Electronic Voting System (EVS) Turningpoint

Electronic Voting System (EVS) TurningPoint™

A note for the IH Help Desk v6July 2012

Introduction

To run an EVS activity it is necessary to have TurningPoint™ software installed, an EVS session prepared (questions and answers), handsets to enter responses, and a receiver to communicate the responses to the software.

Most teaching rooms across the University have been installed with TurningPoint™ software and hardware receivers.

Many academicsacross the institution have attendedtraining for using TurningPoint™.However, if they do encounter difficulties when in the classroom they have been directed to contact the Help Desk in the first instance.This document is intended to act as a resource for staff responding to those problems or difficulties.

1. Starting TurningPoint

TurningPoint™ is started by clicking on the TurningPoint™icon which will be on the desktop ofmostclassroom computers.

If the icon is not visible, it can be found under Start:Applications:Business, provided the program has beeninstalled. Note:members of staff are advised to use the computers inclassrooms, rather than take their laptops, as the latter is more likely tocause problemsdue to conflict between receivers in the pc and laptop.

TurningPoint™opens Microsoft PowerPoint and provides an extra TurningPoint™tab within it. (TurningPoint is an add-on to PowerPoint). It is important that staff open their presentation from within TurningPoint™, not PowerPoint, for the TurningPoint™ tab to be visible.

2. Planning an EVS activity

Staff members need to use the functions in the TurningPoint™ tab to set up their questions.

Most staff will design their EVS activity in advance of the teaching session. The activity can then be saved to a memory stick and plugged into the USB port of the classroom PC on arrival.

Where a PC is not available or not working in the classroom, or where the receiver is not working, the teacher may take their own laptop with receiver into the room instead.Note: see sections 4. & 5 for potential problems

3. During EVS use

To run the EVS activity, teachers will need to start the TurningPoint™ software first then open their planned EVS activity. Note:The EVS PowerPoint activity has to be opened from within TurningPoint™ or it will not work

Students will require a handset in-order to register their responses. Students will have one of the following handsets

Responses will be transmitted to the receiver when the teacher opens the EVS session. Receivers are already installed in virtually all teaching rooms, but they will not be visible from the front of the pc.

Laptops should only be used if the classroom does not have TurningPoint™ or the receiver installed on the computer or the computer is not working. In this case, the staff will also need a portable receiver to be plugged into their laptop via the USB port. Note, if the pc and a laptop are switched on together (and both have receivers), it may create problems.

Receiver

Assuming the receiver is installed and the TurningPoint™ software is running teachers can now use the EVS.

4. Some commonly encountered problems

Channel conflict:

Receivers can cross-communicate resulting in data transfer problems if in close proximity; for this reason IH have set some receivers to different channels. The receiver channel for the classroom will therefore be clearly signposted on the classroom wall. Students may therefore need to change their handset channels before starting the EVS activity. Teachers will need to prompt the student to do this.

To check the receiver channelclick on Tools / Settings/ Response devices, as shown in screen shots a) and b) below

a)

b)

Changing channels on the EVS handset:

For the RF LCD handsets:

• Press“CH” button.
• While the light is flashing red and green, enter the 2 digit code (i.e. channel 53 = 53)
• After the second digit is entered, press and release the “Ch” button

For the XR handsets:

• Press Menu.
• Arrow down to ChangeChannel.
• Press Enter.
• Type in the channel number and press Enter

For the NXT handsets:

There are two ways to set the channel on the handset NXT. One way is to use the Find Channels tool in the toolbox, as described in the previous section “The Toolbox,” or you can manually set the channel. The steps below describe how to manually set the channel.

• Press the Channel button.
• Use the number pad to enter the new channel number.
• Once the channel number has been entered, press the button.

Some short videos and easy to refer to PowerPoint slides about changing channels on the handsets can be found on the Knowledge Exchange (formerly the LTI website) within Studynet:

Handset Symbols:

In some situations students may report that their handset shows a no entry sign. A different no entry sign is presented depending on the problem being encountered. The different symbols are shown below.

/ You have responded with an invalid option, e.g. entering option ‘8’ on the handset when you can only choose from 1 - 3.
/ There is an active receiver but the polling is not yet open.

See Appendix A Different Response Card RF LCD screens

Handset not working:

The plastic tab across the battery has not been removed.

The battery requires replacement. Batteries last about a year and are the responsibility of the student to change. Some Schools will do this for students but practice is not consistent across UH. The Student Union shop has been asked to stock batteries but this is not confirmed yet.

NB: students should be asked to drop old batteries into a battery recycling box.

5Learning and Teaching Institute Support (LTI)

Please advise staff to contact a member of the Assessment team in the LTI for further support with EVS including uses in teaching and the underpinning pedagogy. The members of the team are as follows:

Julie Vuolo

Fang Lou

Liz Gormley-Fleming

Francesca Entwistle

Janet Webber

6 Other sources of advice

There is a student facing EVS page within Studynet:

For IH Help Desk staff the contact details of the UK base for TP are the team at Reivo as follows:

0845 371 8510 (9am – 5pm Monday – Friday)

For individual contacts:

Michael Jones at Reivo

Mitt Nathwani at Reivo on

Turning Technologies (providers of the TurningPoint™ software) have numerous short on-line tutorials

Use the template IHHD EVS on Engage. You will require the following information:

For software issues:

• Version of TurningPoint (e.g. TP Anywhere, TP 2008) [*see question 14]
• Version of Office
• Version of Windows
• Error message (specific problems) or copy of the TP presentation (non-specific problems)

For hardware issues:

• Handset type: (NXT, RFLCD, XR)
• Version of firmware on receiver [*see question 15]

Q. Where do I find the TP version information?

A. TurningPoint tab > Information logo

. Q. Where do I find the receiver firmware information?

1. TurningPoint tab > Tools > Settings > Response Device > version is shown at top (e.g. v.4.6)

Some other questions …

1. Q.How will we know which rooms have EVS software and associatedreceivers installed?
   A. Most classrooms have software and receivers installed. The exception is Meridian House at present

2. Q.Who issues the students with their handsets?
A.Handsets are issued to students by the Schools.

3. Q. What about batteries, where do students get replacement batteries from?
A.The batteries in the devices are fairly standard therefore students can get replacements from high-street outlets, the SU shop or online.

4. Q.What if a student loses their handset, where can they buy a new one?
A. As of Semester A 2012students can pay for a new handset via the online shop or by collecting a School payment form from their school and taking it to the student centre. The new handset will be issued by the school on confirmation of payment. Students should be advised to check the lost property points at the main receptions first before buying a new handset.

5. Q.What if the student has a faulty handset?

A. If the handset is faulty, the school should provide the student with a replacement handset. It is the responsibility of the school to return faulty handsets still under the one year guarantee. The returns procedure is set out below

1. Contact Reivo on 0845 3718510 with the issue. Reivo will then go though some technical checking.
2. If Reivo are unable to fix the problem over the phone, they will then issue a RMA for you to send the handset back to them. Returns must be done within 7 days.
3. When the handset goes back to Reivo they will do some further testing and if they are unable to fix the issue they will replace it under the 12 month manufacturer’s warranty.
4. If the handset can be fixed, Reivo will return it back to the contact.

6. Q. Where can staff get a receiver from?
A.Staff should onlyneed a receiver if the classroom computer does not have the software or receiver already installed.If this is the case, some Schools have been provided with a number of EVS receivers and it is for the Schools to manage the issuing and sharing of receivers amongst their teachers. Staff should contact their school leader or trainer for access to a receiver.

7. Q.What do the LED Colours mean on the RF LCD handset?

A.It depends, see below

Red – Response not received

Green – Response was received

Yellow (Multiple Flash) – in the process of sending

Yellow (Single Flash) – polling not open

The ITEAM project – a joint JISC/UH funded project

Appendix A–Possible screens on the RF LCD handset

The ITEAM project – a joint JISC/UH funded project