CTL Blog

LiveTalk Poll Results Available in CoursePlus

October 15, 2020 | 2 Minute Read

Faculty have often asked if there is a way to retrieve the results of the polls they administer during their LiveTalks. Until recently, taking screenshots of polls results was the only way to capture this information. This was largely due to limitations in how data is accessed in Zoom accounts, and the fact that LiveTalks are run under special, CTL-owned Zoom accounts. Screenshots are limited in value, however, and do not tell you who responded and what their response was.

You can now download results from polls administered during a LiveTalk from the LiveTalk attendance report in your course website:

Location of download of LiveTalk poll data

The data is in Excel format, and contains results for each participant who responded to at least one poll question. This means that if someone did not respond to any poll questions, they will not appear in the data, even if they were in attendance at the LiveTalk. All poll questions administered in a LiveTalk are included in a single Excel worksheet.

It’s important to recognize a number of limitations around this data that are the result of how Zoom works:

  • We cannot directly link students in CoursePlus to a matching name or account in Zoom because CoursePlus does not have access to all student Zoom accounts.
  • Student names and email addresses may not match what is on the course roster. Students can use any Zoom account to attend LiveTalks, and they may use a different name or email address in that Zoom account from what is displayed in CoursePlus.
  • If a student signed into the Zoom session with one account, and switches to a different account during the session, they will have two records (with two different email addresses) in the Excel data.
  • If a session does not require signing in to Zoom for some reason, there may be records with no name or email, as this is allowed by Zoom.

Even with the above limitations, having quick and easy access to LiveTalk poll data can be useful for faculty looking to review that data for future student interaction.

As always, if you have any questions about this new feature, please contact CTL Help!