What is TurningPoint and what do I do with it?

TurningPoint is an Electronic Voting System for use within PowerPoint. It enables you to insert questions into a PowerPoint slide, and by means of a credit card size handset and a USB wireless receiver have your audience respond. At a basic level this could be a Yes/No answer, or a question with a number of options for the class to vote on. The responses are displayed as a percentage against  each answer.
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What do I need?

A PC/laptop with PowerPoint, the TurningPoint software, handsets and receivers.  The software is available for CFS machines from the Optional CFS Software Catalogue  (and can be downloaded free from the TurningPoint website for use on personal/home machines)  AVS stock a number of wireless handsets and receivers for loan to staff.

The School of Biological Sciences also has handsets for loan, and further information about Electronic Voting Systems.

How do I get started?

Ensure that TurningPoint is installed, and open the program. (On a CFS machine look in Start >programs for Turning Technologies>TurningPoint 2008) This launches PowerPoint with the TurningPoint tab.

Have a question and answers prepared. For example "Which river runs through Newhaven in Sussex?" The answer is the Ouse. Have some incorrect answers ready. - Trent, Thames, Nile.

On the TurningPoint tab, click Insert Slide, and for this example, select Vertical Slide

 A new slide appears  with the option to enter Question and answer text, and a percentage column.

Type your question where Enter question text is displayed. Type your first possible answer in 1. Enter answer text and click enter.  A prompt for the second question will appear, and so on. Each possible answer will then be represented by a column in the chart. To the right of the slide a column of Answer values appears.  Enter the appropriate correct/incorrect value.

There are many further options available, for example a correct answer indicator. On the TurningPoint tab click on insert object>correct answer indicator>smiley face. After voting is complete the chosen icon will appear against the correct answer. If necessary you can change the order in which the graphics appear using PowerPoint custom animation.

 

Save the project and  it's ready to test. In the teaching room the handsets and receiver will be required, but you can test your slides without these devices. On the TurningPoint tab, to the right of Tools click on the drop-down menu and select Keyboard Keys 0-9 You can then use the numerical keys 1-9 to answer your question.

Save  the presentation and open it in TurningPoint. You will see at top right of screen that polling is open. As you press the numerical keys (or an audience uses the handsets) responses will be counted.

When voting is finished, mouse click and the chart appears with percentages against each response. Click again, and the correct answer indicator appears.

If you wish to test again you'll need to reset the slide - on the TurningPoint tab click Reset>All Slides

You may download the example slide  used in these instructions.

Important points to consider:

• The presentation is prepared and displayed in TurningPoint. You can view slides in PowerPoint, but to use any of the voting features you must use TurningPoint
• Test your final presentation on the machine you will be using for your talk.
• TurningPoint 2008  Version: 4.0.0.7323  as installed on CFS machines is not compatible with PowerPoint 2010