Project Overview
I built Live Class Poll for friends who are teachers as well as for my personal use in workshops and classes I teach because I was tired of guessing at how engaged students were in class. You know that awkward moment when you ask "any questions?" and get nothing but crickets? This fixes that.
The whole idea came from working with music production courses where instructors needed to quickly gauge what students were thinking about a track or get feedback on creative work. Instead of awkward hand-raising or trying to get everyone to speak up, now you can just throw up a poll and instantly see what everyone's thinking.
What makes it work is how simple it is—students don't need to create accounts or download anything. They just scan a QR code and vote. Teachers can set it up in seconds and everyone can immediately see results flowing in. It scales from small studio classes to big lecture halls, but it never feels overwhelming or complicated to use.
Key Features
⚡ Instant Poll Creation
- Create multiple choice, free text, or song link polls in under 30 seconds
- Three poll types to cover different classroom scenarios
- No complex setup or configuration required
📱 Zero-Friction Student Experience
- Students scan QR code to join—no accounts, no downloads, no barriers
- Mobile-first design that works perfectly on any device
- Anonymous participation encourages honest feedback
🔴 Real-time Results
- Watch responses flow in live as students vote
- Dynamic bar charts and live counters for instant feedback
- Results update instantly across all connected devices
⏱️ Smart Timer Controls
- Start countdown timers to create urgency and focus
- Students see remaining time to encourage participation
- Perfect for keeping class momentum going
🎵 Music-Specific Features
- Song link polls with built-in upvoting for music classes
- Students can submit Spotify/YouTube links and vote on favorites
- Great for playlist creation and music discovery sessions
📊 Dashboard & Export
- Simple instructor dashboard to manage all your polls
- Export results to CSV for grading or analysis
- Track engagement across multiple classes and sessions
🔒 Privacy-First Design
- Students remain completely anonymous
- Only instructor email is stored for account management
- No student data collection or tracking
Technical Architecture
Built with modern web technologies for reliability and speed:
- Next.js 15 with App Router for fast, responsive performance
- InstantDB for real-time data synchronization without the complexity
- Magic-link authentication for instructors (students don't need to sign in)
- Mobile-first responsive design with Tailwind CSS
Impact and Problem Solved
Live Class Poll eliminates the participation gap that kills classroom engagement. By removing every possible barrier to student feedback, it transforms quiet classrooms into interactive learning environments.
Engagement Benefits:
- Turns silent classes into participatory discussions
- Gives introverted students a voice without public speaking pressure
- Provides instant pulse-checks on student understanding
Teacher Experience:
- Set up polls faster than writing on a whiteboard
- Get real data instead of guessing at comprehension
- Keep classes moving with live feedback loops
Student Experience:
- Participate anonymously without fear of judgment
- Use their own devices in a productive way
- See how their opinions compare to classmates in real-time
I've used this in everything from intimate songwriting workshops to large lecture halls, and it consistently transforms the energy in the room. When students can participate without raising their hands or speaking up, you discover there are way more opinions and ideas than you realized. Plus, seeing those results update live creates this cool collaborative momentum that keeps everyone engaged.
The feedback from teacher friends has been great—they love how it makes their classes feel more interactive without adding complexity to their workflow.