Instructor Information

Classroom response technologies are designed for instructors to gather real-time feedback during instruction. They can be useful for students and instructors to assess in-class understanding of the materials. In-class polling can also increase student engagement while helping instructors monitor attendance and participation.

There are a variety of companies that provide classroom response technologies. In most cases, these products are paid for by students at an average cost of approximately $20 per term with discounts for purchasing a longer license. Most products also provide an option for instructors to bear the cost, rather than the student. Each product has advantages and disadvantages, depending on your current instruction style and other instructional technology use.

In cooperation with the Provost's office and under guidance of a faculty committee, ITS has adopted PointSolutions by echo360 (formerly TurningPoint by Turning Technologies) as the supported classroom response technology at Syracuse University. The faculty committee preferred it for its option of using a "clicker," a physical device specifically designed for participating in polling, in addition to using mobile devices to participate in polls. Other leading providers do not include the option of a physical device, requiring students to use a mobile device or laptop computer to participate.  The faculty committee also preferred PointSolutions's PowerPoint integration over other products that may require leaving a PowerPoint presentation for polling or converting PowerPoint slides to that company's presentation format. PointSolutions both integrates with PowerPoint and is available in a stand-alone mode.

PointSolutions is the only product integrated with SU Blackboard, easing the process of downloading course rosters for polling and posting grades associated with polling to your Blackboard course site. Other products allow you to import and export these items from a spreadsheet which Blackboard can process with some manipulation.

At the start of the Fall 2023 semester, there were 2700 students with subscriptions to use PointSolutions for the term.

Instructors with questions about Turning Point or how it compares to other products are encouraged to contact Online Learning Services in ITS for more information.

The below links document, for instructors, the particularities of creating an account, accessing the software, and downloading your course roster for Syracuse University's current configuration. It also includes some boilerplate information that may be helpful as you create your syllabus.

For information about how to create and deliver polls, view reports, and system requirements, please use the following links for PointSolutions documentation for PC and documentation for Mac.