Not Satisfied with Zoom Polls? Consider Google Forms in Meeting

To launch a survey or quiz during a Zoom class or meeting, a Zoom Poll is the easiest option. However, there are currently some limitations to this Zoom feature: you can only ask two types of questions, 10 questions per poll, and offer only 10 possible answers per question.

(Zoom is apparently working on this, so there may be some enhancements on the way).

If Zoom Poll doesn’t quite meet your in-meeting needs, consider a different university-supported product that is more flexible, and can also produce visual results that you can share with your group in multiple ways: Google Forms.

In this tip, I will not go over all the details of Google Forms. Google offers a comprehensive training and help site, and effective survey design is both an art and science, with many factors to consider. Instead I will only offer a few things to consider when designing a Google Form if you plan to share summary results with your group in a meeting:

What kind of information would you like your group to see?

There are nine types of Google Forms questions you can ask. Your form can include a mix of question types, and both optional and required questions. Some question types that are good for quick visualization include Multiple Choice, Checkboxes, Dropdown and Linear Scale.

Pie Chart: Respondent can choose one answer

Ask either a Multiple Choice or Dropdown question. Multiple Choice is the best option if you would like to allow respondents to add an “Other” answer, a choice you haven’t provided. Dropdown is the best type if you have a long list of possible answers, and you do not require the Other option.

Here is an example of Multiple Choice Question from a survey I administered to my colleagues:

And here is the pie chart with their responses:

Notice that because I allowed the Other option, one respondent wrote a long, and well-considered answer. If this type of response is not useful for your purposes, simply do not add the Other option.

Bar Graph: Respondent can choose multiple answers

If you don’t want to limit your respondents to only one answer, a Checkbox is a good question type. Here’s an example of a Checkbox question:

And here are the responses:

Again, because I included the Other option, I received an answer I did not anticipate.

Bar Graph: Respondent can choose one answer

A Linear Scale will produce an easy-to-follow graph. Here is an example:

And here are the responses:

How to share the form with your group

There are multiple ways to accomplish this, but the simplest way in meeting may be to add a link in the chat or to an active document. You can get a link to the live form by simply clicking on the Eye icon on the top right-hand side of the form, and using the automatically generated URL. This will also allow you to preview your form (see how it will look to your audience). You can also click on the Send button to the right of the Eye, which will give you more options for sharing the form, including the ability to shorten the link, which can be useful if you are sending it through chat.

How to share survey results with your group

The simplest way is to share your screen in Zoom. Near the top of your form, toggle from Questions to Responses. By default, you will see a summary report without identifiable information. If you asked question types that lend themselves to visualization, your audience should be able to follow the report easily as you scroll through it. Here is the start of the full report from my survey:

If you only wish to share some of the results, take screenshots (Mac or PC) and copy the images into your presentation or active document

In conclusion

Google Forms is a flexible, powerful and easy to use tool that might serve as a substitute for a Zoom Poll. If you are interested in more tips about Google Forms in the future, respond in the comments or send an email to elsie@umn.edu with your questions or ideas.