Online Voting: Questions & Answers
1. Why do you involve students in voting via your VLE system?
It's an efficent way of canvassing the views of the whole student population.
Voting is not restricted to school time and takes place anytime-anywhere a stdudent has access to the Internet (again increasing the numbers participating - as a rough example, paper based surveys can generate anywhere from 30-50% responses from th student body; online voting has generated 70% plus responses).
It's a good way of targetting specific groups e.g. just boys or just girls; one particular year group, or even groups within a group e.g. girls in Year 8.
On the voting area it's possible to create links to other sites that provide information on the topic in question i.e. students vote from a more informed position.
It's also possible to create forums alongside a voting area where students can discuss an issue before they vote.
2. How does this work in practice? What input does this have to the college and its decision making?
By and large voting takes place in ICT lesson time when students have access to a PC (although specific topic votes might take place within a lesson in another subject area e.g. PSHE).
The voting areas are open for a specific length of time allowing students to vote after school from home.
Votes that have taken place so far include:
- voting for our representative on the UK Youth Parliament.
- voting relating to youth provision in the local area.
- voting relating to student voice issues in school.
The next major vote will involve students voting for the Newhaven Town Young Mayor.
In terms of school decision making its useful to 'create a trail' that shows issues being discussed in the student council - being taken online for a vote - and this then impacting on decision making in school e.g. at one point we ran a series of votes relating to the design of school toilets and this then had an impact on the design of these.
3. What are the benefits to students and to Tideway School of involving students in this way?
- students learn how to take part in the democratic process and how important it is to vote and have a say in the decision making process.
- students feel part of a community when they take part in decision making.
- it is one tool that helps create and improve an ethos within school.
- it sends out a clear message that school values student voice and participation.
4. Would you recommend this form of involvement to other schools/colleges and why?
Yes, for the reasons above really - it is a an efficient way of canvassing large numbers of students.
It also helps raise an awareness of some of the issues relating to electronic voting on a national scale.
Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C Clarke
