Quizzes and Polls

Polls, surveys and quizzes are not new to classroom or e-learning, they provide an opportunity for assessment – whether this be formative  or summative.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is often not graded (though it can be). Two external sites that are typically used, SurveyMonkey and PollDaddy, can be used to formatively assess students in the learning process, however you can create good quality tests and quizzes in Blackboard. An instructor could assign a survey to be completed in class (either at the beginning or end) or for homework to determine whether students have learned course material or followed along with the class lecture/discussion. These surveys can be anonymous depending upon how the instructor plans to use the information. Polling students during face-to-face or synchronous classes is another version of formative assessment. Formative assessment data gathered in this way provides useful information about whether to progress to new course content or to review the presented material again.

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Here are some general ideas for using polls, surveys and quizzes in the classroom:

To teach data and graphs

They are interactive; students can complete each others’ surveys

It is quick and easy to view the survey results, and to update these

It is more efficient and organised than creating and interpreting written surveys; paper is saved, there are less organisational problems in obtaining peoples’ responses

Anybody with access to the internet can be surveyed

They can collect situated data that is relevant to the students in the classroom (if the students have created the surveys)

Creating and completing online surveys can be engaging, enjoyable and motivating, particularly when you know the people who have created the surveys.

There is ownership of the ideas and creative process

When creating surveys, students must think about issues associated with data collection, such as the need to construct unambiguous questions that anyone can understand

Students will need to draw on their knowledge to determine the kinds of graphs that can represent different kinds of data.

Summative Assessment

Using non-anonymous surveys either in class or out of class can also be used for summative assessment. Blackboard quizzes and tests can be created to generate the grades in the grade book, however timed tests can be difficult for students with disabilities. Sites such as SurveyMonkey and PollDaddy could be used in conjunction with course management software for students who need the extended time on assessments.

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Blackboard created tests and quizzes

Generally speaking, it isn’t difficult to create a quiz or test in Blackboard, although as with any quiz or test, you need to think it through thoroughly beforehand. Creating a variety of questions styles that accurately assess the learning can take some time, but I suggest that you try it out in your sandbox first. You will soon have the opportunity to learn more about creating Blackboard tests, but in the meantime, you might want to follow this link

Are there any free web tools?

As briefly mentioned above, SurveyMonkey and PollDaddy have been effectively used in the classroom and by research students. If you want to try out a PollDaddy poll, we have created one here in this blog, click the link. and for more information follow the links below:

Go to www.surveymonkey.com to access SurveyMonkey.

Go to http://polldaddy.com/to access Poll Daddy.

Michaela Mora’s blog post compares three of the most popular free online survey tools.

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