Using SMS for Collecting Data
A website I recently encountered, text the mob, allows you to set up instant polls (much like the clickers I’ve blogged about here, and here). Students text their answers to a number given to you by the website, and you can watch a graph of student responses populate in real time. Pretty neat, and much less expensive than a set of clickers for your class. It is certainly not as feature-rich though.
Most schools don’t let the students use their cell phones in school. But I feel like within your own classroom (as many teachers do with ipods) you can have your students take out their phones, turn them on, send the text, and then turn them off. The whole thing would be quick, and would a minor disruption to the rules.
2 comments
I’ve used cell phones in the classroom. The main problem I had was that not all students have cell phones, thereby get left out of the lesson.
Some students flat out don’t have one. Others get “grounded” from the cell phone occasionally. Cell phones get lost surprisingly often in our building. Oddly enough, students don’t always have *their* cellphone; instead, they have a friend’s cellphone (I don’t understand that one at all!). Cellphones aren’t recharged. Cellphones don’t always get enough signal in the classroom (interior room without windows).
Clicker units have the benefit of being more reliable and universal within the classroom.
@Laura
I could not agree more. I have clickers and I love them! This might be nice and easy way to do some basic polling, if not to keep the kids engaged though.
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