Surprising question box uses for school festivals and class events

Perfect for collecting opinions

When a class decides something, some people find it hard to raise their hand and speak up. "People might laugh if I say this." "I'll read the room and stay quiet." In the end, things get decided by the loudest people alone.

With a question box, you can collect opinions anonymously. Just post your question box link in your class group chat on LINE (a messaging app widely used in Japan) with "What should we do for the school festival (bunkasai, a yearly event where each class runs a show or stall for visitors)?" Because it's anonymous, even people who don't normally speak up can easily send their ideas.

When you actually try it, you might get unexpected suggestions like "Wait, someone had an idea like this?!" There are honest feelings and ideas that only come out because it's anonymous.

How to use it at the school festival

There are a few ways to use a question box for school festival projects.

The first is a "questions from visitors corner." Put up your question box's QR code next to your exhibit or performance. Visitors can send comments and questions anonymously, so people who find it hard to talk to you directly can join in too.

The second is "anonymous requests." If your project involves music, use the question box to ask for requests like "Tell us what song you want us to play next." Because it's anonymous, it's easier to request even an embarrassing song.

The third is a "look-back survey." After the school festival ends, anonymously collect answers to "Tell us what went well and what we could improve." In some cases, you can pick up frank opinions that wouldn't come out in a survey where people write their names.

It works for sports day and class sports tournaments too

A question box isn't only useful for the school festival. It's also well suited as a tool for gathering opinions at events like sports day and inter-class sports tournaments.

If you ask things like "What order should we run in for the relay?" or "Send us ideas for cheering chants!", ideas come in from all kinds of people in the class. The advantage is that you can pick up the opinions of quieter people, not just the loudest ones.

Getting ready for an event is hard work, with lots of things to decide. At times like that, having a question box where you can easily ask for opinions means the material for discussion is ready in advance. Because the event is something everyone makes together, a way to collect everyone's voice really pays off.

Make choosing your class project go smoothly

When you decide on your class project through a discussion in the classroom, opinions sometimes don't come out easily. "Nothing in particular." "I'll go along with everyone." And time just goes by.

At times like that, collecting ideas with a question box beforehand might give the discussion a starting point. If you ask "Secretly tell us a project you'd like to try!", you'll also get ideas that would have been hard to say face to face.

If you list the ideas you collected and discuss them, you don't have to think from zero. A question box becomes a dependable prep tool that gives your meeting a first draft to work from.

Because it's anonymous, you get honest opinions

In class events, opinions like "I actually think this, but it's hard to bring up" tend to get buried. People go along with the majority, or they're scared of standing out.

The anonymity of a question box gives those hidden honest feelings a place to go. Voices like "Honestly, I'm not that into this idea" or "I'd like to do it this way instead" are easier to share without giving a name.

To make an event everyone can agree on, it's important to pick up the opinions people found hard to say out loud. By collecting them anonymously, you can look over every opinion equally, no matter how loud the person is. To make it an event the class feels "we decided ourselves," keep those honest feelings where everyone can see them.

How to make use of the opinions you collected

Once you've collected opinions, it's important not to just leave them there. Make sure the voices you received go back to the class.

We recommend listing the opinions you collected and sharing the list. If you put them together and show them with "Here are the opinions that came in," you have the starting point for discussion ready.

Then, when you report what was decided, add a short "Thanks for your opinions, they really helped." If the people who shared their opinions feel "They actually listened to me," it's easier to ask for their help next time. Collect, share, and say thanks. Once you set up this flow, the question box works as part of how your class discusses things.

There are things to watch out for

When you use it at school, there are a few things to be careful about.

The first is to check with your teacher. Some schools have rules about using anonymous tools. Talking with your teacher beforehand makes things go smoothly.

The second is dealing with mean comments. When you collect opinions anonymously, joke posts and mean comments may get mixed in. One way to handle this is to announce at the start that "We'll ignore inappropriate posts."

The third is making sure to share the opinions you collected. If people send their opinions and get ignored, some probably won't send anything next time. Sharing the results with "Here are the opinions we got!" is what matters.