using the vle to communicate & conduct polls via sms
DESCRIPTION
A presentation showing the WebCT powerlink for use with Edutxt.This was shown at Let's talk about txt! 6 @ Bath UniversityTwitter hastag is #txt6bathTRANSCRIPT
Using the VLE to communicate & conduct polls via SMS
Lets Talk about txt 6 – 19th May 2010
Marc Jennings, The University of Edinburgh
Overview Background Edutxt Powerlink Polls Further Developments Questions
Background The University of Edinburgh Research-based c. 23,000 FTE students WebCT Vista 8 and Campus Edition 4.2 SMS text messaging service:
switched from JANET txt to Edutxt this academic year most usage is from central support areas investigating potential teaching uses Powerlink integration for WebCT was created equivalent Building Block version due summer 2010
Edutxt PowerLink Used alongside the web interface Service accounts are created for courses (not individuals) Students add their mobile number to their WebCT profile –
number need not be made public Compose page allows recipients to be selected by:
role ( instructor, TA, student, auditor) group name or any combination of the above
Messages may also be created as WebCT announcements and/or sent via WebCT mail
Powerlink Demo
Edutxt Polls PowerLink extended to support incoming messages Course specific keyword Votes in polls are just a specially formatted incoming
message:
keyword poll_name vote for example:
Edutxt wiki C is a vote for option C in the "wiki" poll in a course with a keyword
of "edutxt"; all messages are case insensitive votes will cost the sender their normal network charge (unless they
vote via WebCT)
Live Example Poll:
Can you see viable uses of the WebCT powerlink? Options:
A. Not at allB. PossiblyC. Some usesD. Lot’s of uses
Vote:Format: txt6 uses XNumber: 88020
Send “txt6 uses X" to 88020
Rationale Advantages
no setup cost can be used anywhere with mobile phone reception can be used at any time for any period remote participants can vote students have access to the results and how they voted
Disadvantages students may have to pay to vote students must have their phones ON to vote not as interactive as clicker technology (e.g. embedded into
PowerPoint)
Send “txt6 uses X" to 88020
Further developments Anonymous polls Download vote data (CSV format) Option to publish results graph to a public URL Auto-refresh on results graph page on Teach tab Building Block version
Configure a Poll -1
Configure a Poll -2
Configure a Poll -3
Compose Message - 1
Compose Message - 2
Sent Message