Poll System: Tutorial

To log into your account, you need to enter your BC email and your Poll System password.

Every semester, your instructor creates a Poll System account for each student a few days before the term begins, so you don't need to register on the website.

Your BC email always starts with: first.lastXX, where first is your first name, last is the last name, and XX are the last 2 digits of your CUNY EMPLID, and ends with: @bcmail.cuny.edu.

For your convenience, the email textbox is pre-populated with @bcmail.cuny.edu, as shown above.

Your Poll System password contains 30 characters (symbols).

This password is created by your instructor, and you can change it whenever you want.

Note: The Poll System password is NOT the one you use to check your BC email, nor is it your CUNYfirst password.

Back on the login page, type the prefix of your email (in the case of the example, jane.doe32) in the Email textbox.

Then, paste the copied password using Ctrl+V (or Cmnd+V on Mac) into the Password textbox, as we did above.

To ensure that the password was copied correctly, you can click on the       button to reveal the password's characters. Try this out now by clicking       a few times above!

If you forget what email and password to type, you can always hover over or tap on the? information buttons. They'll remind you of what we explained. Try this out now by hovering over or tapping the? buttons above!

Alternatively, you can click on the Forgot Email? or Forgot Password? links at the bottom of the login page to see 3 ways of recalling the email address or resetting the password, respectively.

Before we finally log in, keep in mind that another way to access this tutorial is by clicking Tutorial or reading more about the Poll System website by clicking About.

Click on Enter below to log into the account:

Above is an example of a multiple-choice question and its 4 answer choices.

The topic of a real poll question will directly connect to the class's material, and the question will have 2 to 4 answer choices (most likely 4.)

The Status of a poll tells you whether you answered the poll already or not, and, if yes, which answer choice you selected.

The current status indicates that the poll above hasn't been answered yet.

A poll will usually be due several minutes after its posting by the instructor, and you have to respond to the poll before that time.

Note: If no response is submitted, or if you attempt to submit it after the due time, no grade will be received for the poll (more on grading shortly.)

We are ready to answer the poll question!

Clicking on an answer choice will automatically submit the answer. There is no 'Submit' button, which should make your life easier and let you submit answers faster.

The 1st human landed on the Moon in 1969, so click on the 1969 answer above to submit the poll.

You can recognize that an answer was submitted by seeing that:

1. The submitted answer's button is colored maroon, and
2. The status message shows a green checkmark ✓ and shows the # of the answer choice that was submitted.

Note: The green checkmark above does NOT imply that the submitted answer is the correct one; it just tells if your response went through.

You can re-submit the poll as many times as you want/need as long as it isn't due yet.

The most recent answer you submit will become your final response to the poll (and is the one that will be graded.)

The? information button above reminds you of these 2 facts.

Since we answered the poll, let's go to the main menu of the account. Click on the Main Menu button below to open the main menu.

If you just responded to a poll, and it is still ongoing, you'll see the Ongoing Poll button at the top of the main menu.

It lets you return to the active poll if you want to submit a different answer, etc.

Click on the refresh button above to check if the poll ended already.

(You can always use the refresh button also to check if new polls appear.)

Since we don't see the Ongoing Poll button anymore, we understand the poll is over.

Click the Past Polls button above to check out the results of the poll and correct answer.

Some pages will display framed notes.

Pay attention to these since they are intended to improve your class or academic performance.

Each of the past poll questions is shown below the notes, with the most recent poll displayed at the top.

Read the symbol Legend using the ? above, and then try clicking each of the 4 blue symbols next to the question below to see what each one conveys.

Using the button, you can print the Past Polls page or save it to your computer as a PDF file.

Click on Main Menu above to return to the main menu.

We're back to the menu.

Click on Poll Grades above to view the grades of past polls.

This summary shows the # of polls given so far, the # of polls you should submit this semester to get full Participation grade (more polls than that will be assigned,) and how extra credit is calculated.

You must be present at the lecture when a poll is given to get a grade for the poll.

In case of an excused absence, you will be assigned a full grade for the missed polls (so no worries!)

To receive an excuse, you must email the instructor and present a document confirming the excuse (doctor's note, PCR test results, etc.)

Your Participation grades depends on the # of polls you submitted.

The good news is that you get a full grade for a poll even if your answer is not the correct one!

Well, what happens if you do get the correct answer? You get extra credit!

The extra credit is computed based on the # of polls you answered correctly, and it can grow up to 5 points. These points will be added to your course grade.

Click on Main Menu below to return to the main menu.

Click now on Attendance above to see attendance information.

This page tells on what lecture or exam days you were present, excused, or absent. If attendance is a part of the final grade, the details in this table will be used to calculate your score for this component.

Click Main Main to return to the menu.

Click now on My Info above to see this page's content.

This Info Page is here for your reference. If you wish to change your first or last name in the system, please contact your instructor.

Click Main Main above.

Click on Settings above to access available account settings.

The only currently existing Settings include changing your account's password. Click on Change Password above to view the initial steps of changing the password.

To change the password, one should fill out the captcha text, click the Submit button, and follow the instructions that are sent to one's bcmail address.

You can change your password whenever you want.

Click on Back to Settings above to return.

Click Main Menu.

Click on About to view how the About page of the website is structured.

This About page is the same as the one accessible through the login page. It talks about the website's purpose, how the idea to create it formed, and lists some relevant privacy rules. Read it if you want.

Click Main Menu.

You reviewed the entire website! Click Log Out above to log out of the account and see the tutorial's outro.