3. Moderators / Presenters
  4. Inside a Collaborate session
  5. Sharing Content

Using polling in Collaborate Ultra sessions

Why use polling?

  • It provides a way to engage the whole cohort
  • It enables activities that can help chunk your session
  • It gives you with feedback on the cohort’s progress
  • It gives them with individual private feedback
  • It can be used for questions with correct answers
  • It can be used to gather anonymous responses
  • It can be used for fun competitive games

What polling tools are available?

  • Vevox can be used with cohorts of up to 100
  • Top Hat Basic can be used with larger cohorts

Other free options with limited functionality or which work for smaller cohorts include:

Aston does not currently have an institutional polling tool.

Using polling tools in Collaborate Ultra

Most tools present questions online in your web browser

  • Vevox uses Present View to show and control your questions
  • Top Hat enables you to upload your slides, add your questions and present these seamlessly
  1. Open your polling tool in a new browser window (not tab)
  2. In Collaborate Ultra, choose Share Content > Share Application and then select the web browser window with the polling tool.
  3. Note that you cannot see the polling tool and Collaborate at the same time and will need to switch browser windows as you teach – unless you have a big screen and can arrange the windows side-by-side, or (ideally) have two screens and show one on each.
  4. Copy-and-paste the polling link and join code into the Collaborate Chat panel e.g. for Vevox you would say “go to vevox.app, enter <the 9-digit meeting code> and click Join”
  5. When students click that link in Chat, it opens in a new browser tab so they can vote. They can quickly swap between voting in that tab and watching your Collaborate session in another. Alternatively, they could access the polling on another device e.g. their phone.

Vevox also has a free add in for PowerPoint (Windows only) that enables you to embed questions in your slides

  1. See this guide to show your slides in a window you can resize and reposition so you can still see Collaborate – otherwise slides are shown full screen.
  2. in Collaborate Ultra, choose Share Content > Share Application and then select PowerPoint.
  3. Note that if you click on the Collaborate window it will cover the PowerPoint window, so although you can see your slides in Collaborate you won’t be able to control them. Use Alt-tab to bring your PowerPoint window back on top of Collaborate.
  4. Again, copy-and-paste the link and join code into the Collaborate Chat panel so your students can vote.