Poll Everywhere

Table of Contents

Using Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is currently being piloted through Fall quarter, 2024. The service will remain available during the spring and summer while the post-pilot evaluation is being conducted. 

Download Poll Everywhere's Instructor Guide Links to an external site. for detailed information on creating and sharing polls and activities, including slideware integration.

Support

For questions or issues with creating presenter accounts or Poll Everywhere's Canvas integration, contact canvas@northwestern.edu. 

Students with issues signing in through SSO should contact servicedesk@northwestern.edu. 

For all other issues with Poll Everywhere, contact Poll Everywhere support at support@polleverywhere.com. Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. CST by calling (800) 388-2039.

Instructors and presenters should also consult Poll Everywhere's support site: https://support.polleverywhere.com Links to an external site. 

Free self-guided training is also available at: https://training.polleverywhere.com Links to an external site.

Signing up and logging in for instructors and presenters

To request a Poll Everywhere presenter account at Northwestern University:

  1. Email canvas@northwestern.edu to request a presenter account.
  2. When we have added you as a presenter, you will receive an email invitation from Poll Everywhere. Sign in with your Northwestern email address and click Next. Then click Log in with Northwestern University. This will take you through the Microsoft sign-in and MFA process. SEE BELOW for screenshots and further instructions.

Presenters can sign in at Polleverywhere.com Links to an external site.. [Participants should sign in at Pollev.com Links to an external site..] 

Presenters and students can download the Poll Everywhere mobile app Links to an external site. by searching the iOS or Android app store. 

Presenters can download the desktop apps for PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote here: https://www.polleverywhere.com/app/download Links to an external site. 

Logging in for students and participants 

NOTE: Student should not sign in using the Poll Everywhere tab in Canvas courses. This tab is for instructors and will not be accessible for students attempting to sign in.

  1. Scan the QR code on a poll, or go to either the Poll Everywhere mobile app or https://pollev.com/ Links to an external site. and select Log in.
  2. Enter your Northwestern email address and click Next.
  3. Click Log in with Northwestern University.
  4. Enter your Northwestern email address on the Microsoft Sign in screen.
  5. Add you password on the Northwestern Online Passport page and click Sign in.
  6. Complete Multifactor Authentication. 

PLEASE NOTE: If you have difficulty signing in through a browser on a mobile device, we strongly recommend downloading the Poll Everywhere mobile app and signing in. Students can also sign in on a laptop.

Students can download the Poll Everywhere mobile app Links to an external site. by searching the iOS or Android app store. Poll Everywhere for Students Links to an external site. offers a user guide for participants.

On the Log in required screen, select Log in.
Enter your Northwestern email address and click Next.
Click Log in with Northwestern University.
Enter your Northwestern email address on the Microsoft Sign in screen.
Add you password on the Northwestern Online Passport page and click Sign in.
Complete Multifactor Authentication. 
Confirm your device.

Adding Poll Everywhere to Canvas

This video provides instructions for syncing a Canvas course with Poll Everywhere, syncing the course roster, and sending grades or participation from Poll Everywhere to Canvas.

Adding Poll Everywhere to Canvas

To connect a Canvas course to Poll Everywhere, follow these steps:

  1. Click on Settings at the bottom of the left-hand course navigation
  2. Click on Navigation in the top bar
  3. Scroll to the bottom and drag the Poll Everywhere tab into the available area of the left-hand navigation
  4. Click the blue Save button at the bottom
  5. Refresh your browser window and click on the Poll Everywhere tab
  6. Click the option to "Continue to canvas.northwestern.edu." This will open Poll Everywhere in a new window.

PLEASE NOTE: Once your course is connected, please hide the Poll Everywhere tab in Canvas so that students will not attempt to sign in through this entry point.

Roster Sync

Syncing your roster allows you to track student responses to polls and send scores to the Canvas gradebook. To sync your roster, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to https://www.polleverywhere.com/ Links to an external site..
  2. Click on the Participants button on the left side of the screen and select Courses in the top bar.
  3. Select your courses.
  4. Click the Sync Roster button next to your course. 

Syncing your roster in Poll Everywhere will send an invitation to a Poll Everywhere participant account to students enrolled in your course. Students can follow the steps above to complete their account set-up using their Northwestern email address.

INSTRUCTOR NOTE: Sync your roster throughout the add/drop period to update enrollments. 

STUDENT NOTE: Once you have signed in to PollEv.com, click on settings to ensure the email address matches your Northwestern email address in Canvas. In some cases, single-sign-on will pull an employee email address. If this occurs and the email addresses do not match, contact servicedesk@northwestern.edu to request assistance.

Sending Grades to Canvas

PLEASE NOTE: To track grades and participation, you polls must be set to restricted. This ensures students sign in with their Northwestern credentials before participating. This can be done at the question level by clicking on the "Audience restriction and identity" setting after creating the poll and selecting "Restrict to registered participants only." If a majority of your polls are intended for grading purposes, you can make this the default setting. To do this, click on the Profile icon in the bottom left of Poll Everywhere, select "Activity Settings," scroll down to "Who can participate?," and select "Restrict to registered participants only." Then scroll down and click Save. 

  1. Ensure Course Management is enabled in Poll Everywhere: Navigate to your course in Poll Everywhere by clicking on the Participants button on the left hand navigation, selecting Courses, and selecting the course. At the top of the screen, there will be an option to enable Course Management. You only need to do this once.
  2. Create an Assignment: Click "Add New Assignment," add a name, and select the appropriate settings for either participation or correctness.
  3. Add polls: Click the "+ Activity" option in line with your assignment and check any polls you wish to include in the assignment. Click save.
  4. Sync grades: Click the "Sync Grades" option. This will send scores for the assignment to the Canvas gradebook. You can overwrite any scores in Canvas.

Attendance Management and Geolocation

Poll Everywhere offers instructors the option to enable geolocation for their in-class polls to ensure participants are present. This attendance management guide Links to an external site. provides instructions for enable this setting. 

Using Poll Everywhere in Zoom

When sharing slides with polls, presenters will need to share their entire desktop in order for participants to see the poll and any results. More information is available in this Poll Everywhere tutorial Links to an external site..

Known Issues

  • Question text not fully displaying on Mac screen: If the entirety of the Poll is not appearing on screen, use the “Window” tab in the Poll Everywhere app and select “Force Monitor Selection.”