University of Otago
Learn more about how teaching staff at the University of Otago in New Zealand are using Vevox to assess the effectiveness of using a polling tool in large classes to boost student engagement.
Live Polling University of Otago
Based in Dunedin, New Zealand, the University of Otago is home to over 21,000 students and known for its vibrant student life, in addition to its highly accredited research quality. The University first accepted students in 1871, making it the oldest University in New Zealand.
With an institutional licence for Vevox, all teaching staff at the University of Otago have access to the full feature set of Vevox, including Q&A, live polling, and word clouds. All of these features are at their disposal to use in any of their online, in-person or hybrid classes.
The feedback is generally positive as the tool addresses most of what teachers need. Many would be happy to use it as one of their core teaching tools.
Why Vevox?
Teaching staff at the University of Otago have been using Vevox in large classes in a multitude of ways – for in-person lectures, on Zoom, in person and for both asynchronous and synchronous learning activities. The fact that Vevox is professional looking, flexible and user-friendly means staff have been able increase class-level feedback in real time on students’ learning – which they feel is great and will open up a lot of potential for improvement in student engagement.
The ability to use Vevox on a pilot licence was a big draw for Nicola and staff at the University, as they were able to assess the effectiveness and impact Vevox had on teaching before they decided to pursue a full institutional licence.
With Vevox, staff feel that students have much more involvement in class than they would without it being implemented. It’s also felt that students find Vevox easy to use and feel more comfortable in class when it’s being used.
What do teaching staff like about Vevox?
Ease of use
Vevox is intuitive and easy to pick up, meaning that typically participants are able to create their first quiz without needing much assistance.
Polling variety
There are a variety of polling templates which cover the varying types of polls teachers like to carry out in their classes, with it also being super easy for groups of teachers to share polls amongst themselves.
Centralised solution
Teachers are very happy that they have access to a centrally funded tool that they can use in classes. Staff at the University agree that it’s useful to have the ability to use the Q&A functionality, alongside a quiz. This enables all students to participate in polls and ask questions no matter whether they are inside the lecture theatre or working at home.
SSO login
The SSO login functionality is another feature that’s well appreciated by staff at the University.
Positive feedback
The feedback is generally positive as the tool addresses most of what teachers need. Many would be happy to use it as one of their core teaching tools.
Are you interested in hearing more about how Vevox can help to level-up your teaching experience? Read the rest of our Education Stories here.
