How to Run a Live Poll with PINGO

Updated

PINGO lets you run a live poll entirely in a browser: you ask a question, your audience answers from any internet-connected device, and you view the results. No dedicated client software is needed on either side. This works for higher education lectures and K-12 classrooms, and it is built to handle very large groups.

What you need before you start

  • A browser on your own device to create and display the question.
  • An audience, each person with a device that has internet access (phone, tablet, or laptop).
  • A way to share the question with them — typically by projecting your screen so they can read it.

PINGO's own description states that "everybody with a device that is connected to the internet can take part," so you do not need to distribute or install anything for participants.

Steps to run a poll

1. Ask a question

Create your question in the browser. This is the first of the three steps PINGO describes on its site: Ask a question. Prepare it before the session or type it live, then display it to the audience.

2. Have the audience respond

Tell participants to answer using their internet-connected device. This is step two: The audience responds. Because participation is browser-based, the only instruction they need is how to reach the poll — not how to install an app.

3. View the results

Once responses come in, move to step three: View results. The collected answers are shown to you so you can react to them in the moment — for example, revealing the distribution and then discussing it with the group.

How this fits Peer Instruction

PINGO is described as a classroom-response system and audience-feedback tool for Peer Instruction in very large groups. The three-step flow above maps directly onto that method: pose a question, collect individual answers, then use the results to guide discussion among peers. The large-group design matters because the same browser-based flow does not change as the audience grows — each person still just answers from their own device.

Common points to watch

  • Connectivity is the requirement. Participation depends on devices being connected to the internet. If your venue's network is unreliable, plan for that before the session.
  • No client install is the point. Since everything runs in the browser, you avoid the friction of asking a large group to download software.
  • Keep the three steps in order. Ask, let the audience respond, then view results — the tool is organized around exactly this sequence.

The site does not state pricing or login requirements in the available material, so check those directly on PINGO before relying on it for a specific course.