Google for Education announced via blog post today that it has created a new polling feature for teachers to use via Google Classroom.

"Today we’re making the learning process even easier with a new polling feature that helps teachers quickly check for understanding, gather feedback or gauge interest,” the company said.

The polling feature helps teachers ensure that students understood lessons, are on track with projects, and are engaged in class discussions. The polling feature also enables teachers to easily receive feedback from students on lessons and units.

Google highlighted how teachers across the country are using the feature in their classrooms.

Allyson Greene of Barrett Elementary School in Virginia, for example, "uses polls to understand what her students liked best about a lesson. She says, 'We were doing a unit on electricity and forces and I wanted to see which part of the unit was the most fun for them. Setting up a poll was very easy.’”

High school teacher Mike Fricano, on the other hand, uses the polling feature to keep students on track with projects for the makerspace course he teaches.

"He polled his class to see if his students were on track for meeting a project deadline. Fricano says, 'When I sent out this poll, I could see who was on schedule and who was at risk of missing their deadline. For those who reported being 'way off track,’ I met with them to help them get back on schedule. I will continue to use multiple choice polls like this to check in on deadlines and gauge interest in future projects.’”

To read more about the new feature, see here.

Users: take a poll to express how you feel about Google for Education’s polls.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/7/2016