Facilitation & Conversations

How students access Polaris

Each small group needs one student to act as the host. The host runs the recording from their own device, and everyone else joins the same session from theirs.

Polaris is fully browser-based, so any device with a microphone works: Chromebook, laptop, phone, or tablet. There's nothing to install. The host opens the listening session link, claims the host role, and shares the room code with the rest of the group. The other students go to the same link, select the room code from the dropdown, and they're in. Once the group is connected, the host walks through the prompts and the conversation runs from there.

Running the conversation

For a printable version of the tips below, see the Polaris Education facilitator guide (PDF). Hosts and students often find it useful to keep open on the table while the conversation is running.

Monitoring the session as an adult

If you're the adult in the room, you can watch every group's progress from your own device in Polaris. The dashboard shows which groups are recording, which are still on which question, and which have submitted. You don't have to listen in or interrupt. The dashboard is there so you can spot a group that's stuck or that finished early and step over if they want help.

To open it, head to the Listening Portal from your dashboard and click Monitor on the active session.