Classroom Polling
What is classroom polling?
Classroom polling allows instructors to quickly ask a question and instantly receive responses from students during class. Instructors and students can use online/mobile polling with phones (smart and text-only), computers, tablets, and iPads.
Why use classroom polling?
Bring active learning to the classroom and help students engage with the content. Adjust teaching and learning in the moment when students need more time or are ready to move on. Classroom polling transforms classroom learning from static to dynamic by changing students from the passive listeners to active participants who provide feedback and converse with peers and instructors.
Considerations for using classroom polling
Classroom polling requires the careful construction of questions for students. Student may also need to be taught how to use the clicker remote. It also requires appropriate internet connection and can experience delays in response summaries.
See our polling tips for additional information and considerations for implementing polling in your class.
Getting started with classroom polling
There are two classroom polling software options at Cornell:
- Poll Everywhere, which is available to the Cornell community free of charge to students and instructors.
- iClicker (students must either purchase an iClicker remote through the Cornell Store or purchase a subscription to the student app. Instructors may decide whether to allow only the app, only clickers, or both in their lectures. There is no cost for instructors to use iClicker).
Contact the Center to get started with classroom polling or explore our workshop, Getting Started with Poll Everywhere.