PointSolutions desktop app overview

The PointSolutions desktop app allows you to ask polling questions in a PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint Polling), on top of any presentation tool in class (Anywhere Polling), in person or remotely via Zoom. It also has the ability to administer in-class exams on paper, where students mark answers in PointSolutions rather than a scantron or paper test (Self-Paced Polling).

When you launch the PointSolutions app and log in to your account, you’ll be taken to the PointSolutions Dashboard. There are three tabs at the top of the Dashboard: Polling, Content, and Manage. The Polling tab is where you select a polling feature and begin polling; it’s the default tab on the Dashboard. The Content tab is where you import, create and/or edit the content—questions for polling. The Manage tab is where you manage the course roster, review or edit session files, manage your polling data, run reports and upload the results to WebCampus.

PointSolutions desktop app dashboard. The three tabs (Polling, Content and Manage), the three polling options (PowerPoint Polling, Anywhere Polling and Self-Paced Polling) and the Enable Mobile Responses button are all highlighted.

[Figure 1] A screenshot of the PointSolutions desktop app dashboard. The three tabs (Polling, Content and Manage), the three polling options (PowerPoint Polling, Anywhere Polling and Self-Paced Polling) and the Enable Mobile Responses button are all highlighted.

There are three polling features: PowerPoint Polling, Anywhere Polling and Self-Paced Polling.

PowerPoint Polling is the most frequently used as polling is seamlessly integrated with PowerPoint Presentations. It allows you to add polling/quiz questions to new or existing PowerPoint presentations. Clicking “Start now” under PowerPoint Polling opens Microsoft PowerPoint, where you will find a PointSolutions ribbon (PC version). For Mac users, Point Solutions appears as a floating bar in Microsoft PowerPoint. There you can insert polling questions between the existing presentation slides.

Anywhere Polling can accomplish a similar polling experience if you do not use PowerPoint for your lecture. With Anywhere Polling, you can create a list of questions in advance or ask on-the-fly questions in class. It can be used on top of any content, including webpages and videos.

Self-Paced Polling turns traditional paper-pencil/scantron exams into paper-PointSolutions exams. Students use the PointSolutions mobile app to enter responses to the exam questions. It eliminates the need of using scantrons and also allows for randomization of questions/answers.

For more information on using the PointSolutions desktop app, refer to the instructions on the PointSolutions for Faculty page or email ODL (odl@unr.edu) to schedule a one-on-one training.