Frequently Asked Questions

InstaPoll is an open, online tool for professors to easily create in-class student polls on the fly. Think of it as a virtual clicker that can be used with laptops, tablets, smart phones...anything with a web browser! Instapoll is completely free for everyone and there is no special equipment needed.

To create an InstaPoll:

1. Go to https://instapoll.cali.org
2. Click on the ‘Create a Poll’ button
3. If you do not want students to be able to change their answers, uncheck the box next to “Students may change their answer.”
4. Announce the Poll number to the students or audience. (The Poll# appears both in the upper right hand corner of the screen and below the virtual clicker.)
5. Verbally provide the question and answer choices to the students and ask the students to answer by selecting the choice on the Poll Page.
6. Results will appear on the faculty member’s screen in the form of a bar graph.
7. To clear the results in order to ask another question, click ‘Reset.’

No. You can use the same Instapoll for consecutive questions. This can be done in two ways:

1. If you leave the “Students may change their answer” box checked, the students can change their answers for the new question and the poll results will automatically update.
2. If you unchecked the “Students may change their answer” button, click the ‘Reset’ button in order to clear the answers to the previous question. This will start the poll with a blank slate.

No. Neither the question asker nor the answerers need to be logged into the CALI website. This means you can use InstaPoll with guest speakers who aren't CALI members or in situations, such as conference presentations, that have non-CALI members in attendance. It also means that if a student has forgotten their CALI login information, this won't delay the polling process. Basically, you can use InstaPoll anywhere there is a web connection!

No. The answers on Instapoll are anonymous. It is impossible to tell if a student has answered a question or which answer they provided.

No. An InstaPoll cannot be reopened after its webpage has been closed. You will need to create a new poll and provide that new number to the audience/class.