How do I KNOW if my clicker is working?

If you are tuned to the correct clicker channel for your classroom (refer to the signage available in the classroom) and your instructor is currently polling a question, you will see a bright green light on your clicker that indicates your answer has been received by the clicker system.  It looks like this:

or like this:

If you don’t see that green light, you should:

  1. Ensure you’re tuned to the correct clicker channel (see instructions here).
  2. Ensure your instructor is actually “polling” (do you see a green “Polling Open” on the top right of their PowerPoint presentation screen?).
  3. Check to ensure your clicker batteries are not dead (you will not see ANY lights if they are)

After checking the above three points. if you or your instructor still have concerns about the functionality of your clicker (“Is it working?”, “How can I be SURE that my instructor is getting my answers?”) you can bring your clicker to the ICT Help Desk in Room 70 Arts to have them verify the functionality of your clicker.  If there are still concerns, instructors can contact the ICT Help Desk (by phone at 966-4817 or by email at help.desk@usask.ca) to arrange with ICT Academic Support staff for in-depth testing in their classroom.

 

TurningPoint 2008 Blackboard integration issues

We are currently experiencing issues with the integration between TurningPoint 2008 and Blackboard Learn.  Instructors can still use the integration tools within TurningPoint 2008 to download participant lists for their courses within BBLearn, but users can experience problems with uploading of clicker results INTO BBLearn from TurningPoint 2008.  We are analyzing the problem, but have no resolution at this time.  The workaround provided by TurningTechnologies is to use ResultsManager or TurningPoint Anywhere to upload clicker results to BB Learn.  Both of these tools are available for download from our software download area.  Read on for more specific details  Continue reading

TurningPoint ResultsManager Available for Download

TurningPoint’s ResultsManager is a tool that instructors can use in conjunction with our current TurningPoint 2008 and TurningPoint Anywhere software to manage multiple session files and collate results from them.  These results can either be published as Excel reports or uploaded to BlackBoard via the TurningPoint Integrations tool.  You can download TurningPoint ResultsManager for Windows or Mac from the Software section of our Clickers site.  We’ve also included links to PDF users guides for both products.  For questions or assistance with it, feel free to contact clickers_support@usask.ca!

Smart Ink-Aware settings affecting selection of Participants Lists

If you are having trouble trying to select a Participants List from TurningPoint (because the menu disappears too quickly) before starting your lecture in a classroom equipped with a Smart Sympodium, here’s a quick workaround for you.  This will disable the Smart software’s Ink Aware settings for Microsoft PowerPoint, which will allow the Turning Participants List menu to remain on the screen long enough for you to select a list.

  1. Choose Control Panel from the Windows menu
  2. Select the Smart Board Control Panel
  3. Select Configure Smart Tools
  4. Select Ink Aware Program Settings
  5. Deselect Microsoft PowerPoint from the list.