Using Poll Everywhere 2.0 in Canvas

This article reviews how to use the Poll Everywhere 2.0 integration in Canvas for self-marking attendance and graded activities. 

  • Note: To use the integration, you must first publish your course.

Accessing Poll Everywhere 2.0 in Canvas:

  • Open your course
  • Select Poll Everywhere 2.0 from the course navigation menu (this link is not visible to students). You will be prompted to log into your Poll Everywhere 2.0 account. 

Canvas course navigation menu listing Home, Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Grades, Syllabus, Modules, Poll Everywhere 2.0, Item Banks, Accessibility, Collaborations, BigBlueButton, and Quizzes. The Poll Everywhere 2.0 link is outlined in red.

Adding Polls in Canvas

Polls can be created directly in Canvas or in the Poll Everywhere 2.0 platform. If you use the platform to create polls, you can organize them into folders, which is helpful if you will be taking attendance in multiple classes. You can create an attendance poll in conjunction with another poll (i.e. multiple choice, word cloud) or use the attendance poll on its own. Note: You will need to use separate polls for different classes even if you are using the same questions.

  • Select Polls from the Poll Everywhere 2.0 menu.
  • Click Create a Poll to create a new poll. This will open the Poll Everywhere 2.0 interface in Canvas, where you can create a poll to link to your course roster. Alternatively, you can select Add existing content if you’d like to use a poll you’ve already created in Poll Ev 2.0

Poll Everywhere Polls page with no content yet. The Create a poll option is outlined in red, and the Add existing content option is outlined in blue.

To take attendance using geofencing and/or rotating code:

  • Navigate to Other. Select Attendance.

Poll Everywhere Polls page showing the Other poll types tab and options for Competition, Attendance, Content slide, and Media slide. The Other tab and Attendance option are outlined in red.

  • Give your poll a name using the dialog box on the top left of the window. 
  • Check-in method: select Location only, Location + code, or Code only. (1)
  • If you are using geofencing, you will need to select one of your saved locations from the Location drop down menu. (2)
  • Duration: select the length of time students will have to check in. (3)
  • Add additional activities using the +Add button on the left of the window. (4)

Dialog box with the poll name

Poll Everywhere Attendance poll presenter instructions showing the check-in method set to Location + code, location set to Any saved locations, and duration set to 1 hour. Red outlines highlight the Add button and these three settings.

Set Restrictions

  • You will need to restrict your attendance poll to your course in order to sync it with your roster. 
  • Select the Participant Restrictions icon at the top right of the window. 
  • Under courses, find the course you would like to use the attendance activity with. Toggle it on. These participant restrictions will apply for any other activities added to the attendance poll. 

Poll Everywhere Participation restrictions dialog stating that only members of selected groups can participate. Under Courses, B. Kloepfer Sandbox (Parent) is enabled and Quiz Migration Testing is disabled; a red outline highlights the course options.

Present Attendance Poll

  • When you are ready to present your poll, open Poll Everywhere 2.0 in Canvas, and select the poll you want to use by clicking on its title. This will open the poll in a new window.
  • Select Present. 

Poll Everywhere Attendance 10/4 presentation screen showing presenter instructions for location-and-code check-in, any saved location, and a one-hour duration. The Present button is outlined in red.

  • Students can access your poll by using the QR code, or using your unique link. They will need to log in using their Elon ID in order to check in. Students not registered to your class will not be able to check in.  

Poll Everywhere attendance check-in screen for Attendance 10/4 displaying a QR code, the four-digit code 5105, the response URL.

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