Microsoft Forms helps you collect quick, structured responses from students through quizzes, polls and surveys. You can use it to check understanding, gather feedback, collect preferences or organise short asynchronous activities in a format that is easy to share and complete on different devices. Because responses are summarised automatically and can be reviewed immediately or exported for further analysis, Forms can support both quick classroom insight and more systematic follow-up over time. It is best suited to short, accessible and relatively structured activities rather than more complex assessment designs with elaborate question formats or extended case-based responses.
- Functions
- Data analysis | Quiz / quick check | Survey / data collection
- Via Canvas
- Standalone
- Difficulty of use
- Easy to use
Examples of use in your education
Use Microsoft Forms when you want to check understanding quickly during or around a teaching session.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Entry or exit checks - Use a short quiz or poll at the start or end of a session to see what students already know or what they are taking away.
Live polling - Use Forms during class to gather immediate responses to a question, example or prompt when you want to make student thinking visible across the group.
Low-stakes knowledge checks - Create short quizzes when students need to test their understanding of key concepts, terms or factual material.
Preparation tasks - Use short quizzes before a seminar or tutorial so students arrive with some prior engagement with the topic.
Tip 1
Use Forms for short, focused checks with one clear purpose, such as testing one concept, one set of definitions or one stage of preparation, so the activity remains easy to complete and interpret.
Tip 2
Decide in advance whether you want students to respond live, before class or afterwards, because the same form can support different teaching purposes depending on when students complete it.
Use Microsoft Forms when you want to collect student feedback or responses in a structured way and use the results to adjust your teaching.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Ongoing course feedback - Use a short form after a class or at a midpoint in the course to ask what helped students, what remains unclear and what may need more attention while there is still time to respond.
Project feedback - Invite students to respond to a presentation, poster session or group project through a structured feedback form when you want feedback on student work rather than on the course itself.
Response overview - Use the built-in summaries and charts to see how students responded to a feedback form and identify a few patterns that are worth following up in class.
Teaching adjustments - Use the results to decide which concepts need more explanation, which examples worked well or where additional support may be needed.
Tip 1
Keep feedback forms short by using only a few focused questions, for example one or two multiple-choice items and one open question, so students are more likely to respond and you are more likely to use the results.
Tip 2
Tell students how their feedback will be used and return to key outcomes afterwards, so feedback collection feels consequential rather than routine.
Use Microsoft Forms when you want students to move through a short activity in a structured way or when not all questions are relevant to everyone.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Targeted question paths - Use branching when different follow-up questions should appear depending on a student’s earlier response.
Differentiated surveys - Use conditional questions when some prompts are only relevant to certain students, groups or experiences.
Step-based activities - Organise questions in sections when you want students to move through a task in a clear order.
Simple self-checks Build short guided checks in which students move through a small decision path that matches their answers, for example when they need a short follow-up route rather than one single fixed question set.
Tip 1
Plan the purpose of the response path first, for example deciding who should see which question and why, before setting up the branching itself.
Tip 2
Preview the form yourself before sharing it with students, especially when you use sections or branching, so you can confirm that the activity flow works as intended.
Use Microsoft Forms when you need to collect practical course input in a simple and structured way.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Topic preferences - Use Forms to collect topic choices, project preferences or other course-related selections from students in a way that is easy to review afterwards.
Sign-up responses - Use a form to collect practical responses such as preferred presentation moments, supervision interests or simple participation choices.
Named responses - Use forms with identified responses when you need to connect practical choices or follow-up actions to individual students.
Asynchronous completion - Share the form outside class when students need time to make a choice or respond individually rather than answering on the spot.
Tip 1
Be clear about what students are choosing or signing up for and what will happen with their response afterwards, so the form supports real coordination rather than just information collection.
Tip 2
Make the response deadline explicit when the form matters for preparation, participation or organisation, so students know when and why they are expected to respond.
How-to videos
How to get started with Microsoft Forms
How to create quizzes using Microsoft Forms
How to use NEW features in Microsoft Forms
Getting started
- You can find all the relevant information on the official site of Microsoft Forms.
Support
In case of educational questions, please contact your learning innovator or web team from your faculty.
In case of technical difficulty, please consult the Microsoft Forms Help Centre.
