Providing Value Through Polling Innovation: Engagement, Technology, and Inclusivity
By Mary Jane Pettola
Technology is changing the game at Rutgers University – Newark. Appreciating that staying innovative in higher education is the cornerstone for enhancing the learning experience of students, the University is embracing technologies that enhance the learning experience, promote engagement, and foster inclusivity.
Charlie Collick is the University’s Director of IT, Accessibility and Academic Technology, and also teaches a project management class for the School of Communication and Information. In his teaching, Collick uses the Socratic questioning method where he asks questions to enhance engagement and to surface the thoughts of the learners prior to the instruction. He finds that, by using an online polling system, he can gauge where the learning went over the course of the lesson – and the flexibility and dynamic nature of EchoPoll allows for both individual and group responses; he teaches project management after all.
Charlie Collick, a Director of IT, discusses working with Echo360 and using EchoPoll for his socratic questioning methodology, touching on how the tool could also be used to enhance faculty meetings.
Anonymity promotes inclusivity
Through the lens of his role in accessibility, Collick focuses on promoting inclusivity and striving to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to succeed academically. He notes that EchoPoll’s anonymous polling feature is critical for allowing students to express themselves without fear of judgment or bias, creating a safe and inclusive learning environment. Additionally, the support for alternative input methods, such as screen readers, helps to ensure accessibility for students with diverse learning needs or disabilities.
Collick says, “In terms of accessibility, I think one of the challenges is ensuring that, as we create more engagement, we’re making sure that that’s open to all students.”
Enhancing the learning experience
Joy McDonald, Associate Director of Academic Technology, believes that the ability of EchoPoll to be used as an enterprise solution enhances the learning experience for students. Not only was McDonald interested in a solution that was flexible and easy for faculty to use, she appreciated the bonus of the deep integration, both with the learning management system as well as with single sign-on technology for streamlined authentication. She notes, “we’re able to take advantage of all of the security features, the roster integration, the gradebook (integration). So it’s been really effective.”
By providing instructors with valuable insights into student responses and engagement patterns, EchoPoll enables data-driven decision-making, allowing faculty to continuously refine and optimize instructional strategies. And McDonald hopes that the ease of use of EchoPoll will appeal to the University’s students affairs and administrative offices of the university to extend engagement in meetings and other extra-curricular activities.
Joy McDonald, A/D Academic Technology, shares what works for the universities administration, and how instructors have the flexibility to use Echo360’s Point Solutions with EchoPoll.
Removing Barriers as Educational Leader
As the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Education, Kevin Dowlin’s foremost priority is to ensure that Rutgers University – Newark students receive a high-quality, engaging, and inclusive educational experience. Dowlin acknowledges that following the pandemic, faculty, students and institutions as a whole realized how valuable the in-person experience is for all involved. By adopting a polling solution at an enterprise level, he feels that it provides faculty with the ability to enhance the student experience.
One critical move that Dowlin made was adopting an enterprise-wide polling solution and as a result, removing the cost from the student, delivering opportunities for full participation, and resulting in increased interaction no matter the size of the class.
Instructors at the university know that by providing instantaneous feedback across delivery modality, they have the ability to more holistically gauge learning. And, meeting students where they are, individually or as a group, helps to guide them toward success.
Kevin Dowlin, AVC Education, explains why Rutgers University – Newark moved to an enterprise level solution for engagement through polling.
Asynchronous capabilities
One of the unique capabilities of the solution that excites Dowlin is the ability to use EchoPoll outside of the classroom. Dowlin shares, “I’m also really excited about the assignments, which is something where you can gauge the level of student knowledge before they come to the class. So that’s a great feature.”
Providing students snippets of content pre-class to gauge their understanding before a lecture or tutorial, or as post class review or supplemental material is a key differentiator of EchoPoll. Instructors have taken advantage of this option to ensure mastery of the content. Students have the benefit of immediate feedback and can reach out to faculty when a concept is unclear. This allows for a more personalized experience for the students.
