By: Mel M.

Sometimes it is hard to admit that our presentations are boring.  We spend countless hours preparing our lessons, from hooks to assessments, so adding pizzazz to our material seems like too much weight on our shoulders.

Well, I have a remedy for you!  Try Mentimeter…it is not your typical presentation software.  It is FREE for the basic program and requires no downloads or installations.  

What does it offer?  I can only touch on its magic in this short blog; however, the site offers a plethora of information and includes training videos.

The sky’s the limit with Menti. 

Engage your students with live polls, quizzes, word clouds, scales, rankings and surveys. Your feedback, results, and answers are immediate.

I often create a word cloud (although there are numerous templates to choose from) to use as a hook during my online English class. I supply a question or a prompt such as “Use a word to describe Dr. Frankenstein.”  Once I press “present,” students will log into Menti and enter the code on their screen. 

Then, watch the Word Cloud explode with students’ words!  The responses are anonymous so students are not afraid of contributing their true feelings. The Word Cloud always provides fodder for lively conversation.

This or That

I have also used the popular “This or That” template to foster debate.   You decide on two choices, download images for each one  (options are available on the site or use your own), and then students click on their preferred choice. 

I used “death penalty” and “life in prison” as a “This or That” for a prereading activity about Anton Chekhov’s “The Bet.”  You may include additional slides such as  students’ explanations for their choices, a discussion prompt, and numerous other questions. 

For instance, a favorite slide asks “Who would you rather have dinner with?”  Here, you may include characters’ names from a book for English class, historical figures for a social studies class, or current politicians for a government class. Display the results of each survey for your students and watch as their participation improves…soon they will suggest “This or That” surveys for you to include in your lessons!

Students love to argue and Menti gives them an interactive platform to share their opinions, support them, and engage in healthy debate.  However, beyond stimulating students’ penchant for argument, Menti also offers self-reflection scales and check-in assessments. 

Your students will be able to rank anything, from education to social media; you decide what is relevant and create a Menti with easy-to-use templates. Think about what you want to know about your students…Menti is an exciting way to discover students’ feelings about their learning progress, your lessons, classroom materials, Supreme Court decisions, the latest fashion trends, or the best restaurant…just to name a few.

Menti can be added to your slideshow or used independently.  I sound like I work for the company, but honestly, my only skin in the game is sharing an entertaining online learning tool.