Participating in Polls
When a presenter launches a poll during a BigBlueButton meeting, it appears automatically on your screen. Participating is simple — just select your answer and submit it. No special permissions are required.
Answering a Poll
When the presenter starts a poll, a poll panel appears automatically on your screen. You do not need to open or enable anything — the poll is displayed to all participants in the meeting.
Wait for the poll panel to appear on your screen. It is displayed automatically when the presenter starts a poll.
Read the question and the available answer options carefully.
Click the button that corresponds to your chosen answer.
For open-response polls, type your answer in the text field (maximum ~50 characters) and click Send.
Your response is submitted immediately. The poll panel will close or show a confirmation that your answer has been recorded.
For multiple-choice polls, you may be able to select more than one answer before submitting. Look for checkboxes instead of radio buttons in the poll panel.
Viewing Poll Results
After the presenter closes the poll and publishes the results, they become visible to all participants in two places:
- On the presentation slide — the results are overlaid on the current slide as a chart or summary.
- In the public chat — the results are posted as a message so you can scroll back to review them later.
If the poll was set to anonymous mode, the results show only the total number of responses per option — no names are attached to the answers.
You can only see the results after the presenter publishes them. Until then, your answer is submitted but the overall results remain hidden.
Changing Your Answer
In some BigBlueButton versions, you can change your answer while the poll is still open. Simply click a different option before the presenter closes the poll. Once the results are published, your answer is final and cannot be changed.
The ability to change your answer depends on the BigBlueButton version in use. If you are unsure, submit your answer carefully the first time.
What You Need to Know
- Polls appear automatically — you do not need to click a button to see them.
- Participation is voluntary — you are not required to answer, but your input is valuable.
- No special permissions are needed — every participant in the meeting can respond to polls.
- Results are only visible after the presenter publishes them.
- Anonymous polls protect your identity — no one can see which answer you chose.