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How to use Google Docs for Live Polls and Quizzes

43 Responses (Add) | Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 10:20pm

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Did you know you can create a live poll using Google Docs and Spreadsheets? It’s quite simple, really. I stumbled across this recently when I needed to do a poll for something in a hurry, and needed to keep it anonymous. Here are the steps you need to take, in order to create your own poll or quiz!

  • Click New>Spreadsheet in Google Docs.
  • Click the “share” tab, and then title your poll.
  • Select “invite” to invite people to fill out the form.
  • Create the form with your possible answers.
    • Put in however many choices you want people to have.
    • Add Help text if you want.
    • Question Type: You can choose from text, paragraph text, multiple choice
    • I populated with numbers, so I could get the Spreadsheet application to interpret the data.
  • Choose recipients… either by adding your contact list… or giving out the URL to others.
    • Set up a formula to interpret and see your data.
    • In the next available column, type: =countif(B2:B500, 1) (this is just an example… use the proper rows and columns from your particular sheet).
    • Continue to make formulas for each of your answer possibility. For my second one, the formula was: =countif(B2:B500, 2)
  • I then wanted to create a chart to show my data. I entered another formula (C2:C4) and clicked the Chart button.
  • Choose the type of chart, and what cells you want the chart to graph for you.
  • Title your Chart, and choose your axis points.
  • If you want, you can format the number cells to hide them. I just made the font white, so it didn’t show.
  • Now I’m ready to publish my chart with the poll results. You can even choose to automatically re-publish and update every five minutes… and then share the link via RSS feed, or URL.

Pretty cool, eh?

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43 Comments

News

July 12th, 2008
at 3:10pm

Does Google have a Command Line Interface? Free Video Conferencing and Chat: No Downloads! Get Documents and Spreadsheets on the Go with Google Could you Live Without Google? Accessing IRC Chat via a Web Browser: MibbitHow to use Google Docs for Live Polls and QuizzesChris Google Lively VR Chat Reviews

dmiessler.com | grep understanding knowledge

March 27th, 2008
at 5:54pm

Chris Pirillo justturned me on toa cool new feature of Google Docs. You can run a poll, through a spreadsheet, and have the results populate the spreadsheet in real time. Here’s my first test poll: [ What’s Your Primary Home Operating System?

Geek Picks

March 24th, 2008
at 8:21am

“Did you know you can create a live poll using Google Docs and Spreadsheets? It’s quite simple, really. I stumbled across this recently when I needed to do a poll for something in a hurry, and needed to keep it anonymous. Here are the steps you need

Learning With Lucie

September 12th, 2008
at 10:39pm

Elections 2008 Gadget / http://www.google.com/webmasters/igoogle/election.html Fun Gadgets you can add to your I Google Page, Wikis, Blog, or even our own school web page if we want. • How to use Google Docs for Live Polls and Quizzes ~ Chris chris.pirillo.com/2008/03/23/how-to-use-google-docs-for-live-polls-and-quizzes/ Tutorial (print directions and video)on how to create a poll using Google Spreadsheets.  If you need more help using Google Spreadsheets I’d be glad to come

GeekPicks

March 24th, 2008
at 8:21am

“Did you know you can create a live poll using Google Docs and Spreadsheets? It’s quite simple, really. I stumbled across this recently when I needed to do a poll for something in a hurry, and needed to keep it anonymous. Here are the steps you need

Infinite Thinking Machine

September 14th, 2008
at 4:53pm

Elections ‘08 Map Gallery and Google’s Elections 2008 Gadget can keep you up-to-date on the 2008 election. These maps and gadgets can even be embedded in your own wiki, blog, or school web page. Chris Pirillo providesa great tutorial(both print and video) on how to use Google Doc’s new Form Feature to create your own polls or mock election. Perhaps this would be an ideal opportunity to experiment with cellphones in your classroom by using

ITLnet Blog

March 26th, 2008
at 2:35am

by K.chris.pirillo.com– Chris Pirillo shows how to create a live poll using Google Docs and Spreadsheets. more »

Windows Vista Torrent

March 24th, 2008
at 2:28pm

Tech InterviewsHow to use Google Docs for Live Polls and QuizzesWhat?s the Best Way to Interview Someone? What?s Your Favorite Keyboard? His name is Earl: A Lifestreaming Geek with Cerebral Palsy How to Switch Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, OS X What Advice do you Give to Young Programmers?

relentlessJnin

March 23rd, 2008
at 10:31pm

polls are soo scewed. To see if people like Frosted flakes, u canask around for opinions. Who ever says yes will be taken to a room and then “officially” take the poll. They will all say yes, and the poll will say kids like Frosted Flakes.

sooooooooo untrustworthy

azaas

March 24th, 2008
at 12:07am

hmmm pretty interesting :)

rtsjoe

March 24th, 2008
at 12:19am

not even my balls have respect for that grill in dskies.

dogbog99

March 24th, 2008
at 3:43am

nice!
i might try that one day
thanks chris

artfungames

March 24th, 2008
at 5:01am

nice really use full. im going 2 try it.

Jonkki

March 24th, 2008
at 7:37am

“Spreadsheets are so much fun” :-)

enjoinit33

March 24th, 2008
at 8:15am

my video has no sound, whats wrong?????????

Domreis7337

March 24th, 2008
at 9:37am

Plug your speakers in…
there is a sound bar scroller by the time on the video, make sure that is to the right…
make sure your speakers are plugged in….

zueq

March 24th, 2008
at 9:52am

ok why dont google make a simple online thingy to make poll quistionere :S ? this way is time consuming and kinda hard

danielsheldrake

March 24th, 2008
at 9:53am

my college blocked google docs :( how stupid is that

enjoinit33

March 24th, 2008
at 10:01am

im on a macbook, my speakers work, i have sound comming out, my volume dial on the vid is up, wtf?

whiteshadow247

March 24th, 2008
at 10:19am

haha you finaly got the video down, congrats Chris

Domreis7337

March 24th, 2008
at 12:14pm

Do you get audio from iTunes? Or any other application?

SwedenPro

March 24th, 2008
at 8:09am

Hi!

Thank you for the tip, i’ve used this several times since i saw the movie.
Hope you continue with this.

//SwedenPro

James

March 24th, 2008
at 9:59am

You know, this is pretty cool. Another free app brought to you by Google. I am definitely going to use this on my class. Spreadsheets basically have no limitation and this is amazing just for the simple fact that you can use it in real time.

joelg88

March 24th, 2008
at 12:53pm

Google Docs sounds like a great thing. I still haven’t tried but I will. Thats just shows that more Apps are being replaced with the Internet. Things that we would need a certain Program to do can now be done online at a website such as Google Docs or AniMoto. Soon more things will be able to be done online.

NahanTrebuh

March 24th, 2008
at 8:51pm

Awesomeness thanks Chris

D0M1N8R

March 24th, 2008
at 3:33pm

Starting to test it out. Not necessarily for polls but just general work.

Windows_Vista-

March 24th, 2008
at 3:49pm

Love the blog it was very helpful for a poll that i need to make thanks Chris.

Kyle_vdk

March 24th, 2008
at 5:24pm

I was there for that video, a lot of people started voting more than once, I bet now Google is going to create a system for this because of you :) you tend to be a big influence lol.

Google docs just needs to develop a bit more in some areas, as polling. I would also see security being a big hazard, i guess they have good security, but still I wouldn’t want all my work documents online.

Saunder45

March 30th, 2008
at 9:43am

i do not mean to advertise in a post, but anyone who owns a video game console should try xlink kai. It is a free way to play games online. if you use xlink kai, put this on every post.

dduppie

March 31st, 2008
at 11:46am

lol “i do not mean to advertise in a post” followed by an advertisement

highonhayek

April 10th, 2008
at 3:20pm

Spreadsheets = HELL

R is a program that’ll knock your socks off!

cristiandeives

May 1st, 2008
at 9:19am

you’re very funny, man, I liked you :)

tenjhotenge42

May 25th, 2008
at 10:14am

PLEASE DON’T READ THIS. YOU WILL GET KISSED ON THE NEAREST POSSIBLE FRIDAY BY THE LOVE OF UR LIFE. TOMORROW WILL BE THE BEST DAY OF UR LIFE. HOWEVER IF YOU DON’T SEND THIS TO AT LEAST 3 VIDEOS YOU WILL DIE IN 2 DAYS. NOW UV STARTED READIN DIS DUNT STOP THIS IS SO SCARY. xSEND THIS TO OVER FIVE QUIZZES IN 143 MINUTES WHEN UR DONE PRESS F6 AND UR CRUSHES NAME WILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN IN BIG LETTERS. THIS IS SO SCARY BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY WORKS 6!!!!

nelson

June 19th, 2008
at 4:32pm

thanks great post. is there a way to make the responses not anonymous? i would like to know who answered what. any help?

carloscabanillas's Bookmarks on Delicious

October 6th, 2008
at 9:40am

[...] How to use Google Docs for Live Polls and Quizzes ~ Chris Pirillo SAVE [...]

doom

October 10th, 2008
at 1:52pm

WTF how can i make it to restrict people from reposting on the same poll ?????? and it should be handled remotely
as some free online polls provide this functionality but as soon as you delete cookies and refresh the page you can
ote once more … ??????

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