PowerPoint polling for PC

Creating polling slides in PowerPoint

Launch the PointSolutions (formerly known as TurningPoint) desktop app and click Start now under PowerPoint Polling on the Dashboard. You will be directed to open a new Microsoft PowerPoint file or browse for an existing file. PowerPoint will open with an added PointSolutions ribbon. There are five sections under this ribbon: Content, Participants, Polling, Sessions, Software. Content is where you will create polling slides. You can switch between the standard PowerPoint ribbons and the PointSolutions ribbon to create regular slides and polling slides.

Adding and editing a new polling slide

If you have opened an existing presentation, navigate to the slide where you want to insert a new Polling Slide. Under the PointSolutions ribbon, click New and choose the type of slide you want to insert. For this example, we will choose Multiple Choice. This will insert the polling slide after the slide you have navigated to. Click on Enter Question Text to edit the question, and then Enter Answer Text to enter the answer choices.

After entering the question text and answer choices, click off of the text and the chart will update to match your entries. You can then adjust the settings of the polling slide on the PointSolutions Slide Pane. For example, you can change the Bullet Format (default is A, B, C, D), correct and incorrect point values, chart options, etc.

The Slide Pane can be toggled on or off by clicking Slide Pane on the TurningPoint ribbon under the Content section. Note that the options in the Slide Pane will vary depending on the type of question selected.

Note: From the Slide Pane you can only change the chart labels, values, and colors. If you want to change the chart type, such as a pie chart, you need to open the Objects menu under Content, click Chart, then choose a different type of chart.

Correct Answer Indicator

A Correct Answer Indicator can be added to the slide if applicable. Click Object, mouse over or click on Correct Answer Indicator, and choose an item from the menu. Custom allows you to use a previously saved image from your device.

Note: You must have a correct answer selected in the Slide Panel for the indicator to appear.

Countdown Timer

The Countdown Timer will give your students a limited time to answer your prompt before displaying the results automatically. To add a Countdown Timer to your polling slide, click on Object, mouse over or click on Countdown and choose a timer style from the menu. The timer appears at the right-hand bottom corner of the slide and is 30 seconds long by default. Once you add the timer, it will appear under the Object tab on the Slide Panel, where you can adjust the countdown time. You can also drag the timer to another location on your slide.

Saving the presentation

Your presentation file is only available on the device in which you have it saved, not in the PointSolutions web app. It is important that you save your file either to cloud or network storage (such as Box), a laptop that you plan on using in class or to an external storage device (such as a thumb drive).

Presenting the polling slides in the classroom

Launch the PointSolutions desktop app from your device and click Enable under Mobile Responses to generate a session ID so that students can join the session on their mobile devices. Click the Start Session button to begin the session.

The session ID appears under Mobile Responses. Make sure to share this ID with your students.

Click Start now under PowerPoint Polling to launch Microsoft PowerPoint, and navigate to your presentation file. Before beginning the presentation, reset the polling slides by clicking Reset under Sessions on the PointSolutions ribbon. This will clear out responses from other sessions in which you’ve used the presentation.

You can now begin your presentation by clicking on the Start from Beginning button at the top of the screen, or the Slide Shown button at the bottom. Navigate the presentation as usual, using the keyboard, mouse or a remote.

When you advance to the polling slide, polling automatically opens (there may be a few seconds’ delay) and you will see a bar floating on top of the screen showing the number of responses.

Advancing again will close polling and display the result. Before polling is closed, students can change their answers, and the last answer they entered will be recorded. If you have added a Countdown Timer, the timer won’t start until you advance one more time. Polling will automatically close when the timer expires, and the result will be displayed. Advance again to display the Correct Answer Indicator if you chose to use one.

Saving the data

It is important to always save the session to maintain a record of student participation and responses, even if you are able to export the results and upload to WebCampus right away. To do so, click Save under the Sessions section on the PointSolutions ribbon.

Name the file and save it to your device or cloud location, then close PowerPoint. You will be asked if you want to save the change to the PowerPoint file; click Don’t Save if you plan to re-use the presentation for another class. If you haven’t already saved the session before closing PowerPoint, you will also be prompted to do so.

You will be brought back to the PointSolutions desktop app, where you can then end the session by clicking on the Session ID in the upper right-hand corner and clicking the End Session button.