TurningPoint

As of November 22, all Durham College (DC) faculty members have access to TurningPoint, a polling software solution for interactive participation in the classroom commonly referred to as 'clickers.' DC has used a hardware-based version of TurningPoint for many years. Now that mobile technology is more attainable, TurningPoint has evolved to support the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) model.

What is TurningPoint?

TurningPoint provides live polling and interactive activities for use in the classroom via a web-based polling system or through PowerPoint Integration.

Why use TurningPoint?

You may be using different polling technologies in your classroom, such as Mentimeter, Socrative, NearPod, Kahoot, Tophat, and others. The benefit of using TurningPoint is that it is paid for by the college and supported by our service desk. Having consistency in tool usage for students is also a benefit, given that students will not have to learn how to use the tool each time it is used.

What are some examples of how TurningPoint could be used in the classroom?

Interactive polling software can be used for many different use cases to help you achieve specific outcomes in your teaching. For example:

  • Creating an active learning environment ;
  • Encouraging participation from all students in a large class;
  • Engaging students with competitions;
  • Preparing for a test with practice questions;
  • Checking for understanding of a topic;
  • Monitoring attendance; and
  • Applying case studies to promote critical thinking.

Looking for support on creating good questions to use for polling students? Here is a great resource: An Instructors Guide to the Effective Use of Personal Response Systems (Clickers) in Teaching

Want to use TurningPoint in your class?

We are piloting a process to share licences across the college. This pilot will assign licences for a duration of one week, one week at a time. There is no limit to the number of requests you can make in a semester. For example, if you want to use TurningPoint in every class for the week, you would need to request the licences on a Friday for the following week.

The Process to Obtain licences

  1. Create an instructor account with TurningPoint using your Durham College email;
  2. Allowing for 48 hours' notice, contact the Service Desk (servicedesk@dc-uoit.ca), indicate the subject as: TurningPoint Booking. In the Email provide the following information:
    • Employee ID:
    • Name:
    • Number of students in your class(es):
    • Indicate the dates that you want to use the tool;
      • Start Date and Time:
      • End Date and Time:
    • Version of Turning Point you want to use (New Online BYOD or Traditional Clicker):

      • Note: if you want to use BYOD, indicate whether you have created an instructor account (step 1 above)

  3. Service desk will then assign you the number of licences requested, if available. You can then see the number of licences assigned to you in your account.

If you have feedback on the process, please advise Dave.Henderson@durhamcollege.ca.

Getting Started with TurningPoint

After obtaining licences for your class, here are the next steps:

  1. Download and install TurningPoint Desktop. You can also use the online version but note that some features are limited and may only exist in the destop version.
  2. If you would like to incorporate TurningPoint into your PowerPoints, here are some quick help topics to get you started:
  3. If you would like to use the Anywhere Polling feature check out these help topics
  4. If you would like to use the Self-Paced Polling feature check out these help topics

Pro Tip: Check out their interactive manual where you can search for any help topics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Additional Resources

Resources on how to use TurningPoint are available on the Turning Technologies training and support website. The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will be hosting training sessions throughout December and January, check our website for up-to-date training dates.

Do you have feedback about TurningPoint or a success story? Please let us know by contacting Tanya.Wakelin@durhamcollege.ca! We'd love to feature your experience in CTL Monthly.

Getting Help

If you have technical issues with TurningPoint please email the I.T. Service Desk or call 905.721.3333. Please Visit their website at https://servicedesk.dc-uoit.ca for more information on their hours of operation.

If you have questions or need help incorporating TurningPoint into your classroom please email ctl@durhamcollege.ca.