SurveyMonkey, launched in 1999 is generally regarded as the first online survey tool designed to gather and analyse data quickly and easily. Google Forms (2008) and Microsoft Forms (2016) provided big name respectability resulting in the widespread displacement of paper-based surveys for academic research.

This case study examines the use of Microsoft Forms to design and distribute a short classroom survey “on the fly” in order to rapidly gain deep insights into student behaviours with a view to adapting teaching approaches.

When students don’t engage with a labour-intensive innovation, the lecturer may be tempted to verbally challenge the class to explain. Psychologically, this may result in confrontation, defensiveness and hostile silence.

A short online survey (3 questions, 1 open-ended) accessed via QR code and utilising student smartphones, tablets or laptops can elicit deeper individual responses quickly, painlessly and confidentially.

The sincerity of the responses coupled with insights into the realities of the student experience caused us to build in reminder mechanisms into the process and to reevaluate our expectations of the students.

More generally, this serendipitous development provides a new channel for rapid information gathering for classroom research purposes or for quickly analysing classroom quandaries.