Using In-Class Polling (Tadpoll)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Preparing for class
• Running polls in class
• Managing polls after class
• How polls are graded
• To sync poll scores to the LMS

Preparing for class

1. For the first day of class, add a slide with Tadpoll access instructions for students. Consider also putting them in an LMS announcement or email to students.
   
   
2. Decide what device/browser you will use to access Codon Polling. Any device will work! 
   
   *Tip: To prevent students from being biased by others' responses before they've polled in, we recommend running Tadpoll from a device separate from the device you are using to present slides. Alternatively, configure your presentation to only share your slide application (e.g., Powerpoint) rather than your whole screen.
   
   
3. Add all of the “content” of your polling questions to your slides. Codon will simply say “Question 1: A, B, C, D, E”. *Multiple-choice and multiple-select questions only for now!
   
   

   
   
   Running polls in class

4. Before class, log in to Codon on the desired device/browser.
   
   
5. Open your course and click “Polling” in the top right.
   
   
6. Click the "Start New Poll" button in the top right to open the polling interface.
   
   
7. To open the first poll question, click “Multiple Choice” or “Multiple Select”, depending on which type of question you plan to ask.
   

   *A multiple choice question has the “MC” bubble next to the question number and round circles for indicating the correct answer.
   
   *A multiple select question has the “MS” bubble next to the question number and check boxes for indicating the correct answer(s).
   
   
   

8. The students’ view will update, allowing them to answer the question. See student view:
   *A multiple choice question has instructions to “Choose one” and more rounded response target buttons.
   *A multiple select question has instructions to “Select all that apply” and more squared off response target buttons.
   
   
9. As students join the poll, the number next to the person avatar (A) will increase. As students answer, the number next to “Responses:” (B) will increase. The response distribution (C) and muddy/clear split (D) will update in real time. 
   *If displays do not update, you may have temporarily lost connection. Please reload the page.
   
10. When ready, click “Close Question”. 
    

    
    

    
    

    
    
11. Repeat the steps above as needed to open additional multiple choice and multiple select polling questions.
    
    
12. Click “End Session” to clear out the session for next time. You will be asked to confirm. You can not restart closed polling sessions.
    

    
    
    Managing polls after class

13. To view all polling sessions, click "Return to Poll Manager". To navigate back to this page on another day, click "Polling". 
    
14. The Polling page is where you can view response distributions from past polls and change points possible for polling questions. 
    
15. To view points that individual students have earned from polling sessions, go to Student Performance. Click on the column header for the desired polling session to see more details about students scores and responses on individual questions.
    

How polls are graded

• All poll grading is based on participation only. Students receive a point for answering the question.
• Questions are worth 1 point each by default, but you can change the points available from the Polling page. This includes setting questions to "0" points if you do not wish to include them in the score for the day. Student scores will be regraded automatically.
• Don't want to grade polling questions at all? We don't yet have a "not for points" grading policy that can be applied across an entire polling session. Instead, do not sync the polling sessions to your LMS and modify each question value to 0.
  
  

A note about setting correct answers: You can select the correct answer for a question at any time while it is open during the poll or later on from the Polling page. This does NOT affect grading. It will, however, add a green outline around those responses to make it easier to interpret response distribution summaries.

To sync poll scores to the LMS

1. From the Assessments page, click "Update Status/Dates".
2. Flip the toggle under "LMS Sync" to "on" for all desired polling sessions. *This action can only be done for closed polling sessions. Polling sessions only appear on the Assessments page once they're ended. Polling sessions are not created in advance like assessments are.
   
3. Follow the steps to sync scores as usual: Go to Student Performance, click "Go to Score Sync Page" -> Select the checkbox next to desired polling sessions -> Click "Sync Scores to LMS"