Audience Response System - ARS

What is ARS?
The Audience Response System (ARS) allows instructors and presenters to receive on-screen responses from their audience when giving a PowerPoint presentation. There are three components to ARS:

• ResponseCards - the keypads given to the students or audience members that allow them to "vote" during a presentation.
• ResponseCard Receiver - the small USB device that is attached to the computer used to give the presentation.
• TurningPoint Software - allows you to create and display interactive PowerPoint slides for use with the ARS system.

Example ARS Slide
At the beginning of the presentation, you or your assistant hand out the ResponseCard keypads.

When TurningPoint slides appear in your presentation, audience members will use their keypads to select an answer. Options include:

• Allowing a timed period for polling.
• Displaying answers on screen in a variety of formats.
• Anonymous or identified responses.
• Saving and analyzing data collected during polling.
• All of the functionality available with standard PowerPoint slides and more.

Requirements

• To use ARS, you must be familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint. If not, please enlist an assistant from your department or school who can help with creating slides and running the presentation. We are not able to provide this assistance for you.
• ARS is compatible with Windows based computers only; currently there is not a Macintosh compatible version.
• Any computer that will create or display ARS slides must have the TurningPoint software installed, in addition to Microsoft PowerPoint.
• TurningPoint can be installed on as many computers as you desire. An administrative logon is required to install the program, due to this please check with your IT staff if you will need it on a computer owned by your department.
• The computer that will be used to give the presentation must also install the ResponseCard receiver hardware.
• All lecture hall and teaching computers in CUMC classrooms have the necessary ARS software installed, but please verify this with Classroom Technology Support when you reserve a room.
• You can create your entire PowerPoint slide set, including the TurningPoint response slides, on your personal or work computer. You would then transfer this to a USB drive, disc or other portable storage for use on the classroom computer.

Reserving and Picking Up ARS Equipment

The components of ARS are provided free for any events related to the CUMC curriculum.

To reserve and use the ARS system, please contact Jonathan Kornberg in Classroom Technology Management via email (jk3220@columbia.edu) or phone at (212) 305-0171.
You may be asked to sign out for the equipment you received on a reservation sheet.

Once you have reserved the equipment, please do the following:

• Install the TurningPoint 2008 legacy software on your laptop. The software can be downloaded from Turning Technologies Downloads page, please look for links under the Polling Software heading.
• For questions regarding the TurningPoint software, please visit the company's web site at: http://www.turningtechnologies.com. The site includes free online training and support and user guides.
• After you receive confirmation of your reservation, please pick up and return the equipment at the CUMC IT Service Desk on the 2nd floor of the Hammer Health Sciences building, above the Health Sciences Library.

Using ARS
The TurningPoint software integrates with PowerPoint to let you create slides containing your polling questions within your presentation.

Open TurningPoint 2008 to create ARS-integrated PowerPoint slides using the toolbar that will appear:

More documentation can be found at TurningPoint's User Guides site. Please note that the ResponseCards available for CUMC are "RF", not XL or IR.

Online training is also available at TurningPoint's Training and Support page.

Please be sure to install the ResponseCard receiver and test the ResponseCard keypads prior to giving your presentation. They are easy to use, however it is best if you are already familiar with their basic configuration ahead of time.