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Poll Everywhere 2.0 Canvas Setup Guide for Administrators

In this article:

This guide is for Canvas system administrators and explains how to integrate Poll Everywhere 2.0 into Canvas using LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage.

LTI Advantage (Learning Tools Interoperability 1.3) is the latest IMS Global Learning Consortium enabling secure, seamless data exchange between systems. Poll Everywhere 2.0 provides:

  • Automatic roster synchronization
  • Activity and assignment management
  • Smooth grade and data syncing

Before setup, ensure:

  • Canvas Admin access
  • Admin or Owner role in your institution’s Poll Everywhere account
  • Poll Everywhere 2.0 account with LTI Advantage enabled
  • Access to the Dynamic Registration URL (found under Organization settings → LMS connections in Poll Everywhere)




Step 1: Enable Canvas Permissions

  • Ensure the Canvas Admin performing setup has both Canvas and Poll Everywhere Admin permissions.
  • Instructors using LTI Advantage must have:
    • Be an instructor in Canvas
    • A Poll Everywhere account with the Presenter role

Step 2: Access LMS Connections in Poll Everywhere

  1. Sign in to Poll Everywhere as an administrator.
  2. Select the gear icon (Organization settings) → LMS connections → Canvas. Three setup options are shown. Your existing connections appear under Registrations.

Option 1: Install via Canvas App Search (Recommended)

Requires Canvas admin permissions.

  1. In Canvas, go to Admin > Apps.
  2. Search for Poll Everywhere and select it.
  3. Click Configure.
  4. If prompted, log in to Poll Everywhere.
  5. Click Register and complete the installation flow.
  6. Poll Everywhere appears at the top of your app list (Admin > Apps > Manage).
  7. To make it available across your account or in a specific course, install it by Client ID (see Install globally by Client ID below).
  8. To update settings later: Admin > Apps > Manage > ⋯ > Edit App > Placements.

Option 2: Install via Developer Keys (Dynamic Registration)

  1. Log in to Canvas as an Admin.
  2. Go to Admin → Developer Keys → + Developer Key → + LTI Registration then paste the Dynamic Registration URL



3. You will now see a pop-up window overlaying the Developer Keys page, and paste the Poll Everywhere Dynamic Registration URL provided from the LMS Connections.

4. Click Next, review permissions, and register.

  • Leave permissions as-is (all user data + course navigation required).
  • Course Navigation is essential for the integration to function. Other permissions on "placements" are optional but recommended for richer functionality.
  • Name the app (e.g., “Poll Everywhere 2.0”), and other administrative details as needed.

Note: Each time this flow is completed, a new Client ID is created in Canvas, and a new registration appears in Poll Everywhere. Complete the Dynamic Registration flow in one uninterrupted session. Do not refresh the page or navigate back during setup doing so will trigger a new registration and may create duplicate Client IDs, which can cause unpredictable launch behavior and errors.

Install globally by Client ID (after Option 1 or 2)

Helpful tip: You can install Poll Everywhere in Canvas globally (for all courses) or within a single course, depending on your use case.

  1. In Canvas, go to Admin → Apps → Manage → Connected App, and click on the Ellipsis, and "Copy Client ID"


  2. Navigate to Admin → Settings → Apps → View App Configurations → Add App.
  3. You will now see a pop-up window overlaying the External Apps page. Choose By Client ID as the configuration type in the drop-down menu, and then paste the copied Client ID
  4. Submit and install

Option 3: Configure manually with JSON

In LMS connections, select Set up Canvas under Option 3 ("Manually setup and register your Canvas LMS with us") and follow the on-screen fields.

Step 3: Verify Installation

  1. Navigate to any Canvas course.
  2. Check that Poll Everywhere appears in the course navigation.
  • If it does not, verify Client ID configuration.
  • Note: Links will only appear after the first launch.

Limit Availability to a Subaccount (Optional)

If your institution is not ready for a full rollout and wants to restrict PE 2.0 to a specific Subaccount (e.g., a Testing Subaccount) rather than deploying institution-wide:

  1. After completing Steps 2 and 3, navigate to Admin → Apps → Manage Apps and locate Poll Everywhere 2.0.
  2. Open the Availability and Exceptions tab.
  3. Set the root account status to Off (not "Not Available").
  4. Click Add Exception and select your target Subaccount (e.g., "Testing").
  5. Set the exception to Available, and Save.

Expected configuration: Root = Not Available | Subaccount Exception = Available

This is the intended Canvas behavior for scoping LTI tools to specific subaccounts. Canvas inherits exceptions downward; any new courses created within the excepted subaccount will automatically inherit access.

Why do I see two entries in the Exceptions tab? There are two distinct causes; identify which applies to you:

  • Cause A: Pre-existing subaccount or course deployment. If Poll Everywhere 2.0 was already deployed directly to specific subaccounts or courses before root-level management was configured, Canvas displays both the existing deployment and the root deployment separately. Root-level management is not yet supported when course-level deployments already exist. Workaround: Reinstall the tool at the root account using the legacy By Client ID method (see Option 2 above). After installation, set the root to Not Available and re-add your subaccount exceptions. The original subaccount/course-level deployment will then be superseded.
  • Cause B: Multiple placements from Dynamic Registration. If you registered via Dynamic Registration, Canvas registers each placement (e.g., Course Navigation, Deep Linking) as a separate entry. Both entries appearing in the Exceptions tab is expected behaviour, this is not a duplicate registration. Apply your availability settings consistently to both entries to ensure uniform behaviour across the integration.

Relevant Canvas Resources for Admins:

Note: Canvas Community article links can change with platform updates.

Next Steps for Faculty

Admins should direct instructors to the [Canvas LTI Advantage Usage Guide for Educators] for steps on:

  • Syncing rosters
  • Creating assignments
  • Managing responses and grades

If you have any questions or run into issues, please contact the Technical Support team