PointSolutions (formerly TurningPoint) Audience Response Systems

PowerPoint polling can also be conducted via the TurningPoint Web app. While polling through the web app gives you access to fewer polling features and types of questions than the desktop app, it has a simpler workflow and uploads session data directly to your online instructor account.

To create PowerPoint polls using TurningPoint Web, you will need to have the TurningPoint Web app installed on your computer. To get the app installed on your work computer, your best bet is to put in a ticket with IS on the MCPHS Service Now platform. On a home computer, it can be downloaded by logging in to your account at https://instructor.turningtechnologies.com and then clicking on the "download" icon at the top right of your screen (see image below.)

The app is also available through VMWare from the myMCPHS Faculty Desktop.

Follow the steps below to add polling slides to your PowerPoint presentations using TurningPoint Web:

1. Make sure PowerPoint is closed.
2. Open the TurningPoint Web app on your computer
3. Click Sign-in (at the top right of the opening screen) and then sign in with your MCPHS credentials via SSO.
   
4. Once you are signed in, click on the “Start Now” button under “PowerPoint polling” on the left side of the opening screen.
   
5. The TurningPoint Web window will close and PowerPoint should open automatically to a blank presentation. If you would prefer to work with an existing PowerPoint presentation, you can open it now, but make sure not to close the blank presentation first. Check to see that the TurningPoint tab is selected from the PowerPoint ribbon at the top right of your presentation.
   
6. Once you have the presentation you want to work with open, you can start adding content to your slides by clicking on the “New” button (A in the image below) and then selecting a question type from the drop-down menu that appears (B).
   
7. This will add a new slide to your presentation like the Multiple Choice question seen below.
   
8. For multiple choice questions, you can get started by editing the question prompt where it says “Enter Question Text here” (A in the image above), and then editing the bulleted list to create the answer options you need (B.)
9. Once you’ve entered your question and answers, you may want to edit the properties for your question by using the Question Options panel on the right side of your PowerPoint window. Here you will see options for making your poll anonymous, allowing multiple responses, and assigning point values for responses. You will also see a set of check boxes (highlighted in the image below) where you can set the correct answers from the options you created in your poll question.
   
10. You can continue adding as many polling slides as needed throughout your presentation. Please note that the properties options may differ for different question types.

Follow the steps below to run a PowerPoint Poll using TurningPoint Web:

1. Make sure all PowerPoint windows are closed.
2. Open the TurningPoint Web app.
3. Click Sign-in (at the top right of the opening screen) and then sign in with your MCPHS credentials via SSO. (If you are on a classroom PC, when you see the prompt asking "Allow TurningPoint to remember my login credentials?", be sure to click "No.")
   
4. Once you are signed in, click on the “Start Now” button under “PowerPoint polling” on the left side of the opening screen.
   
5. A blank PowerPoint will open up. Without closing the blank presentation, open the PowerPoint presentation with your polling slides. Then make sure the TurningPoint tab is selected from the PowerPoint ribbon at the top.
   
6. To start your mobile session, look for the set of controls on the TurningPoint Tab labeled “Polling.” Before starting your session, make sure the dropdown menu is set to “Live.”
   
7. Next, click on the smartphone icon labelled “Connect.”
   
8. You will be prompted to set up a Mobile Response session (see the dialog box below). You will need to select a course to associate your session with before starting, which you can do by clicking the caret next to where it says "Select a course" and picking one of the classes you added from your Blackboard account.
   
9. Once a course is selected, click on the checkbox labelled "Enforce Roster" (A in the image below) and then click the "Start" button at the bottom of the dialog box (B).
   
10. You should see a dialog box labeled “Mobile Responses” like the one below. Take note of the Session ID # as this is what students will need to participate in your session.
    
11. At this point you can return to your PowerPoint presentation. To run your presentation with polling, start the slide show, either from the “Slide Show” tab at the top or just by clicking the slide show icon at the bottom right of your PowerPoint window (see image below).
    
12. Click through your slide show like your normally would for any PowerPoint presentation. When you get to one of your PointSolutions slides, you should see a control appear at the top right of your slide like the one pictured below, with a counter for responses and a polling indicator with green or red text.
    
13. When you first advance to a polling slide, the indicator will be green and say “Polling Open.” At this point your poll question is open and you can collect responses as long as this screen is up.
14. Once you’ve collected all your responses, advance to the next screen on your presentation. This will stop polling and should, depending on the setting for the slide, display a chart (like the one you see below) summarizing the poll's results.
    
15. You can continue on with your presentation at this point, following the same steps for each polling slide.
16. When your presentation is complete, return to the TurningPoint tab on your PowerPoint and click on the “Save” button now visible in the polling controls.
    
17. Before the session closes you will see a dialog box like the one below, giving you a chance to rename the session data that will be saved to your PointSolutions online account. If you don't rename the file, it will just save with the file named for the date and time the session ended. Please note: unlike the desktop app, there is no need to save the file locally. Click "Finish" to exit back PowerPoint. You can now close PowerPoint. TurningPoint Web should close on its own.
    

Results of your TurningPoint Web polling sessions can be viewed through your PointSolutions online account by taking the following steps:

1. Log in to your instructor account at https://instructor.turningtechnologies.com/
2. From the active courses list, select the course you want to view data from.
   
3. From the page for your course, find the series of tabs at the top, and click on the link labeled "Results."
4. This will bring you to the results page. By clicking the "Sessions" tab (circled in the image below) you can access reports from each of your polling sessions.
   
5. Each report for PowerPoint polls will have the questions shown to students and a summary of the answers given in class.
   
6. If your polls are for credit, your session's results can be uploaded by clicking on the "Gradebook" tab on the Results page (see image below.)
   
7. On this page, you will see a list of your sessions with the individual grades for each of your students. To upload these grades to Blackboard, click on the "Export" button toward the top right of your screen, and from the drop-down menu, select "Blackboard."
   
8. This should bring up the dialog box you see below. To select a session to upload, find its name in the box on the left and click on the checkbox next to it.
   
9. Once you have selected a session to upload, it should appear on the list on the right of the dialog box. At that point you can hit the upload button to upload your grades to Blackboard.