Good free (or really cheap) system to poll an audience while lecturing?
July 16, 2013 12:13 PM Subscribe
Does anyone know of a good site or software that is free or cheap that lets you: 1) Ask a poll or multiple choice question during lecture and, perhaps, in the next slide, populate a graph with the results?
Again, thanks in advance for any good links here.
I appreciate any feedback. I can google this question, yes, but I wanted to know of something effective. I was at a conference and loved that a lecturer broke seamlessly while in slide and was able to query the audience on subject topics. I'd seen it before via "clickers"and I was at an association conference so I figured the online one (you logged into your smartphone, navigated to the webpage and answered the question) might be $$ also. I also saw one where you could SMS the answer but would rather not want to subject the class to text charges or exposing their phone to a security breach.
I appreciate any feedback. I can google this question, yes, but I wanted to know of something effective. I was at a conference and loved that a lecturer broke seamlessly while in slide and was able to query the audience on subject topics. I'd seen it before via "clickers"and I was at an association conference so I figured the online one (you logged into your smartphone, navigated to the webpage and answered the question) might be $$ also. I also saw one where you could SMS the answer but would rather not want to subject the class to text charges or exposing their phone to a security breach.
Best answer: I've seen this before at conferences, too, and presenters used PollEverywhere. It just puts a text number up at the top, you get a poll-specific code, and then people text that and their answer to the number. A lot of people have unlimited texting now, and the company's privacy/security policy seems decent.
posted by stellaluna at 12:45 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by stellaluna at 12:45 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Socrative is the best of the free options in my opinion
posted by rmless at 1:44 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by rmless at 1:44 PM on July 16, 2013
I've used Turning Point software and keypads a few times and thought it worked great. I borrowed the system, though, so I don't know about cost.
posted by Empidonax at 2:25 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by Empidonax at 2:25 PM on July 16, 2013
You can rent the dedicated ARS (audience response systems) with keypads from AV companies like mine. It is pretty expensive to buy the dedicated hardware/software combinations. We really want to send a trained technician to use our equipment, and while our system is based on Powerpoint add-ons, we'd really prefer that your presentation be on another machine, and there be switching between the computers.
PollAnywhere is an online type of ARS which we've operated. Not bad - it has web and SMS access, and pretty charts. It does, however, depend on WiFi being free to attendees or cellular data service working in the conference room. We don't recommend it for this reason. There are far too many venues that want hundreds of dollars per user on their WiFi and far too many venues which have crap cell service. Any online service suffers from this. PollAnywhere also wants a separate computer for poll management - while the results can end up in your presentations' slides, you can't manage things from within your presentation. For obvious reasons, your presentation computer will need internet access too.
No matter what type of system you use, you'll want to make sure you get your questions and answers input well before your presentation.
Interestingly enough, while there are several dedicated systems out there, most of them are using Reply Technologies (Fleetwood) keypad transmitters and receivers. They are integrators which write software.
I can probably help you with what a rental might cost if you PM me the details.
posted by tomierna at 7:58 PM on July 16, 2013
PollAnywhere is an online type of ARS which we've operated. Not bad - it has web and SMS access, and pretty charts. It does, however, depend on WiFi being free to attendees or cellular data service working in the conference room. We don't recommend it for this reason. There are far too many venues that want hundreds of dollars per user on their WiFi and far too many venues which have crap cell service. Any online service suffers from this. PollAnywhere also wants a separate computer for poll management - while the results can end up in your presentations' slides, you can't manage things from within your presentation. For obvious reasons, your presentation computer will need internet access too.
No matter what type of system you use, you'll want to make sure you get your questions and answers input well before your presentation.
Interestingly enough, while there are several dedicated systems out there, most of them are using Reply Technologies (Fleetwood) keypad transmitters and receivers. They are integrators which write software.
I can probably help you with what a rental might cost if you PM me the details.
posted by tomierna at 7:58 PM on July 16, 2013
Earlier today I ran into a blog post by somebody who's using Top Hat for polling during lectures.
This is not a recommendation. I've never used it, and I'm not a college professor. It apparently costs $20 per student and assumes they all have smartphones.
(Please note that for students who don't own smartphones and rely entirely on what they earn through work study to cover living expenses, these requirements may mean they can't take your class, or will flunk it if they can't cough up the money for a phone that will run the software.)
posted by nangar at 8:59 PM on July 16, 2013
This is not a recommendation. I've never used it, and I'm not a college professor. It apparently costs $20 per student and assumes they all have smartphones.
(Please note that for students who don't own smartphones and rely entirely on what they earn through work study to cover living expenses, these requirements may mean they can't take your class, or will flunk it if they can't cough up the money for a phone that will run the software.)
posted by nangar at 8:59 PM on July 16, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by seemoreglass at 12:36 PM on July 16, 2013