Software Evaluation -Socrative vs. Poll Everywhere

Module #4 – Comparison of Web 2.0 Tools

BACKGROUND

Socrative & Poll Everywhere are two online audience response Web 2.0 tools that can be used to solicit feedback from an audience.

This writer has used Poll Everywhere once or twice during the last school year (2012-13) in a K-12 setting to provide teachers with a means of letting students use cell phones in the classroom as “student response devices.”

The response of the teachers was mixed, and this writer was interested in revisiting the software (Poll Everywhere) as well as learning an alternative to explore improvements and consider alternatives.

PRODUCT FEATURES – SOCRATIVE & POLL EVERYWHERE

Application

Socrative Poll Everywhere

URL http://www.socrative.com http://www.polleverywhere.com

Pricing Free in current beta version, with no restrictions.

Pricing structure: 40 students are free. Additional features require a monthly fee. Link is - http://www.polleverywhere.com/account/plans

Features Student response system that offers the following features:- quick formative

assessment- easy-to-create quizzes- games, races- exit “tickets”- Immediate reports in

Excel- Response via Internet

Student response/polling system that offers the following features:- Variety of graphical response

layouts- Clickable image polls- Easy response with cell phone- Polls downloadable as

Powerpoints- Easy-to-create questions- Response also via Internet- Reporting via Excel; more

difficult

PRODUCT COMPARISON – Pros & ConsSOCRATIVE

PROs CONs

Clear, step-by-step instructions on how to use Socrative

After setup, unclear exactly how responders should respond

Optional pop-up tips with generally every item

Not clear how students should use to respond

Pleasing, clear user interface User interface simple, without sufficient in-depth explanations for users

Excellent reporting capability, immediately available via email or downloadable spreadsheet

Limited options for graphically viewing student responses

Easy navigation between screens for users

Importing quizzes not clearly explained; ALSO, only possible via PC Excel spreadsheet, not Mac OS.

Initial video tutorial deceptively easy; more complex than depicted in clip

SOCRATIVE…

Easy, step-by-step directions to get started and use…

PRODUCT COMPARISON – Pros & ConsPOLL EVERYWHERE

PROs CONs

Excellent video tutorial introducing concept in an amusing manner; additional easy-to-understand video tutorial demonstrating specifics in getting started

Reporting not straightforward; a bit difficult to discover process

Very easy and clear how to get started

Difficult to discover how to “start” poll once questions have been created

Good tool for formative assessment – immediate feedback – graphically illustrating understanding

Excellent features available, but only in “paid” subscriber versions

Variety of graphic layouts and customizable settings for displaying content

User interface not as clear as comparative products

Content easily downloadable as Powerpoint slides

POLL EVERYWHERE…

Excellent tool for quick polling, ideal for use with cell phones as response device.

INFORMAL RESEARCH &PARTICIPANT TRIAL

The 2 products – Socrative and Poll Everywhere – are both online audience response tools resources, however, after using both, discovered that the functionality is different, they serve (I believe) different instructional needs. To that end, I decided that participant feedback might prove useful.

I initiated a participant trial using my husband, a professor at a nearby university and a self-described “low-tech guy in a high-tech world.” He was not familiar with either tool. After explaining their purpose, he was quite willing to embrace a new response tool that could serve the instructional needs in his own classes, both face-to-face as well as online courses.

I introduced both tools, with little introduction and minimal prompting; he quickly expressed preference for Socrative and proceeded to take ownership of this tool, creating assessments for upcoming classes.

RECOMMENDATION -

After examing these 2 tools, I concluded that their functionality is different enough to make it impossible to make ONE recommendation.

Both tools are worth adding to one’s digital toolbox. The choice of which to use should be dictated by the instructional needs of the instructor.

Whereas Socrative may well be more aesthetically pleasing with a somewhat more user-friendly interface, it seems more designed to be used for creating quizzes and easily getting reports.

Poll Everywhere seems ideally geared more as a quick poll, formative assessment type type of tool, easy to use for immediate feedback, particularly with cell phones as classroom response devices.

Both are highly recommended and useful since they serve different instructional needs.