DoIT Alerts

DoIT is pleased to announce the availability of Poll Everywhere, which now includes the ability of students, faculty and staff to login with their UMBC credentials. Many UMBC faculty are already leveraging Poll everywhere in their teaching. Through the Fall 2022 term, nearly 2,000 students have participated in at least one Poll Everywhere activity.

Poll Everywhere is an audience response system that presenters can utilize in both face-to-face and online courses instead of traditional, physical clickers. There will be no cost to members of the UMBC community to use this platform. 

Poll Everywhere is web-based and can be managed both through a web browser or through the Poll Everywhere application. Poll Everywhere allows you to ask questions of your students, collect their responses by inviting them to respond through a website or phone text link, and share their collective responses in a variety of formats that update in real-time for everyone to see. It encourages all students to engage with learning content in an interactive way, using a tablet, laptop or mobile phone. Poll Everywhere questions can be launched from a browser or integrated in slide presentations such as Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint. Questions and results can be shared with other colleagues as well. Additionally, Poll Everywhere can be used during synchronous, online class meetings since no other hardware is needed, and the response system integrates with Blackboard allowing instructors to assign points and grade responses. 

Please note that on Jan. 15, 2023 all existing Poll Everywhere accounts with a UMBC email account will be updated to require UMBC SSO access and that instructors and students will need to access Poll Everywhere via UMBC Single Sign On (SSO). Instructors will need to submit an RT ticket to request UMBC presenter access.

DoIT will host a 1-hour Clicker Faculty Coffee Break and Town Hall  on Wed. Dec. 14th from 10-11 to discuss:

• the PollEverywhere Pilot including myUMBC login & converting free accounts.

• Turning Point (now Point Solutions) pricing & proposal

• Next steps

Please also join a 1-hour Poll Everywhere training and demonstration on Thursday Jan. 12th  from 12-1 for an introductory training session to learn how to:

• Navigate the presenter dashboard

• Create and present activities

• Collaborate with teams

• Generate reports 

• Integrate Poll Everywhere in slide presentations

DoIT has prepared a FAQ collection on Poll Everywhere including a getting started checklist for instructors. In addition, please follow our myUMBC group for upcoming training on Poll Everywhere. 

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 

• What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff

At the end of Spring 2022, DoIT announced an intention to pilot Poll Everywhere as an alternative to clickers. After much anticipation, DoIT is pleased to announce the launch of our Poll Everywhere pilot, which now includes the ability for students, faculty and staff to login with their UMBC userid and password.

Poll Everywhere is an audience response system that can be utilized in face-to-face and online courses instead of traditional, physical clickers. There is no cost to faculty or students to use Poll Everywhere during the pilot. 

Without the barrier of purchasing a clicker or a supplemental software license, DoIT hopes to grow and better support active learning strategies through the implementation of classroom response systems. Students participate in polls by using any device including smartphones, tablets, or laptops.

Faculty can utilize a number of question types including open-ended questions, clickable image questions, ranking, Q&A, surveys, and competitions in addition to standard multiple choice or true/false questions. Poll Everywhere questions can be launched from a browser or integrated in slide presentations such as Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint. Questions and results can be shared with other colleagues as well. Lastly, Poll Everywhere can be used during synchronous, online class meetings since no other hardware is needed. 

Poll Everywhere also offers a Blackboard integration. Instructors can assign participants points or grade questions for accuracy. Please note that instructors and students will need to access Poll Everywhere via UMBC Single Sign On (SSO). Instructors will need to submit an RT ticket to request UMBC presenter access.

Please join us for a 1-hour Poll Everywhere training and demonstration on Monday 10/3 from 12-1 for an introductory training session to learn how to:

• Navigate the presenter dashboard

• Create and present activities

• Collaborate with teams

• Generate reports 

• Integrate Poll Everywhere in slide presentations

DoIT has prepared a robust FAQ collection on Poll Everywhere including a getting started checklist for instructors. In addition, please follow our myUMBC group for upcoming training on Poll Everywhere. 

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 

• What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff