How do you foster student voice and choice in your online classroom?

2 How to create a survey?

Creating and distributing surveys through online tools and platforms, such as Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Kahoot, or Microsoft Forms, is a great way to get feedback from your students. Depending on your purpose and audience, you can choose different types of questions, such as multiple choice, rating scale, open-ended, or Likert scale. You can also add images, videos, or audio to make your survey more engaging and accessible. To ensure the success of your survey, it's important to define your goal and objectives, choose your questions carefully (avoiding leading, biased, or ambiguous questions), test your survey (checking for errors, typos, or glitches), and share the survey link with clear instructions and a deadline. Remind students that their responses are anonymous and confidential and that their participation is voluntary and appreciated.

4 What are the benefits of using surveys?

Using surveys can be beneficial for both you and your students, allowing them to feel heard and respected. It can also help improve student learning and outcomes by identifying and addressing their needs, strengths, challenges, and goals. Furthermore, surveys can help develop student skills such as critical thinking, communication, self-regulation, and metacognition. They can also help your students become more aware, reflective, and proactive learners.

5 What are the challenges of using surveys?

Using surveys can also bring certain challenges to you and your students. These include ensuring validity and reliability by being mindful of factors that may affect the accuracy of the data, such as sampling bias or response bias. Additionally, surveys can take up a lot of time and resources, so you need to plan ahead and allocate enough for each stage of the process. Moreover, you need to encourage participation and honesty by communicating clearly the purpose, expectations, and benefits of the survey. It is also important to ensure anonymity, confidentiality, and ethical use of the data.

6 How to make surveys more effective and inclusive?

To make your surveys more effective and inclusive for your online students, it is important to be purposeful and strategic. Utilize surveys sparingly and focus on the most important and relevant questions and topics. Additionally, be creative and flexible by incorporating other forms of feedback and input, such as polls or presentations. Finally, be responsive and supportive by sharing and discussing the results with students, acknowledging their contributions, and following up on promises and plans.