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In-class polling

In-class polling allows you to gather ideas, check understanding and collect opinions in real time. Polls can make sessions more interactive while giving you quick insight into student learning.

Poll Everywhere

At Sussex, we use web-based tool Poll Everywhere. Students can respond via the mobile app, or website. They do not need to create an account, allowing for anonymous participation and seamless engagement.

Poll Everywhere integrates directly with Microsoft PowerPoint via the add-in; no separate download is required. This integration works seamlessly on both Windows and macOS and allows you to insert, customise, and present polls directly from your slide deck (you can only present polls in the PowerPoint desktop version). You can also present polls directly from the Poll EveryWhere website.

Benefits for teaching

Poll Everywhere offers a variety of question types, including:

  • multiple choice
  • open-ended responses
  • word clouds (diagrams showing the most frequent words in larger text)
  • clickable images.

Other features include:

  • LaTeX support for mathematical notation
  • team-based quizzes for gamified learning
  • live results display for in-class discussion
  • asynchronous response links.

Benefits for learning

Using polls in your teaching can:

  • provide students with anonymity, encouraging participation and reducing self-consciousness
  • prompt peer discussion and collaborative problem-solving
  • create dialogue between students and staff, enabling real-time feedback
  • highlight gaps in knowledge and allow you to address them immediately.

Accessibility considerations

Poll Everywhere is designed to be screen-reader compatible and supports keyboard navigation. Students will need to access the poll via a QR code or the link, which may involve navigating between different applications. Poll Everywhere is WCAG 2.2 AA compliant, supporting a more inclusive experience.

To support accessibility, we recommend that you:

  • use clear, simple question wording to support all learners
  • provide alternative ways to participate if a student cannot access the platform (e.g. verbal contribution, paper response)
  • avoid colour-only cues in word clouds or charts: add text labels to ensure clarity
  • be mindful that real-time responses may disadvantage learners who need additional processing time.

Limitations

There are some potential drawbacks to Poll Everywhere which you should be aware of:

  • students need a device to respond (though sharing devices can itself encourage dialogue and peer learning)
  • creating good poll questions takes preparation time*
  • certain poll types e.g. clickable images and more dynamic free text responses such as word clouds offer insufficient support for screen readers
  • There is no zoom-in functionality on certain question formats (e.g. word clouds)

*AI support is available within the tool to create and refine questions.

Creating an account

Due to licence limits, Poll Everywhere accounts are reserved for Poll Creators only.

To request access, email ee@sussex.ac.uk.

Anyone who previously held a Poll Everywhere account may see two organisational account options when logging in. The 'University of Sussex' option is the account with full licence functionality.

Guidance and support

Explore our step-by-step guidance to using Poll Everywhere in a teaching room. You can also contact your School Learning Technologist by emailing ee@sussex.ac.uk.

  • Embedding Poll Everywhere activities into your PowerPoint slide deck

    Open your desktop version of PowerPoint - embedded polls will not work in the online version. Check whether you can see the Poll Everywhere tab. If you can't see it, you'll need to install it using the following instructions:

    1. Open the desktop version of PowerPoint (you can embed polls in the web version, but you cannot present them from there).
    2. On the 'Home' ribbon, select 'Add-ins' and then 'Poll Everywhere 2.0'.
    3. Log in using your email address and password.
    4. To create a new poll, select a question type. This will open a new slide where you can begin editing. 
    5. For existing polls, select the poll and then click the 'Insert Slides' button (identified by the PowerPoint icon). 
    6. All inserted poll slides can be edited within PowerPoint. 
    7. To aid participation, select the QR code icon to enlarge it in the top-left corner of the screen, or share the unique URL with students.
    8. Use PowerPoint's slideshow mode to present the poll.
  • Launching a pre-prepared Poll Everywhere activity using the online platform
    1. Open the Poll Everywhere website.
    2. Log in with your email address and the password you set up.
    3. Click the Polls icon on the side bar.
    4. Click the Poll name to open it in edit mode.
    5. Select the QR code icon to enlarge the image in the top left of the screen or share the unique URL 'pe.app/ee345'. Students can use either of these to access your poll.
    6. Click the 'Present' button to display your poll full screen.
    7. While in present mode you can still control the flow of a poll: show or hide – choices/answers or lock responses.
    8. Click 'Exit' to close down Presenter view.


    Visit the Poll Everywhere 'Presenting' support page for additional resources.

Troubleshooting common issues with Poll Everywhere polls

To make sure Poll Everywhere works:

  • Signing in to Office 365 through PowerPoint

    The Poll Everywhere add-in will not work unless you are online, so open the desktop PowerPoint app and log in to Microsoft 365.

    1. Click the user icon in the top right corner.
    2. Make sure you can see University of Sussex and View account. If you don’t see either of these options, click the Sign Out button.
    3. Sign in again, using your full Sussex email address (ABC123@sussex.ac.uk).
  • Allowing pop-ups
    1. Launch the Microsoft Edge browser
    2. Click the three dots in the top-right corner (Settings and more), then select Settings
    3. In the left-hand sidebar, click Cookies and site permissions
    4. Click Pop-ups and redirects and select Allowed
    5. Close and reopen Edge
    6. Close and reopen PowerPoint entirely. The login pop-up should now appear.
  • Disabling Protected View
    1. Open the desktop version of PowerPoint - just the program, not a specific presentation
    2. Select File Menu
    3. Select Options from the pane on the left
    4. Select Trust Centre from the pane on the left
    5. Select Trust Centre Settings
    6. Select Protected View from the pane on the left
    7. Untick Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet
    8. After you've unticked this box, download and open your PowerPoint file. If you already downloaded it, you will need to download it again for it to work.

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