Mentimeter - Technology Enhanced Learning and Design

Who is this training for?

For staff looking to deliver more interactive, engaging presentations.

The information below aims to guide you through the different ways to use Mentimeter and how it can help you make your teaching more engaging and interactive.

You might have already attended our Introduction to Mentimeter training. If you haven’t and would like to, please check our Training page for details of upcoming sessions and to sign up.

What is Mentimeter?

Mentimeter (opens in new tab) is a browser-based presentation tool that allows you to create and deliver dynamic interactive presentations, polls and surveys.

It’s easy to use and doesn’t require any downloads.

Step-by-step guides and information

Get started with Mentimeter

Follow our guide to sign up to Mentimeter with your University of Manchester account. It’s simple and quick!

Content slides

Learn about Mentimeter’s range of content slide types, such as ‘Heading’, ‘Bullets’ and ‘Image’.

Interactive slides

Discover Mentimeter’s interactive slides that will help you to engage your students, check their understanding, and even unleash their competitive side with quizzes and leaderboards.

Using Mentimeter with PowerPoint

While we recommend creating your content entirely in Mentimeter, we understand you may have existing content in PowerPoint that you don’t want (or have time) to remake from scratch. Explore our guide here to different options, including: importing PowerPoint slides into Mentimeter, using Mentimeter and PowerPoint side-by-side, and the Mentimeter PowerPoint add-in.

Using Mentimeter in Zoom

Present remotely from within Zoom using the Mentimeter Zoom app. Follow our step-by-step video guide to add the app to your University Zoom account, and discover how it will look for your students.

Learn more with Mentimeter Academy

Mentimeter have their own online academy, where you can take free courses to build your Mentimeter skills and improve your teaching:

Courses on Mentimeter Academy

(opens in a new tab)

Please note: Before you can access Mentimeter Academy, you’ll need to add your name to your Mentimeter account. Your name will appear on any certificates you earn from Mentimeter Academy courses.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about Mentimeter. Select each question to reveal the answer.

How can I make sure my Mentimeter presentation is accessible?

Read this article from Mentimeter on how to present with accessibility and inclusion in mind (opens in a new tab).

You can also carry out an accessibility check from within the edit view by going to Settings > Accessibility, which will tell you how your presentation scores in terms of text contrast, alt text for images and other accessibility concerns.

How do I change the theme of my presentation?

To change the theme of your presentation, in the edit view:

1. Go to the Design tab
2. Select Themes.

If you have signed up to Mentimeter via SSO with your University account, you will see the UoM theme under Organization themes.

You can also select from Mentimeter’s default themes, including ‘Soft shadows’ which Mentimeter recommends for people with visual disabilities, or create your own theme.

How do I style fonts and/or add links to my slides?

Read Mentimeter’s guide to editing text with Markdown (opens in a new tab) to find out how to style fonts.

To add hyperlinks to your presentation (opens in a new tab), put square brackets around the text you want to be linked, followed by round brackets surrounding the URL you want to link to, e.g.:

[Mentimeter’s website](www.mentimeter.com)

Can I use the PowerPoint add-in on teaching room computers?

At the moment, it’s likely that you’ll have to use your own device if you want to work with the PowerPoint add-in. We are hoping that the add-in will be rolled out to all on-campus computers in the future, but there is no set date that we know of.

How can I export my slides?

You can export your slides to PDF format easily. To do this, from My presentations (opens in a new tab):

1. Select the three dots next to the presentation you’d like to export and then View results.
2. In the bottom right-hand corner, select Download > All slides (PDF).

Please note: If you want to share your slides with your students before your session, and do not want them to see the interactive slides, you can choose which slides are included in the PDF. To do this, follow Step 1 above, then select Download > Choose slides. Select which slides you want to include (you might need to scroll down) and then select Download.

If you don’t remove or hide the questions/prompts for your students in your presentation, they will be included in the export. If you’re exporting your slides after a lesson has been run, any submitted answers will be included too. You can clear previous answers by going into the edit view and selecting Results followed by Clear results.

Does Mentimeter have a stock image library?

Yes! Mentimeter’s in-built ‘image library’ draws from a stock image website called Unsplash. You’ll find it by going to the slide where you’d like to add an image, selecting Click to add image and then Image library. All of the images you’ll see there are free to use.

After you’ve found an image you would like to add, select it. You can then crop it and review the alt text that Mentimeter has automatically generated for it (make sure the alt text describes your image in context, or if it’s just a decorative image, leave the alt text field blank). Select Save. You can then choose a layout depending on how you’d like the image to appear on your slide.

As a lecturer, I want to be able to see my presenter notes while I’m sharing my screen (like I can in PowerPoint). Is this possible?

It is! You’ll need to use something called Mentimote to see the notes, which you’ll get prompted to open when you start presenting a slide with speaker/presenter notes on. You can open Mentimote in a separate browser window or on your mobile device.

Mentimote turns your mobile device into a presentation remote, so you’re not stuck behind your computer as you present.

Why is there a cat emoji reaction option?

We wondered about this too! Luckily, the Mentimeter team visited us on campus in March 2024 and confirmed the truth…: it’s just because one of their programmers likes cats. 🐱