Markus and I have discussed several polling and assessment apps over the years including Socrative (February 2016), Kahoot (June 2016), Google Q&A (April 2018), Polleverywhere (September 2018), Sli.do (May 2019), GoSoapBox (September 2019) and Formative (November 2019). If you are looking for something different that seamlessly combines interactive, engaging presentations with real-time feedback, consider Mentimeter. Mentimeter allows you to create interactive presentations by embedding polls, word clouds, quizzes, and Q&A slides. Like other polling applications, students use their smartphones to respond.
What makes Mentimeter different? Primarily, their free version allows unlimited participants. This single feature can be extremely useful for those teaching larger classes. Other benefits of the free version are unlimited presentations and access to the Mentimeter Help Center. However, the free version does have some limitations. For instance, it only allows 2 questions per presentation and no more than 5 quizzes.
Mentimeter’s paid upgrades also have some useful enhanced features, including (1) Smartphone presentation control; (2) Easy navigation between presentation slides, student voting, and Q&A monitoring; (3) PowerPoint import feature, which allows you to use existing PowerPoints with Mentimeter assessment features. In addition to PowerPoint, users can also upload PDF or Keynote files.
For those who prefer to present from a podium, both Windows (PowerPoint 2016 – Office 365 with the Mentimeter plug-in) and Mac’s users can easily toggle or swipe to move between a presentation and the Mentimeter application.
Mentimeter as a single app easily supports interactive lecturing. Use Mentimeter to start class with an icebreaker activity, encourage discussion between concepts, assess learning, and monitor student questions in real-time. Mentimeter is also a great reflection tool at the end of an activity, a class or the course.
Most of all, Mentimeter is inclusive, fun and a great way to increase learning. It is a tool that helps engage everyone in the course while providing the instructor with real-time feedback to quickly assess and correct gaps in knowledge.
To learn more about Mentimeter or set up your free account, go to https://www.mentimeter.com/. Mentimeter also has a blog that shares various presentation and teaching tips https://www.mentimeter.com/blog.
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