'Dot-voting,' also known as dotmocracy or 'voting with dots,' is a well-established form of facilitation that describes voting using dot stickers or marks made with a marker pen, as opposed to paper ballots. Dot voting is a method of voting in which participants choose their preferred alternatives by utilizing a limited number of stickers or markings made with pens — dot stickers being the most frequent kind of sticker. This technique of sticker voting is a variation on the cumulative voting concept. The objective of this technique is for each team member to have equal voting power when picking the finest ideas, so that the most popular ideas in the team are selected democratically.
The technique Dot-voting is also known as dotmocracy or voting with dots.
What is this technique/tool about
Dot voting, also known as 'sticker voting,' 'dotmocracy,' or 'voting with dots,' is a kind of cumulative voting, more popular in the United States than in Europe. When working in a group, dot-voting may be used to uncover difficulties or prioritize a huge number of objectives or ideas. Dot voting is a simple technique that may be used to democratically rank things or make choices. It is a simple and basic method of narrowing down possibilities and converging on a group of thoughts or ideas that has been developed. It can be used to reach a consensus among a group of people on the importance of subjective, qualitative data and its priorities. This is particularly useful when dealing with groups that are at high risk of dispute.
Dot voting is defined as follows: Each participant in a group is given a number of tokens ('dots') that may be allocated to one of many alternatives that are part of a larger set of options. A group should begin by brainstorming ideas around a theme, according to Michigan State University, to ensure that the process is effective. The participants in the dot voting process may allocate a specified number of dots or points to the various options on the list. All team members' votes are considered on an equal basis, and an agreement is reached rather fast.
For which purposes is it used (why in your secondary school teaching)
The optimum of this technique is when there is a vast number of concepts that must be reduced and chosen. It is a fast and straightforward way of prioritizing solutions from a vast list of possibilities. It makes use of the collective expertise of the team and gives an equitable opportunity for all the voices on the team to be heard and held accountable in the process of prioritizing critical problems. It also fosters a feeling of participation by allowing people to see the decision-making process in action and get an understanding of how the ultimate decision was reached. Because participants are not forced to make a comparative evaluation of each alternative, it is less cognitively difficult than having to do a thorough ranking of all the possibilities. Additionally, it enables participants to show a preference for more than one option at the same time. It is a technique that helps students speak and enhances their presentation skills as well as increases the students’ learning motivation.
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A good example is when we must make decisions when choosing the challenge to address in the early stages of Design Thinking. One way to avoid conflicts among students is to use this technique in a very visual manner so that they can see which challenge their peers believe is the best to tackle.
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