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Just as there are two basic choices in hardware (infrared or radio) there are also two software options (a PowerPointŪ plug-in or a standalone software package). Each has its advantages, and disadvantages.
The single greatest advantage of a plug-in is the very short learning curve. Since this type of software handles all aspects of electronic voting and it becomes an add-on feature to PowerPointŪ, the new user does not need to learn how to create interactive questions. It is basically a matter of typing the question on a PowerPointŪ slide, and adding a 'polling' object to the slide.
Most plug-ins actually provide a slide layout template (identical to PowerPoint's) which reserves space for the graph. When the presentation is run, the presenter begins polling either automatically when the slide comes in, or on command. Once voting is complete, a standard Microsoft Graph is displayed in the reserved area of the slide.
Because they are so easy to use, plug-ins are the most popular among
'solo presenters' and in the general classroom training
environments. The disadvantages to plug-ins are that their graphs
are something less than 'high-end' and they run in PowerPoint's
memory space. If PowerPointŪ should crash, so does the plug-in.
Fortunately, Microsoft has substantially improved PowerPoint's
stability in Office 2003 and higher. Still, it is very important
that you keep your Office installation up to date. (use the
Microsoft Update Center to check for updates).
Standalone applications are more often the choice of Audience Response professionals. Typically, they are written in the C, C++, or C# languages which are very stable and robust environments. Also, their presentation modules usually include high quality graphics, suitable for use in high-end Audio Visual productions.
These standalones however, can take some time to master with dozens of details to remember for each presentation and generally, they are more expensive than the plug-in variety. If a standalone is what you need, plan on getting trained. Not all standalones require training, but the learning curve will be much shorter if you are taught the basics in a hands-on environment. Our favorite standalone sytem is ComTec XPw.
Ultimately, the best choice between a plug-in and a standalone may be a combination of both. Certain user groups within your organization may benefit more from a plug-in, while others may need a more robust feature set found in a standalone. The point is you don't have to find one software package that does it all.
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