What is Google Voice? In short it gives you a new phone number that you can attach multiple phone numbers to. So an individual can call your Google Voice number and it will ring all the phones you put in the settings AT THE SAME TIME.
But the beauty of it is that you can give out your number without giving out your number. So I like to give my students my Google Voice number. This way they can text me and Google Voice gives me more control over how and when I get messages.
In the classroom I have my students use their cell phones as a clicker. This allows them to send in their answer, but I also know who the text is from AND I can text back positive feedback.
Students love hearing my iPhone go off like a slot machine when I ask them to text in the number, and since it shows their name (first I have to add their names, but that is super quick and easy if you first have them text their name) I can call out “good job Mary” “good job Jose” and they are so hungry for that immediate feedback.