Poll Everywhere slideware integration
Turn your one-sided virtual lecture into a two-sided conversation with Poll Everywhere. Insert Poll Everywhere activities into your existing lesson plan to actively engage students virtually.
You can present activities within presentation slides like PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides. This gives your audience a more streamlined presentation because you don’t have to switch back and forth between your presentation app and Poll Everywhere. For step-by-step instructions on how to insert activities into your slideware, read our Presenter guide.
Moderation
Students enjoy using Poll Everywhere because the anonymity empowers them to share their opinions. One downside is that students may feel comfortable submitting inappropriate responses. With online classes, students are now hidden behind a computer screen, removing the pressure of having an instructor watching them as they respond. Therefore, you should enable moderation to approve or reject responses to open-ended activities before they appear live on-screen. This can save quite a bit of embarrassment if you have a few pranksters in the audience.
In addition to Moderation, instructors have the option of turning on a profanity filter. The filter will censor and replace profanity with asterisks or you can set the filter to reject messages and prevent them from being displayed. Note: this filter is automated. We suggest the moderation feature over the profanity filter for best results.
To learn how to enable the Moderation feature, read this article. This feature is only available with certain paid plans.
Presenting your activity with videoconferencing software
Videoconferencing software is replacing the traditional classroom. Previously, Poll Everywhere activities were shared on a projector or computer screen for everyone to see in-person. Now, instructors must use screen sharing services like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Join.Me, Webex, and more to engage students.
If you are presenting an activity within a slide presentation, check out this step-by-step guide. If you’re presenting your activities directly from PollEverywhere.com, follow these steps:
- Before your online class, close all unnecessary apps. If you have alarms or notifications you don’t want the students to see, make sure you adjust those settings beforehand.
- Open the activity you’ll be presenting on PollEverywhere.com by navigating to Activities.
- Launch your videoconferencing software and start the meeting.
- Select the screen-sharing feature and share your screen.
- Direct students to your unique PollEv.com URL or submit responses via SMS.
- Enter fullscreen mode to present and activate your Poll Everywhere activity. Advance to the next one by using your arrow keys or pressing “Next” and “Previous” in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
- Watch results fill the screen and bring the conversation to life!
Student participation with videoconferencing software
For instructors opting for synchronous lectures, the most common question asked is “How can students effectively switch between videoconferencing software and Poll Everywhere?” We have two solutions for students: the Poll Everywhere Participate app for desktop and our mobile apps.
- Poll Everywhere Participate app The Poll Everywhere Participate app for desktop is a convenient alternative to visiting PollEv.com on a web browser. When students join a presentation via the desktop participate app, they’ll receive a native OS notification whenever a new activity is activated. Click the notification and Poll Everywhere jumps to the front so students can respond. Seamless switching lets students focus on what matters — your online lecture. For a breakdown of how to download and set up the app, read this support article.
- Poll Everywhere Mobile app Instructors may be hesitant to encourage students to use their mobile devices during class, but the Poll Everywhere mobile apps are an easy way for students to participate in lectures without switching between videoconferencing software and browsers. Learn more about participating with Poll Everywhere mobile apps.
