iClicker Cloud is an online student response system that allows you to ask questions during a class session for students to answer using their computer or mobile device. When students answer questions, you receive their responses instantly and can use them to inform your teaching and/or share the results with the class. iClicker Cloud poll and quiz results can also be set up to send outcomes to the Canvas Gradebook.
There is no cost for you or your students to use iClicker Cloud. Students can participate and respond in their web browser or on the mobile app. The student version of iClicker Cloud is called iClicker Student.
| Access | You can access iClicker Cloud from your computer as soon as you install iClicker Cloud and create an account. You can also use this account to log in to the iClicker Cloud web interface. | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free. | |
| Bandwidth | Low demand on internet connections. | |
| Canvas Integration | Works in coordination with Canvas but must be manually enabled. | |
| Privacy | Complies with UBC’s privacy requirements. | |
| Similar UBC-Supported Tools | N | iClicker Cloud is the only centrally supported student response system. However, other tools for polls and surveys are also centrally supported. |
What can I use it for?
You can use iClicker Cloud for a variety of activities, whether your course is online, in person, or hybrid:
- Checking student understanding and opinions in real time through polls and quizzes
- Gathering student responses anonymously for participation points or as graded assessments for marks
- Finding gaps in overall understanding of course material
- Supporting peer instruction, where students answer a question, discuss it in small groups, and answer again
- Tracking attendance for a class session
- Giving students access to polls and quizzes to study with outside of class sessions
A note about iClicker Cloud
Some iClicker Cloud reports and instructor views (e.g., Class History export) may include student email addresses or email aliases. Please note that these emails are provided solely for reviewing iClicker Cloud activity and should not be used for messaging or any other purpose. You can contact us at the LT Hub if you have questions about the intended use of these reports.
This tool guide was last reviewed in November 2025 with version 7.2.0 of iClicker Cloud.
What do I need to use iClicker Cloud?
The iClicker Cloud application
Although you may use either the iClicker Cloud application or the iClicker Cloud web interface for setting up, you will have to install the application on your computer to collect student responses during your class sessions.
A way to display your questions on screen
iClicker Cloud lets you display the questions on your screen during a class session in whatever format you like. Many instructors use slides to display questions. However, iClicker Cloud does not require using any particular application to display questions—students just need a way to see what question to respond to.
Tips
- Students are not required to download or install an application to respond to questions in iClicker Cloud. They can answer questions directly on the iClicker Cloud web interface for students, but they also have the option to download the iClicker Student mobile app if they prefer.
How do I use iClicker Cloud?
You will need to download the application, set up an instructor account, create an iClicker Cloud course, and (optionally) associate that course with a Canvas course to get started. After you are finished setting up, you can run class sessions in your iClicker Cloud course to ask questions (presented as polls or quizzes) and track attendance.
Click any accordion bar below for instructions and tips on using iClicker Cloud.
Install iClicker Cloud and create an account
- Go to the iClicker Cloud download page and click either Windows or Mac to download the application, depending on which system you use.
- Follow the prompts to install the application.
- Open iClicker Cloud, ignore the prompt to sign in, and click Create Account.
- Type "University of British Columbia" as your primary institution and choose University of British Columbia from the drop-down.
- Select your respective primary role from the drop-down (Instructor or Teaching Assistant) and click Next.
- Enter the rest of your information.
- Note that to have iClicker Cloud and Canvas work together, your email needs to match the default email for your Canvas account.
- You can skip the "Instructor Remote ID" field, as UBC no longer supports physical iClicker remotes.
- Once you are ready, agree to the Privacy Notice / Terms of Use and the treatment of personal information, then click Create Account.
- You now have an account and are ready to create a course.
Tips
- You may also create an account using the iClicker Cloud web interface for instructors. Once you are on the web interface, you may start from Step 3 of this accordion.
- You can use this same account to test iClicker Cloud as a student. From your web browser, log in to the iClicker Cloud web interface for students (known as iClicker Student) with the same email and password as your instructor account.
- Students need to set up their own accounts to use iClicker Cloud if they do not already have a pre-existing account. Please let them know this in advance of the class session, so they are prepared once the class begins.
- If your Mac device is running macOS Catalina (10.15) or newer, you will need to adjust your settings before running iClicker Cloud. Specifically, you will need to enable screen recording in your device's "Security & Privacy" settings.
Create a course in iClicker Cloud
Courses in iClicker Cloud are used only for collecting student responses to polls and quizzes and tracking attendance. This interface is not where you will create questions; you can create and display questions using a different application (e.g., PowerPoint) of your choice.
If you teach multiple sections, you can create a separate iClicker Cloud course for each section or use one iClicker course for all sections. If you choose the former, refer to the instructions for setting up a multi-section Canvas course on iClicker. Your approach should ideally match how the course sections are set up in Canvas.
- Open the iClicker Cloud application and sign in, if you have not already.
- If you do not have the application or an account, follow the instructions to install iClicker Cloud and create an account first.
- Click Create, and then click Course.
- Select the course type:
- Click Full Course if you would like access to all iClicker activities. There is no extra cost for your students when choosing this option, as UBC's license covers their use of the tool.
- Click Attendance Only if you will use iClicker only to track attendance.
- Your institution will be filled in based on what you entered when you created your account. Please ensure this field still says "University of British Columbia".
- Enter the rest of the information for your course.
- Click Create. Your new course will appear in your list of courses.
Tips
- An iClicker Cloud poll is answered one question at a time, whereas a quiz is a collection of multiple-choice questions that students submit answers to all at once. Polls are more commonly used in lectures, as they offer more variety in question types and scoring.
- Before your class session, we recommend learning more about the scoring defaults for iClicker Cloud polls and iClicker Cloud quizzes in your course. You can change the scoring defaults ahead of time to ensure that questions will be scored as desired.
- Teaching assistants (TAs) can help you facilitate iClicker Cloud activities. Once you add TAs to your iClicker Cloud course, they can run class sessions through the iClicker Cloud application and manage the course results through the iClicker Cloud instructor web interface.
- Once your course passes its end date in iClicker Cloud, it becomes archived, meaning it will no longer appear in student searches and cannot be joined. However, students who have already added the course to their iClicker accounts will continue to have access to the content.
Sync an iClicker Cloud course with a Canvas course
Syncing between your iClicker Cloud course and Canvas course means linking the courses together so grades can be sent from iClicker Cloud to Canvas. You will need to repeat this syncing process each time you would like to connect an iClicker Cloud course to a Canvas course.
- Log in to the iClicker Cloud instructor web interface and click your course name.
- Click Settings in the sidebar navigation.
- Click the Integrations tab, click Connect to Canvas, and then click Go to Canvas.
- If prompted, log in to Canvas with your UBC CWL (Campus-Wide Login).
- iClicker will request authorization. Click Authorize for iClicker to have access to your account.
- You will be brought back to the iClicker Cloud web interface, where you will see a list of the Canvas courses that you teach. Select the course you would like to link and click Next.
- Select the section(s) you wish to add to your course and click Connect.
- If you have multiple sections to set up that should all point to one Canvas course, follow the instructions for setting up a multi-section Canvas course on iClicker.
- Click Sync Roster Now to complete the integration. Syncing may take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the size of your Canvas roster.
- If your students already have their Canvas account linked to their iClicker account, they will be enrolled automatically in this iClicker Cloud course. A popup confirmation will appear detailing information about who has and has not been successfully added. Click Close to complete the course sync.
- A student whose enrollment is pending can mean one of two things: the student either has not added their UBC student number to their iClicker account or has added the same student number to multiple iClicker accounts. If you see a pending status, tell the students to check how they have set up their accounts.
- You will be brought back to the "Integrations" tab. Under "Grade Sync Settings," confirm your selection for the following:
- Decide if you would like to send iClicker grades to Canvas as a combined activity score (i.e., a single Canvas Gradebook column for all activities) or as individual activity scores (i.e., Canvas Gradebook columns for each individual activity).
- Decide if columns should include total points, performance points only, participation points only, or both performance and participation points (as separate columns).
- Decide if students with no iClicker responses should receive a zero or an empty grade in the Canvas Gradebook.
- Click Save.
- If you need to run the course sync again (e.g., after any students have updated their iClicker accounts with their UBC student number, after the add/drop deadline), you can do so by following these steps:
- Log in to the iClicker Cloud instructor web interface and click your course name.
- Click People in the sidebar navigation.
- Click Sync Roster.
Tips
- You do not have to sync iClicker Cloud and Canvas if you would like to collect grades outside of Canvas or not collect grades at all. iClicker Cloud also has a built-in gradebook that you can use.
- After syncing iClicker Cloud and Canvas, you can also sync student attendance. In the iClicker Cloud web interface, click your course name, click "Attendance" on the left menu, and click "Sync Attendance". You may view synced attendance records in "Grades" on the synced Canvas course.
- Instructors must sync their iClicker Cloud course and their Canvas course before TAs can send grades from iClicker Cloud to Canvas. TAs do not have permission to sync courses.
- Common causes and resolutions for syncing errors include the following:
- A student does not have an iClicker account or has not correctly added their UBC student number to their account. Tell your students to ensure that they have created an iClicker account and have added their student number. You can then run the course roster sync again using Step 11 of this accordion.
- A student in your iClicker Cloud course has dropped the course and is no longer in your Canvas course. In this case, you can remove a student from your iClicker Cloud course.
- If your course is set to self-enroll, a student who has enrolled with multiple iClicker Cloud accounts in your course can cause issues.
- Feel free to contact us at the LT Hub for help with resolving any syncing issues. We understand that these issues can be challenging to solve on your own.
Prepare to use iClicker Cloud in a class session
Design questions for your class session
Well-designed questions are key to using iClicker Cloud successfully in a course. Whether your objective is to collect student feedback or to quiz students about terminology or concepts, your questions should be unambiguous and serve a clear purpose related to the course. Well-designed questions will feel like an intrinsic part of the class session—enriching the learning experience for students—rather than having it feel like a point of distraction.
You can use iClicker Cloud questions to facilitate simple and complex learning goals, such as applying concepts in different contexts. Try not to make your questions too easy, so students can learn more from them and have realistic expectations for future assessments. If you need inspiration for your questions, you can refer to the textbook for your course, browse through repositories online, or take note of questions that students frequently ask.
In using iClicker Cloud, consider also the frequency, timing, and follow-up for your questions. The frequency of questions ideally matches their complexity (i.e., higher frequency for lower complexity and vice versa). The timing should allow students to respond and to deal with any potential technical issues that might lengthen their response time. Consider including a follow-up discussion after each question to increase student learning.
Create a way to display your questions on screen
iClicker Cloud lets you display the questions on your screen during a class session in whatever format you like. Many instructors use slides to display the questions. However, iClicker Cloud does not require using any particular application to display questions—students just need a way to see what question to respond to.
Questions need to be displayed for both polls and quizzes. When you start a poll, iClicker Cloud will automatically take a snapshot of what you display on your screen. It will then send this image to students to view when they respond—unless you choose to hide images of iClicker Cloud questions—and store this image for reference when you and your students review the question results. This screen capture feature is not available for quizzes.
Plan your workflow for iClicker Cloud
Using iClicker Cloud during a class session will require opening these applications:
- The application for displaying your questions (e.g., PowerPoint)
- The iClicker Cloud application to collect student responses
- If you are using iClicker Cloud in an online class session, you will also need a web-conferencing application to run your lecture (e.g., Zoom)
It is best to open the first two applications on a single monitor. If the lecture is online, you may find it helpful to use a second monitor to display your web-conferencing application, so you can see participants or monitor the chat.
When the question(s) are displayed to your students, you will use the floating iClicker Cloud toolbar to manually start and stop collecting student responses for each poll (i.e., single question) or quiz (i.e., collection of multiple-choice questions) that you share.
Decide if/when to share correct responses in iClicker Cloud
A "graded" question in iClicker Cloud is one that has a correct response or set of correct responses. If you would like to grade questions, you can do so during a class session by using the iClicker Cloud toolbar to designate the correct response(s) for each question. After students respond to a question, click "Results" and then choose / type the correct response(s). Alternatively, you can set correct responses after a class session.
The benefit of grading during the class session is that students can receive immediate feedback on whether they responded correctly (for polls but not for quizzes, as quiz feedback is only available once the class session ends). The benefit of grading after a class session is that you can focus on discussing the correct response with your students while the class is live and avoid including this step as part of your live workflow.
Even if you do not manually grade your questions using correct responses, iClicker Cloud will still attach a participation point to each question by default. You can adjust the default iClicker Cloud scoring in the course settings.
Test your workflow before class
You can test your iClicker Cloud workflow outside of a class session. Testing your workflow can help you familiarize yourself with both the instructor and student experience and practice switching between applications. The process may sound intimidating initially, but it should become smoother with practice. You can also book a consultation with UBC IT Audio/Visual Helpdesk for assistance with testing your classroom-based workflow.
Tips
- Help your students prepare by telling them how iClicker Cloud will be used in your course and sharing UBC's iClicker Cloud student guide with them. It is best if students set up their iClicker accounts ahead of the first session that you plan to use iClicker Cloud, to troubleshoot any potential technical issues.
- In building your poll questions, you can choose from six iClicker Cloud poll question types:
- Multiple Choice - students select a letter response A-E. While students can only select one response, you can select multiple responses as correct when grading.
- Multiple Answer - students can select multiple letter responses A-E. You can set multiple responses as correct, partially correct, or incorrect.
- Short Answer - students send an open-ended text response of up to 140 characters.
- Formula/Symbol - students respond with open-ended formula-based responses, which can include mathematical expressions and symbols.
- Numeric - students respond with open-ended numeric values, which can include up to eight digits plus a decimal point and can support scientific notation and exponents.
- Target - students answer by clicking or tapping part of an image.
- If you prefer to ask multiple questions at once, use an iClicker Cloud quiz instead of a poll. For a quiz, you will need to display all the questions together (e.g., on one slide) and allow students to answer at their own pace in iClicker Cloud. Please note that quiz questions can only be multiple-choice (A-E).
Use iClicker Cloud during a class session
To use any of the iClicker Cloud live activities (polling, quizzing, attendance), you will first need to start your iClicker Cloud class session.
- Ensure you have followed the steps above to create an iClicker Cloud course and prepare for your class session.
- Open the iClicker Cloud application and sign in, if you have not already.
- Hover over the course name and click Start Class, ideally a few minutes before the class session begins. When you start the class, students will be able to join the class session (although it may take a few minutes), and you will see a moveable floating toolbar appear on your screen.
- Use the floating toolbar to launch the live activities:
- Poll - Once you are displaying a single question for students to answer, click Poll in the toolbar. Select the question type from the drop-down and click the play icon. If prompted, select the window you would like to display in iClicker Cloud and click Select. When you are ready to end the poll, click the stop icon.
- Quiz - Once you are displaying a set of multiple-choice questions for students to answer, click Quiz in the toolbar. Set the number of questions you are asking and the points each question is worth, then click Start Quiz. When you are ready to end the quiz, click the stop icon, then click End Quiz.
- Roster - At any time, click Roster in the toolbar to see an attendance summary of who has joined the iClicker Cloud class session, as well as any students who are absent.
- Groups - Divide the class into groups so members work together to build consensus in answering polls with multiple-choice questions. To use this feature, you will need to create groups before the class session. To start group response collection, click Groups in the toolbar, click Start Groups, click Ready To Poll, and then click the play icon. When you are ready to finish collecting responses, click the stop icon. To end the group activity, click Groups in the toolbar, click End Groups, and then click Yes, End Groups.
- Tools - During your session, click Tools in the toolbar to see Timer for facilitating any classroom activity and Reactions for gathering real-time feedback from your students during a class session.
- Navigate back from any poll, quiz, or roster activity by clicking the back arrow icon on the left side of the toolbar.
- End the class session by clicking End in the toolbar. Then click End Class.
Tips
- Look for more features to appear in the floating toolbar after you choose any of the live activities. Before starting a poll, you may enable anonymous answers and customize the timer. When running the poll, you will have the option to view and grade results at any time. You can also turn on a confidence rating, which allows students to anonymously select how confident they feel about their response. When running a quiz, you will be able to view and grade results. When selecting "Roster" and clicking "Details", you can see which individuals have joined the class and when as well as any who are absent. During group polls, you can still start individual response collection by selecting any question type under “Individual Questions” from the drop-down.
- Add peer instruction to any class session by using iClicker Cloud questions with smaller groups. Have students answer the question initially, spend time discussing it in the smaller groups, then answer the question again and learn the correct answer.
- You can ask any poll question anonymously, if you feel students might feel uncomfortable answering otherwise. This setting means a student's answer is not tied to their identity and cannot be graded, but you can still track whether they answered or not. After selecting Poll, allow anonymity by selecting the "More" icon on the right side of the iClicker Cloud toolbar, then turning the "Anonymous" setting on.
- You can use iClicker Cloud asynchronously outside of class sessions with the iClicker Cloud assignments feature. Students can respond to these assignments in their own time and at their own pace within the availability window you set, using the same iClicker Cloud interface that they use in class.
- At the end of an iClicker Cloud class session, you can choose to export various types of iClicker Cloud reports. These reports include Class History (which contains attendance data and "Exit Polls" responses), Class Roster, Activity Details, and Focus. These reports may include student email addresses or email aliases. Please note that these emails are provided solely for reviewing iClicker Cloud activity and should not be used for messaging or any other purpose. You can contact us at the LT Hub if you have questions about the intended use of these reports.
- If you wish to conduct polling only once throughout your course, you may create an Event instead of a Course on iClicker Cloud. Events also allow students to participate without creating an iClicker Cloud account.
Grade questions and view results from an iClicker Cloud class session
A "graded" question in iClicker Cloud is one that has a correct response or correct set of responses. You can either grade questions (i.e., set the correct responses) during the class session or follow the steps below to grade questions and view the results after a class session.
- After your class session ends, log in to the iClicker Cloud instructor web interface and click your course name. You will see a history of activities you have run in the course.
- Select the activity you wish to grade or view.
- Follow the instructions based on which type of activity you ran:
- If you have made changes to grades, you will need to follow the steps in the next accordion section to send those grades to Canvas.
Tips
- Rather than grade later, you can grade responses during a class session using the iClicker Cloud floating toolbar. Look for the "Results" icon after you start a poll or quiz. Clicking this icon will allow you to set the correct response(s).
- You can also choose to export the "Class History" after a class session ends. The "Class History" export will include the results for polls and quizzes as well as the attendance data and "Exit Poll" responses (if you have a poll set up).
Send iClicker Cloud grades to your Canvas course
If you are syncing your iClicker Cloud course with a Canvas course, you will need to manually send iClicker Cloud grades to Canvas, either after each class session or all together at the end of the term.
- Log in to the iClicker Cloud instructor web interface and click your course name.
- Click Gradebook in the sidebar navigation.
- Click Sync Grades.
- You will only see this sync option if you have linked your iClicker Cloud course with your Canvas course. Follow the instructions for syncing iClicker Cloud with Canvas, if you have not already.
- Select the activities you would like to send to Canvas, then click Sync. The synchronization may take a few minutes. Once completed, the grades will immediately be visible to you and your students in the Canvas Gradebook.
- If you adjust any grades for any activities in iClicker Cloud, you will need to repeat these steps to send your changes to Canvas.
Tips
- You can also export iClicker Cloud grades. Download these files in iClicker’s default format or in a file that is pre-formatted for uploading to Canvas later.
- If you do not manually grade your questions (i.e., set the correct responses), by default iClicker Cloud will still attach a participation point to each one. You can adjust these defaults and more by managing your iClicker Cloud course settings for scoring.
- TAs can send grades from iClicker Cloud to Canvas but cannot sync the iClicker Cloud and Canvas courses. An instructor must complete the course sync before TAs can send grades from iClicker Cloud to Canvas.
iClicker Cloud FAQ
Find UBC-specific answers to frequently asked questions by clicking any accordion bar below.
Please contact us at the LT Hub for assistance in merging duplicate iClicker Cloud accounts for students. You can also refer your students to the iClicker Cloud Student Guide for steps on how to remove their duplicate accounts.
After the iClicker Cloud accounts have been merged, you may have to sync the course roster again for students to see their course in their iClicker accounts. Please view Step 11 of the instructions to sync an iClicker Cloud course with a Canvas course.
Students can try to fix some connection issues themselves using the iClicker troubleshooting tips.
Students can also try several approaches to add an iClicker Cloud course to their account and see their iClicker grades in Canvas. You can refer students to UBC's iClicker Cloud student guide FAQ for ways students can troubleshoot issues with iClicker Cloud.
In June 2023, the LT Hub improved how iClicker Cloud and Canvas work together by switching to a new integration.
The integration automatically adds students enrolled in your Canvas course to your iClicker Cloud course when you sync the courses together. With this automation, you will no longer need students to manually join each iClicker Cloud course. Therefore, you will no longer see the "iClicker Sync" item in your Course Navigation.
Follow the instructions for syncing iClicker Cloud with Canvas, if you have not already. Then, if you would like to add iClicker Cloud to your Canvas Course Navigation, you can do the following:
- Log in to your Canvas course and click Settings in the Course Navigation.
- Click the Navigation tab.
- Find the iClicker Cloud menu item, click the options menu (the 3 vertical dots), and choose Enable.
- Click Save.
If you are running a poll and would like to limit the answering of iClicker Cloud questions to students who are present during the scheduled synchronous class session (in-person or online), you can hide the screenshot images of iClicker Cloud questions from students who are not present. By selecting this setting, only students who are present in the class session will see the questions that you display (e.g., on the classroom projector or shared Zoom screen) and use iClicker Cloud to respond; any students who are absent from the scheduled class session will not see the questions, although they can still use iClicker Cloud to respond if they log in to the tool.
If you are running a quiz, questions will be hidden from students automatically, and all students will need to be present in the class session to see the questions.
Where can I get more support with iClicker Cloud?
Technical support
If you have trouble with iClicker Cloud:
- Contact your faculty’s Instructional Support Unit or appropriate helpdesk as your first point of contact.
- Contact us for further assistance:
604 827 4775 or LT.hub@ubc.ca or visit the LT Hub online.
Pedagogical support
- The UBC Online Teaching Program has a section on student-content interaction (Module 4.3) that covers when classroom-response questions can be useful.
Student support
- Share UBC’s iClicker Cloud student guide with your students.
Learn more
- For more how-to instructions, explore iClicker Cloud’s help documentation for instructors.