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Integrating Mentimeter with other presentation tools

Summary

A common question for Mentimeter users is how best to integrate the use of Mentimeter question slides with content slides, especially when using PowerPoint or Google Slides. This page takes you through the main options available for this:

  • Switch between your presentation tool and Mentimeter (Recommended in most cases as the most straightforward and effective option)
  • Create your whole presentation in Mentimeter by creating content slides to use alongside your question slides.
  • Use the PowerPoint add-in to bring your Mentimeter question slides into PowerPoint
  • Import your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation into Mentimeter
  • Embed your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation into Mentimeter

There is a brief summary of each option with an estimate of overall difficulty along with the difficulty level involved in preparing, presenting and sharing your presentation for each option. This is designed to help you choose the option that will work best for your needs. Each summary is followed by a drop-down box providing instructions and links to further guidance.

Warning

There are no official Google Slides ‘add-ons’ for Mentimeter so please do not install any add-ons that promise to integrate Mentimeter with Google Slides. These add-ons are unlikely to be effective and may constitute a security risk. To integrate Google Slides with Mentimeter, please see options 1 and 5 below.

Options and recommendations

1. Switch between your presentation tool and Mentimeter

This option is recommended in most cases as the most straightforward and effective option for those who currently use PowerPoint or Google Slides. You can use your chosen presentation tool as normal and just switch to Mentimeter for questions when needed.

  • Estimated difficulty level: 3/10
  • Preparation (3/10): Create your presentation as normal in PowerPoint or Google Slides and build your question slides separately in Mentimeter.
  • Presenting (3/10): Switching needed
  • Sharing (2/10): Easy to share your PowerPoint and Mentimeter results separately before and after the session.
Open for guidance on this option

Preparation

Create your Mentimeter presentation and include question/interaction slides. Prepare your main presentation as normal in PowerPoint or Google Slides but insert placeholder slides at the points where you plan to switch to Mentimeter. It is best not to include the Menti code in the PowerPoint presentation but to have an instructions slide in Mentimeter so that participants can connect when you switch to Menti. You can always bring this slide up at the beginning in Mentimeter if you would like participants to get connected before you begin. See the Presenting with Mentimeter page for guidance on joining instructions.

Delivery

Log onto the console computer and open your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation as normal. Open your Mentimeter presentation in a separate browser window, or on a separate laptop connected to the console (remember your phone as Duo authentication is needed to log into Mentimeter). Switch between the presentation and Menti whenever you have question slides.

If you have Mentimeter open in a separate browser window, simply switch between windows. ‘ALT+tab’ is a useful option for window switching, allowing you to press and hold the ALT key and then press the tab key to scroll between available windows, releasing the keys to open the selected window which is highlighted with a border.

If you have Mentimeter on a connected laptop, simply switch input on the console controls from PC to laptop, then switch back when you are ready to return to your presentation slides

If you are in a room with multiple projectors, you could also have your presentation on the console PC on one projector, with Mentimeter on a connected laptop on the other projector.

If using Mentimeter on a connected laptop, you are likely to find it useful to adjust your screensaver settings so that you don't have to log on to get back to the Menti presentation after a timeout.

Sharing the presentation

You can share your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation in advance as normal. Your placeholder slides that you include to indicate the position of the Mentimeter questions can be adjusted to give more or less information depending on the needs of your presentation. This could range from minimal information in advance if you wish to avoid pre-empting activities in the live session (e.g. a slide with a “Menti question 1” header) to the complete question, allowing participants to think about it in advance.

After the presentation, you can share the results within your Menti (via a link or embed in the VLE) or you could download the results to incorporate them into the presentation file. See Sharing your presentation and results.

If the results form an important part of the teaching record for your module, you should always download them from Mentimeter and Google Slides and include them in your VLE site rather than relying solely on sharing the Mentimeter presentation and Google slides presentation online.

2. Create your whole presentation in Mentimeter

This option is best for those who would like to use the interactivity options like reactions and Q&A throughout their presentation, or who like to use Mentimote to control the presentation using a phone (see Presenting with Mentimeter for information about these options). Also those who are happy to use the relatively straightforward content layout and presentation options of Mentimeter content slides.

It is not a good option for those who need complex layouts, transitions, animations or other features only available in PowerPoint or Google Slides (noting the extra challenges involved in making these aspects accessible when sharing presentations).

  • Estimated difficulty level: 4/10
  • Preparation (4/10): Requires slightly more familiarity with Mentimeter to create the content slides and work with the layout options available.
  • Presenting (2/10): You can present your whole presentation in Mentimeter without needing to switch browser tabs.
  • Sharing (5/10): Easy to share a link to your presentation which has both content and question slides included, but less straightforward to share content slides and question slides at different points (e.g. sharing content slides before the presentation and question slides during it).
Open for guidance on this option

Preparation

Prepare your presentation using a mix of content and question slides (See Slide types. The 'AI Assistant' allows you to attach an existing PowerPoint presentation to use to create an automated first draft of your presentation, allowing you to convert the contents to Mentimeter content slides and add question/interaction slides).

Delivery

Deliver your presentation in Mentimeter.

Sharing the presentation

You can share your presentation and its results by linking/embedding the Mentimeter presentation itself and/or by downloading the results to add to your VLE site.

3. Use the PowerPoint add-in to bring your Mentimeter question slides into PowerPoint

This option is best for those who would like to deliver everything within PowerPoint rather than switching to Menti in the browser, and who are happy with the potential need for extra preparation time to set up and use the add-in.

It is not a good option for those who use Google Slides as no equivalent is available. To use the add-in, you would need to download your Google Slides presentation as a PowerPoint file and present it in PowerPoint.

  • Estimated difficulty level: 5/10
  • Preparation (5/10): Requires you to create your question slides separately in Mentimeter, then to set up and use the PowerPoint Add-in to incorporate your question slides.
  • Presenting (5/10): You can present your whole presentation in PowerPoint, but there are differences in how the PowerPoint and the Menti slides are controlled and it is recommended to have a run through before presenting to become familiar with this.
  • Sharing (6/10): You will need to share a version of your PowerPoint slides that does not use the PowerPoint add-in if you would like to share the file after a live session. Your results will need to be shared from Mentimeter separately.
Open for guidance on this option

Preparation

You need to use PowerPoint 365 to use the add-in. This should be version of PowerPoint installed on all classroom PCs. You should be able to find the add-in under 'Home - Add ins'.

Prepare your question slides in a single Mentimeter presentation before you begin (Mentimeter presentations). Make sure all the slides you need are in a single presentation as you can only use one presentation at a time within the add-in. If you plan to use questions you have used before, duplicate the presentation to create a fresh copy. Open the add-in in PowerPoint to create a Mentimeter object in your PowerPoint slide. You will need to log-in to Mentimeter from PowerPoint if you are not already logged on. Choose the 'Login with SSO' option and enter 'University of York' as the workspace name or add your email address to log in via the University single-sign on page (Duo authentication required). After log-in, you will be given a log-in code to paste into the Powerpoint Mentimeter object to connect to your Mentimeter presentations. When your PowerPoint Mentimeter objects first connect you may see a flickering effect before seeing your available presentations in Mentimeter.

Select the presentation you would like to use, then select the slide or slides you would like to add from this presentation. Each slide will display in your PowerPoint presentation within a separate Mentimeter object on the screen. The object can be moved and resized but take care to ensure that it displays correctly when presenting. It will be added above any existing content or template placeholders so it is usually best to create a new slide and then add your question slide(s) from Mentimeter. Be sure to delete any elements that are not needed. Although these will be covered when you display your presentation, they might cause accessibility problems for those using an assistive device such as a screenreader if you share your presentation.

If you are adding multiple Mentimeter slides in the middle of an existing presentaton, please note that only the first slide will appear in position on your selected slides. The others will be placed at the end of your presentation. Once added you can move and duplicate the added slides in the same way as any other PowerPoint slide.

See Mentimeter's 'Add and present Mentimeter slides in the PowerPoint add-in' page for step-by-step guidance on preparing your presentation. Their Add-in FAQ page also provides guidance and troubleshooting information that you might find useful.

Delivery

Open your PowerPoint and check that the slides you built using the add-in are working correctly. Log in if necessary using the 'Login with SSO' option and entering 'University of York' as the workspace name or adding your email address to log in via the University single-sign on page (Duo authentication required).

Present your PowerPoint as normal and your Mentimeter slides should activate when you reach them. When you reach your first Mentimeter slide, make sure to display the joining code within the PowerPoint so that participants can connect at menti.com. Consider adding an 'instructions slide' at the start of the deck, especially if your participants might not have used it before. This will display the joining code and QR code very prominently.

Feedback from staff who have used the add-in suggests that is is worth practising your presentation in advance to get familiar with its operation as there are differences between using the add-in and presenting directly in either Mentimeter or PowerPoint. For example, if you use a clicker to advance your PowerPoint slides, you may still need to use your mouse to control the Mentimeter slides. The Mentimeter options appear in a separate set of buttons within the slide and your presentation may react differently depending on whether the Mentimeter controls are in focus or the PowerPoint ones. You will also need to be aware that some of the controls that work in Mentimeter such as hotkeys and uses of the scroll-wheel to browse through open responses will not work in PowerPoint. If you have both PowerPoint elements and Mentimeter elements on the same slide, this may cause added complexity.

Please note that the operation of the add-in relies on the connection between PowerPoint and Mentimeter to pass results over the internet, so there may be some delays in your results appearing within your PowerPoint. There may also be minor differences in the way that the interactive elements in Mentimeter display within PowerPoint. For example, when viewed in the browser, the emoji reactions provide more information that is available within PowerPoint, including the number of participants who have selected each emoji option.

If there are problems with the PowerPoint add-in that leave you unable to use it within your presentation on the day, remember that you can log onto your Mentimeter account in the browser and present your questions from there. The join code will be the same as the one displayed within PowerPoint.

See Mentimeter's 'Add and present Mentimeter slides in the PowerPoint add-in' page for further guidance.

Sharing the presentation

The PowerPoint add-in requires a log in for use and relies on a live internet connection, so it cannot be realistically used to share results with participants.

We recommend sharing a separate PowerPoint file with the add-in slides removed or replaced with a summary of results. You can download the results as an Excel file to make it easier to achieve this summary.

Alternatively, you could share your Mentimeter presentation and its results separately, sharing your presentation and its results by linking/embedding the Mentimeter presentation itself and/or by downloading the results to add you your VLE site. If the results form an important part of the teaching record for your module, you should always download them from Mentimeter and include them in your VLE site rather than relying solely on sharing the Mentimeter presentation itself.

4. Import your PowerPoint slides into Mentimeter

Like option 2, this is best for those who would like to deliver an entire presentation in Mentimeter, perhaps to take advantage of interactivity options like reactions and Q&A, or the use of Mentimote to control the presentation using a phone (see Presenting with Mentimeter for information about these options). While this option does not allow for the use of transitions and animations, it allows for existing PowerPoint slides to be straightforwardly added to Mentimeter for use as content slides and provides more layout options.

It is not a good option for those who might need to edit the content slides after they have been added to Mentimeter. The import process converts the slides to static images which cannot be edited direct. You will need to be aware of possible implications for accessibility during a live presentation and ensure that you share an accessible version of the content slides afterwards rather than sharing the imported slides in Mentimeter.

  • Estimated difficulty level: 5/10
  • Preparation (6/10): Create your slides as normal in PowerPoint but be aware that you cannot edit them direct in Mentimeter after import.
  • Presenting (2/10): You can present your whole presentation in Mentimeter without needing to switch browser tabs.
  • Sharing (5/10): You are likely to need to share your original accessible content slides in PowerPoint or Google slides and then share your results in Mentimeter separately.
Open for guidance on this option

Preparation

Create your PowerPoint slides as normal, then import them into your Mentimeter presentation. You can also use Google Slides, but these will need to be downloaded in PowerPoint format ready for import. Upon import, these slides are converted into static images. Any text on the slides is automatically added as ALT text, but, if you are sharing these slides, you will need to check that they meet accessibility standards. Editing of the static images cannot be done in Mentimeter, so, if you need to change content slides after import, this has to be done in PowerPoint or Google slides before re-importing. All slides in a presentation are imported so, if you make further changes in PowerPoint, you may find it easier to delete all your content slides in Mentimeter before re-importing. The 'AI assistant' allows you to upload your PowerPoint presentation for use as context for questions slides and you can also carry out the import at the same time, or prompt the assistant to convert your PowerPoint slides to Mentimeter content slides (see option 2 above). You are likely to need to check the results of this conversion, but the content slides include digitally-accessible text and can be edited directly in Mentimeter.

Delivery

Be aware that, if you use this option, your content slides will consist of static images with ALT text. This may make it challenging for participants to see small details on their phone, making it even more important to read aloud any text on the screen and to describe what you are showing on the screen (Present with accessibility and inclusion in mind).

Sharing the presentation

When sharing your presentation before or after the session, you are likely to need to share your original accessible content slides in PowerPoint and share your Mentimeter presentation and its results separately, by linking/embedding the Mentimeter presentation itself and/or by downloading the results to add you your VLE site (see Sharing your presentation and results). If the results form an important part of the teaching record for your module, you should always download them from Mentimeter and include them in your VLE site rather than relying solely on sharing the Mentimeter presentation itself.

5. Embed your PowerPoint or Google slides into Mentimeter

Like options 2 and 4, this is best for those who would like to deliver an entire presentation in Mentimeter, eg. to use the interactivity options like reactions and Q&A, or the use of Mentimote to control the presentation using a phone (see Presenting with Mentimeter). This option embeds your whole presentation onto a slide in your Mentimeter presentation so it allows for the use of more features available in PowerPoint or Google Slides including transitions and animations. Any changes made to the embedded presentation will be reflected in Mentimeter. Unlike the other options, it allows Google Slides users to present from a single platform in the same way as PowerPoint users.

  • Estimated difficulty level: 6/10
  • Preparation (7/10): Create your slides in PowerPoint or Google Slides as normal. Create a Mentimeter presentation for your question slides and publish this to the web. Embed the published presentation into your Mentimeter presentation.
  • **Presenting (4/10).
  • Sharing (5/10): When you share your Mentimeter presentation and results with others, they will also be able to view the embedded PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. However, if the presentations and results form an important part of the teaching record for your module, you will also need to include them in your VLE site rather than relying solely on sharing the PowerPoint/Google Slides and Mentimeter results directly online.
Open for guidance on this option

Preparation

Create your Mentimeter presentation and, separately, create your PowerPoint or Google slides presentation. Publish your presentation to the web and the embed it into your Mentimeter presentation (Embed a PowerPoint presentation | Embed a Google Slides presentation). Be aware that you will need to leave a border around the edges of your slides and use similar high contrast colours to ensure content displays correctly once embedded. You may also need to embed different sections of your presentation on different slides to maintain the sequence of your final slides.

Delivery

Remember that you will need to click on your presentation to activate it before you present your slides, and you will need to 'exit' the embedded presentation to continue progressing your Mentimeter slides. It is a good idea to practise beforehand to get familiar with the interface and presenting process

Sharing the presentation

When you share your Mentimeter presentation and results with others, they will also be able to view the embedded PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation (sharing your presentation and its results). If the presentations and results form an important part of the teaching record for your module, you will also need to include them in your VLE site rather than relying solely on sharing the PowerPoint/Google Slides and Mentimeter results directly online.