been actively participating in class or not. Additionally, he mentions that it is a great study tool as it can be used to prepare students for the types of questions that may be asked during formative assessments and see what they may need more help on. 

The main downside that Jessica and Christopher bring up is the gradebook in Poll Everywhere. The gradebook itself is all merged into one, and there is an inability to edit within it effortlessly. Jessica specifically points out that you can not easily separate the students into their designated courses. Additionally, Christopher talks about how transferring grades is done manually, and although it’s not particularly difficult, it is time-consuming. He also notes that part of the issue with gradebook is that Poll Everywhere is not currently integrated into Brightspace but this is in the works.

Student Experience & Feedback

Due to some type of polling software typically needed and used within Biology courses, Jessica and Christopher cannot comment on the efficiency of using polling software. Still, the two have commented on the convenience of having one polling software for students. Generally, students really appreciate the tool and the fact that they do not need to purchase different software for every course. Of course, some students do comment that they wish participating in the polling questions was not for credit or that the questions are too complex. Still, Christopher points out that this is a positive as it allows students to self-assess themselves and shows students what topics they need to prepare more on.

The only truly negative feedback students generally bring up with Poll Everywhere comes at the beginning of the semester when technical issues are common. For example, some students have experienced some glitches with logging into Poll Everywhere, where they may need to reset their passwords. Some students have also commented that they wish they could see the questions presented on their devices rather than just the ability to respond.

Top Hat is classroom response software that fits into the category of classroom technology that allows professors to pose questions to the class using a variety of question types, including word cloud, multiple choice, matching, click-on-target, and 10 other types to encourage class participation. It is a clicker tool that can be accessed from any electronic device and gives feedback to the professor right away. Within the classroom, Natalie uses Top Hat to “not only facilitate participation but also as a random, low-stakes but still coercive reading pop quizzes” to foster accountability to class materials. Top Hat aids her classes in a way that her students can receive participation points, as well as giving her the ability to see if the majority of students were able to understand the question or lesson or if she needs to go back and review a bit more. She also found the integration of Top Hat to Brightspace to be incredibly useful, especially when it comes to grading for participation. 

The only negative aspect Natalie can find with Top Hat is that “it’s not free.” Students will have to purchase a software license, and it is not the most inexpensive product. Currently, the subscription for the tool is $28 for a semester, and students will have to purchase it again for the next semester if another class is using Top Hat. An annual license is also available for $43.00 through the Campus Store, which is on the ITS Service page. However, Natalie had also mentioned that if a faculty member is considering using Top Hat, they should talk to a Top Hat representative and ask for a number of scholarship codes that they can give to students, which will give a free subscription for the semester. URI IT also has Top Hat representatives from time to time offering training to faculty members wanting to try Top Hat. Top Hat also has comprehensive KB Articles to answer common questions and how-to articles.

Natalie has also noted that Top Hat does have a free version for students called Top Hat Basic, but there are functions from the paid version that are unavailable, such as seeing how individual students are answering. She thinks that if a faculty member would like a purely polling feature to gauge how students are doing at the moment, then Top Hat Basic would be ideal, but if they would like more functions within it (like the gradebook), then they will have to have students purchase a subscription.

Student Experience & Feedback

Natalie noticed a big difference between not using Top Hat and using it. Before implementing Top Hat, she had noticed that, despite student participation, there was a majority of students who showed up to class unprepared and unable to benefit from the discussion of the readings and the core concepts within them. For example, in one semester prior to using Top, , the average midterm score in her class was 61%. However, after implementing Top Hat into her classroom, students developed heightened importance for class preparation which, in the end, led to an increased Midterm score of 73% during the next semester.

When it comes to student feedback on the tool, many have reported that they have really liked the tool and appreciated it. According to one student comment on Natalie’s IDEA feedback from Fall 2019, “we had lots of opportunities to participate through Top Hat, which I really liked because I am not one for raising my hand and participating in that way.” Additionally, another student commented on the Spring 2019 IDEA feedback that, “I liked the Top Hat questions that would demonstrate understanding of the reading, and those that would ask about things we had previously learned to determine if we could apply a scenario and determine what theory was best for it.”

Overall, the consensus is that Top Hat has greatly benefited not only her classroom but also her students. It eases the students’ nerves about having to participate in class and possibly getting an answer wrong, and benefits Natalie by getting the feedback she needs to know where her students stand.

Natalie Pifer

Assistant Professor
Criminology and Criminal Justice Department

Natalie Pifer incorporates Top Hat within her lessons to allow students to diversify their participation and gain feedback from that participation.

Padlet is an online notice board, or, as Alicia describes it, a virtual corkboard that allows users to share resources, structure activities, and provide students with an opportunity to respond to prompts. Alicia uses Padlet to structure her course but will also utilize the flexible format for specific assignments within her courses as well. 

One of Alicia’s activities with her classes that she uses as an icebreaker is an exercise where she prompts students by asking them “What makes a successful online classroom?” and uses Padelt to allow students to respond anonymously. After the responses have been posted, Alicia and her students then discuss who is responsible for each of these posted topics, whether it is the students, the professor, or both, that create the equitable learning environment. Allowing the students to respond to this prompt anonymously enables them to become more comfortable with Padlet’s format by responding to posts and adding to the discussions without being put in the spotlight of a typical discussion. For many students, especially first-year, first-generation, international, or transfer students, this kind of introduction can be a welcome method of inclusion and familiarization to higher education courses and the university. This is just one of the few ways that Alicia incorporates Padlet into her courses. 

Anonymously posting in the Padlet, initially this gave Alicia hesitation, but she quickly noticed that it allowed the more apprehensive students to present questions and responses they may not otherwise voice during class discussions. Students are more likely to respond with more vulnerability than typically would be expected from direct discussion. 

Padlet, according to Alicia, has a relatively minor learning curve. The initial organization and implementation of a board is relatively simple and straightforward to organize. As Alicia describes it, as the user “grows more comfortable they can begin to use other layouts and tools to use it in more sophisticated ways.” With gained experience and practice users can begin to manipulate Padlet to create a more versatile learning space tailored to their specific needs. 

There are two available versions for Padlet, the standard free version and a premium version with monthly or yearly subscription fee. The free version enables users to create up to 3 boards, though there is a limit to the file size that can be uploaded to the boards. These boards can be utilized and recreated an unlimited number of times. The drawback with repurposing the same board repeatedly is that the user will have to remove any additions from students and revert the board back to its “original” state manually. This also eliminates the option of leaving a board as a template to copy with each successive course. The premium subscription allows users an unlimited number of boards to create, a larger capacity for file uploads, and improved community support. 

Whichever version a user is working with, Padlet still offers a diverse assortment of options to create working areas for professors and students. The website where users create their boards also features a number of ideas, suggestions, and inspiration of what users can do with their own boards. Some of the ideas on Padlet’s website include a virtual bookshelf, an office notice board, how to guides, study guides, discussion forums, etc., to name a small selection. The point of these examples is to give users ideas of the capabilities of what a Padlet board can bring to a classroom, or office, both virtually and in face-to-face classes. 

Teaching Tool Usage – PowToon

PowToon, is a video creation tool unlike Knowmia or Panopto. PowToon is a video creation software that allows users to create animated shorts that can convey any range of topics the user desires. Although PowToon has a considerably steeper learning curve compared to Padlet, the result can be a product that is engaging and informative while capable of easily capturing the attention of the intended audience. Alicia demonstrates the versatility of PowToon with a video she posted to Instagram about voter registration and voter information available from the University Libraries. 

PowToon is a more indirect tool for use in courses or teaching in that it likely will not be used to deliver a lecture or in every class, but it is a tool that can detail a surplus of information in a short time. This medium allows for users to create media for specific projects, events, and groups or organizations that can be reused time and again to convey specific information. Alicia has used PowToon in the past to create videos describing the resources the university libraries provide for voter registration which was shared on the library’s Instagram account. 

PowToon has a free version and a paid monthly or annual version. Both versions allow the user to create videos and access a wide variety of templates, premade characters, accessories, and images to be used when creating videos. There are several tiers to the paid version of PowToon, each offers a varying amount of storage, exports, tools, and available content for use within the videos a user creates. There are also a variety of training videos on the PowToon website available to all levels of subscribers that assist new users in video creation and getting started with exploring the diverse levels of material available for use in creating videos. 

While PowToon could prove overwhelming for some due to the relative depth of complexity, with a little exploration and trial and error, almost everyone should be able to create interesting and eye-catching videos to use on websites, social media, to explain projects, groups or organizations, the breadth of topics is unending. 

Student Experience & Feedback

In Alicia’s experience, students tend to like their interaction with Padlet. While some students can have a mild hesitance to the new interface, certainly if they are also new to URI and also using Brightspace, but Padlet’s small learning curve is quickly grasped even for those who are not the most tech savvy. Another benefit of Padlet that Alicia calls out is the message board like interface that allows students a place to voice their thoughts and opinions who would otherwise remain silent and less inquisitive, cementing the value of this program for her in her courses. 

Alicia has found two applications to create more equitable learning environments and to provide information via University Libraries social media. The first application, Padlet, can create unique work spaces that enable everyone, no matter his/her learning style, to become more familiar with discussions, in class participation, and other learning methods. The second application, PowToon, conveys information in a brief, colorful and enigmatic presentation.

Jamboard, part of the Google suite of tools, enables a centralized location with joint, collaborative access and straightforward user experience that is readily accessible and free to students and faculty after logging into their URI email via the Single Sign On. The simplistic design of Jamboard is user friendly with minimalist tools and features that allows anyone to quickly begin using the work space as a note taking application, similar to a virtual whiteboard, or collaborative tool that allows multiple users to work together on idea generation for projects. The user-friendly interface and design of Jamboard allows Amanda to have her students use this application without formal training or any steep learning curve, enabling them to jump right in and master the minimal features. Amanda has incorporated the readily accessible Google suite and access to Jamboard for her students as a collaborative step in their research projects that enables students to refine or broaden their ideas by exploring a wider array of topics surrounding a general idea. 

At first appearance, Jamboard is a digital whiteboard that could be used for notations during remote synchronous classes and presentations. In addition to this purpose, Jamboard can be used for more than just taking notes, Amanda has employed Jamboard while capitalizing on Google’s ability to have multiple authors work in the same application collectively, enabling a shared working area that is always accessible to the collaborators. When students gather to discuss research topics, they can later return to Jamboard to reference their brainstorming ideas and look for other avenues of research. Google does offer a Jamboard specific monitor display for presentation use, that can be purchased for $1,000-5,000, that emphasises the interactive virtual whiteboard experience that Jamboard is establishing. Though, this same functionality could be duplicated with a tablet and a stylus or touch monitor. 

Student Experience & Feedback

According to Amanda, her students enjoy using Jamboard in their process of collaborative research. With positive comments from the student interaction derived from their ability to collaborate and the ability to readily return to this unofficial idea board to find other ideas to supplement their research thesis. While the simplicity of Jamboard creates an accessible interface for new users, the lack of features can also be limiting for more in depth usage. Jamboard’s overly simplistic interface leaves higher functionality a desire. For example, the ability to quickly add directional or signifying symbols, or icons is something that is missing from the toolbar. Alternately, users can search for images and clipart to import to the Jamboard workspace that can double as directional icons with just a few extra steps. Even without a toolbar readily full of accessible icons and images to add to the workspace, Jamboard is a valuable virtual, collaborative tool that multiple users can simultaneously engage with while working on group projects and discussions.