You have questions about Poll Everywhere activities, and we have answers. In fact, one of the most popular features of Poll Everywhere is the Q&A Activity, which fosters discussions with students and creates space for everyone to share their thoughts and ideas. Even introverted learners can feel comfortable submitting queries or sharing responses with the rest of the class.
Take a deep dive into the Q&A options of Poll Everywhere and discover new ways to use this free tool. You might find that a digital question-and-answer format gives you more flexibility in your lesson plans than you expect.
Q&A is included in every Poll Everywhere plan
Q&A is one of the most popular Activities developed by Poll Everywhere, which is why it is included in the free intro plan. You can immediately test this tool when you use Poll Everywhere and incorporate it into your university classroom.
If you are still deciding whether Poll Everywhere is right for you and your students, sign up for a free plan and see how a Q&A activity changes your classroom experience. Your students will be more engaged and participate in discussions in a more organized way.
Q&A is more than a question-answer activity
At first glance, the Q&A tool at Poll Everywhere might seem basic: one party asks questions and the other provides an answer. However, there are built-in features that make this Activity more engaging and valuable for your students. Here’s what you need to know about this option.
Upvote and downvote functionalities
Students can upvote questions they want to prioritize and downvote questions that have been asked before or aren’t relevant to the discussion. This is extremely valuable when you want to host more productive Q&A sessions. When students upvote a single question about a particular topic, you can focus your efforts on addressing that specific part of the lesson.
The upvoting functionality can also guide your open-ended discussions. Ask students to submit questions before class and upvote or downvote the queries of their peers. If students are learning philosophy, classic literature, or other subjects ripe for healthy debate, the best discussion questions will rise to the top.
Moderation capabilities
Every class has a joker who disrupts the learning environment – even in higher-level settings. If you are worried about opening up a Q&A Activity because of a few bad apples, take advantage of the moderation capabilities of this tool. Poll Everywhere allows you to see each question or response before you share it on the screen. You can catch inappropriate or off-topic questions and remove them without disrupting the lesson.
Q&A sessions allow for informal discussions where students can ask questions and speak freely. However, protections are still in place to ensure a safe environment for all learners.
Students can post anonymous submissions
The Q&A Activity also allows students to submit questions anonymously. Turning on this feature will hide who sent in the questions, creating a truly anonymous environment for students to share their questions freely.
Anonymous submission options can create a sense of psychological safety for students. Research shows that student participation positively impacts retention and engagement; however, not all participation is equal. Certain groups, like students with social anxiety, female students, and students of color, are less likely to speak up. Asking a question is an admission that you don’t know something while sharing an opinion is a risk. Many students don’t want to feel that vulnerability in a larger classroom.
When creating Q&A sessions, highlight the anonymous function. A student who is too shy to raise their hand in class might appreciate the safety of hiding their identity.
Note: Turning on anonymity hides who submitted responses from you, the presenter, too. If you wish to track participation, we recommend not turning on this feature. As an alternative, you can hide participant usernames from showing up on the screen to give students some anonymity.
You can pin your Q&A activity
The Q&A session doesn’t have to be the main part of your lesson plan. Instead, you can pin the activity so it is always available throughout your lecture. Students can drop questions into the Pinned Q&A at any time throughout the lesson. This prevents constant disruptions from raised hands and allows you to focus on teaching the material.
Q&A activities also work if you want to incorporate micro-lessons into your classroom. You can ask students to submit questions about a topic before the lesson begins and see what they learned by reviewing them before class ends.
5 tips to make the most of Q&A activities
While Q&A sessions are excellent tools for engaging your students and organizing discussions, they can get out of hand if you aren’t careful. Explore new and exciting ways to use the Q&A session function based on your classroom goals.
- Ask students to submit answers, not questions. Ask questions to review the material. Draft relevant questions that students should be able to answer in an exam. Students can then upvote or downvote the correct answer.
- Set a timer for each question. Heated debates can get out of hand, so limit how long your students have to discuss questions before you move on to the next one.
- Review the questions or answers before sharing them. The moderation tool gives you a healthy buffer to catch offensive comments.
- Incorporate Q&A into different parts of the lesson. This functionality can be used as a warm-up, recap, or main discussion if you lead a Socratic seminar. Changing when you use Q&A will keep this activity fresh.
- Keep the Pinned Q&A open during class. Let students submit questions when needed so they can speak up mid-lecture. This will help you slow down or recap information when you see a flood of questions from confused students.
The Q&A Activity by Poll Everywhere can be used to develop lesson plans or receive feedback from your students. Something as simple as asking and answering questions has never been easier.
Bring Poll Everywhere to your higher ed classroom
Interactive classroom activities can engage college students and encourage participation – even in early morning classes. If you want a lively classroom where students ask questions, share thoughts, and have healthy debates, sign up for Poll Everywhere. Test out some of the Q&A tips and functionalities above and see how they change your lesson plans.
Poll Everywhere offers options for higher-ed classrooms. Create an account and see how Poll Everywhere can improve student engagement today!
