What happened to TurningPoint?
Turning Technologies merged into Echo360. Today turningtechnologies.com redirects to echo360.com (checked November 2026), and the polling product is called PointSolutions. Echo360 describes it on its EchoPoll page as "a formative assessment solution that pioneered learner response technology for both online and offline use."
If you bought ResponseCards years ago, four points on Echo360's own support pages matter (as of November 2026):
- Internet. PointSolutions needs "an active internet connection (for initial account authentication, PointSolutions app usage (if applicable), and use of Cloud features)" (technical requirements).
- Subscriptions. "Clickers require a subscription to associate your responses with your account." Your institution may provide it, or students buy it (purchasing a subscription).
- Offline use. An offline licensed receiver "allows users to run PointSolutions without a connection to the internet." Echo360 says it is "only permitted for sale to instructors without internet connectivity and for organizations that prohibit any online solutions like military bases" (offline receiver license).
- Devices and PowerPoint. Supported devices are the ResponseCard RF LCD, the QT device, the PresenterCard and the PointSolutions app. The latest firmware is needed for ResponseCard XR, NXT and QT devices. PowerPoint 2016, 2019 and 2021 are supported on Windows, 2019 and 2021 on Mac, and PowerPoint for the web is not.
What have other universities decided?
Three examples from the US and the UK:
- Stony Brook University (US) says "VEVOX is the University supported/provided response system that replaces PointSolutions," effective June 18, 2025 (Stony Brook IT).
- London School of Economics (UK) made PointSolutions unavailable from 30 September 2024 and replaced it with Mentimeter as its "centrally supported live polling system" (LSE Digital Education).
- University of Bristol (UK) kept it, telling staff the software "now sits under a different name, PointSolutions" and "everything else has stayed the same" (Bristol Digital Education).
Both universities that moved chose phone-based tools. That works when phones are welcome in your lecture hall or lecture theatre. If you ban phones in class, or teach in rooms with weak Wi-Fi, your shortlist is radio clickers or cards.
What should you compare before switching?
Ask every vendor the same seven questions in writing, and keep the answers:
- Who pays: students, the department or the institution? Ask for a written answer for your largest course, for one term or semester and for a full year.
- Does it need the internet? For login, for licensing, for the session itself, or not at all. A system that polls offline but checks a license online at startup can still fail in a basement room.
- What do participants hold? A radio clicker, a paper card or their own phone.
- Where do questions live? Inside your PowerPoint deck, in a web app, or in a separate presenter window.
- Which PowerPoint and Mac versions? Check the exact versions installed in your teaching rooms.
- What records do you get? Per question, per student, over a whole course, export to Excel, and grade sync if you need it.
- What is the tested capacity and range? A stated tested number for your largest room, and the range from the receiver.
Our classroom response system buyer's guide expands this into a full checklist.
Which systems are alternatives to TurningPoint?
Facts from each company's own pages (as of November 2026):
| System | Participants use | Internet needed? | Notes from the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| PointSolutions (Echo360) | ResponseCard clickers or app | Yes, for account authentication; offline receiver for restricted sites | Clickers need a subscription to link responses to an account |
| iClicker | iClicker remotes, app or web | Base uses its own 900 MHz radio | Base range 200 to 300 feet, tested with up to 1,500 voters |
| CLiKAPAD | Keypads with a USB receiver | "No WiFi or Internet connection is needed" | PowerPoint add-in; battery "around 12-18 months" |
| OMBEA Response | ResponsePad clickers, or ResponseApp on phones | No, for clickers | Up to 2,000 people, 100 meters range, battery about three years |
| Plickers | Printed paper cards, scanned by the teacher's phone | Sessions "can even be taken offline" | "No need for student devices or accounts" |
Sources: iClicker specs, CLiKAPAD, Plickers, OMBEA features.
Details that affect day-to-day teaching:
- iClicker says "an enrolled student's course determines which iClicker subscription, if any, is required" (iClicker pricing page). If you want students to pay nothing, read our article on iClicker alternatives without student fees.
- CLiKAPAD states rental "is only available within the EU," which matters if you are in the US.
- OMBEA Response adds a tab to desktop PowerPoint on Windows (Office 2010 to Microsoft 365). On Mac, the Response 360 version runs next to Keynote or any other presentation tool. In anonymous mode no clicker is recorded; in named mode you link each clicker to a student once from your class list.
- Plickers suits classes where you can see every card from the front. In a 300-seat hall, scanning the back rows is the hard part.
Can you keep your old ResponseCards?
With PointSolutions, yes, if your models are on Echo360's supported list and have current firmware. With any other vendor, assume they will not work: each clicker system uses its own receiver. If you have hundreds of working ResponseCards and an institutional subscription, staying for now is reasonable. Write down when your current licenses end and decide before that date.
How do you switch without losing a term?
- Pilot in one module or course. Pick a lecturer who wants to try it and a room you know.
- Move your best 20 questions, not the whole question bank. The ones you use every week.
- Test from the back row of your largest room. Watch how long it takes for every answer to arrive.
- Decide anonymous or named per question type. Concept checks often get more honest answers anonymous. Graded quizzes need a class list.
- Keep the old system for one term or semester as a fallback.
- Write a one-page guide for colleagues: where the clickers are kept, how to start a session, who to call.
Is a clicker system still worth it?
A meta-analysis of 225 studies in undergraduate STEM found students in traditional lectures were 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes with active learning (Freeman et al., PNAS 2014). Clickers are one way to get there; cards and whiteboards are others. Our summary of clickers in the classroom research has more.
To try tomorrow with whatever you have: ask one multiple-choice question mid-lecture, have students discuss with a neighbor for two minutes, then ask again. Count how many moved to the right answer.
