AcadNet Engage

Interactive Audience Engagement Platform

User Manual v2.0

Introduction

Welcome to AcadNet Engage, a powerful real-time audience engagement platform designed for educators, trainers, and presenters. Create interactive sessions where participants can respond to polls, submit questions, contribute to word clouds, take quizzes, provide ratings, and complete multi-dimension assessments.

📊

Live Polls

Single or multiple choice polls with real-time results visualization

❓

Q&A Sessions

Collect audience questions with upvoting to surface popular topics

☁️

Word Clouds

Dynamic visual clouds from participant word submissions

🎯

Quizzes

Timed competitive quizzes with leaderboards and scoring

⭐

Star Ratings

Simple 1-5 star rating collection for feedback

🌟

Multi-Ratings

Rate multiple criteria in one organized feedback form

📋

Assessment

Multi-dimension evaluations (IACT-style) with detailed results

✨ Real-Time Updates

All interactions happen in real-time. As participants submit responses, results update instantly on your screen and the projection display.

Getting Started

Accessing the Platform

Open your web browser and navigate to your AcadNet Engage installation URL. You will see the home page with options to create a new session or join an existing one.

User Registration

To create and manage sessions, you need to register an account:

Click "Sign Up"

Located on the home page navigation bar

Enter Your Details

Provide your name, email address, and a secure password

Submit Registration

Click the register button to create your account

Use your credentials to access the dashboard

Dashboard Overview

After logging in, you'll see your dashboard displaying all your sessions. From here you can:

Create new sessions
Access and manage existing sessions
View session statistics
Manage your account settings

Creating a Session

A session is a container for all your interactive items. Each session has a unique 6-digit code that participants use to join.

Steps to Create a Session

Click "Create New Session"

From your dashboard, click the prominent create button

Enter Session Name

Give your session a descriptive name (e.g., "Marketing Workshop Day 1")

Click "Create"

Your session will be generated with a unique 6-digit code

Share the Session Code

The code is displayed prominently - share this with your participants

Open Admin Panel

Click on the session to start adding interactive items

💡 Pro Tip

The session code remains valid for the lifetime of the session. You can reuse the same session for multiple events by using the Reset function.

Interactive Features

AcadNet Engage offers six types of interactive items. Use the "Create New" dropdown menu in the Admin Panel to add items.

Polls

Polls allow you to ask questions and collect responses from your audience in real-time.

Creating a Poll

Click "Create New" → "Poll"
Enter your question
Add answer options (minimum 2, maximum 8)
Choose "Single Choice" or "Multiple Choice"
Click "Create Poll"

Poll Controls

Button	Function
Show/Hide Results	Toggle whether participants can see live results
Reset 🔄	Clear all votes to reuse the poll
Present	Open full-screen presentation view
Push to Audience	Display poll on all participant screens

Q&A Sessions

Q&A allows participants to submit questions which can be upvoted by others.

Creating a Q&A

Click "Create New" → "Q&A"
Enter a title (e.g., "Questions for the Speaker")
Click "Create Q&A"

Features

Participants can submit questions anonymously
Other participants can upvote questions
Questions automatically sort by popularity
Admins can mark questions as answered

Word Clouds

Word clouds collect words from participants and display them visually where frequent words appear larger.

Creating a Word Cloud

Click "Create New" → "Word Cloud"
Enter a prompt (e.g., "Describe our company culture in one word")
Set maximum submissions per participant (default: 3)
Click "Create Word Cloud"

📊 How It Works

The cloud updates in real-time. Words submitted by multiple participants appear larger.

Quizzes

Quizzes are timed, competitive activities with scoring and leaderboards. Questions can auto-advance or be controlled manually.

Creating a Quiz

Click "Create New" → "Quiz"
Enter the quiz title
For each question: enter text, add options, mark correct answer, set time (default: 15 seconds) and points
Add more questions as needed
Click "Create Quiz"

Running a Quiz

Button	Function
Start Quiz	Begins the quiz – questions auto-advance when timer expires
◀ Previous	Go back to the previous question
Next ▶	Skip ahead to the next question
Show Leaderboard	Displays current rankings with scrollable list
Reset 🔄	Clears all scores and progress

Quiz Modes

Mode	How It Works
Auto-Advance	Questions automatically advance when the timer expires (server-synced)
Self-Paced	Each participant progresses through questions at their own speed

💡 Scoring

Points are awarded based on correctness and speed. Faster correct answers earn more points. The leaderboard updates in real-time.

Star Ratings

Star ratings provide a simple way to collect feedback on a 1-5 scale.

Creating a Rating

Click "Create New" → "Rating"
Enter your question (e.g., "How would you rate today's session?")
Set the maximum value (default: 5 stars)
Click "Create Rating"

Multi-Ratings

Multi-Ratings allow you to collect ratings on multiple criteria in a single, organized interface. Perfect for evaluating speakers, sessions, or services across several dimensions.

Creating a Multi-Rating

Click "Create New" → "Multi-Rating"
Enter the overall title (e.g., "Session Feedback")
Add rating criteria – each with its own label (e.g., "Content Quality", "Presenter Skills", "Relevance")
Set the scale (default: 5 stars per criterion)
Click "Create Multi-Rating"

Example Use Cases

Use Case	Criteria Examples
Workshop Feedback	Content, Delivery, Relevance, Materials, Venue
Speaker Evaluation	Knowledge, Clarity, Engagement, Time Management
Course Review	Curriculum, Instructor, Resources, Assignments

💡 Results View

Multi-Rating results show average scores per criterion with visual bar charts, making it easy to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

Multi-Dimension Assessment

Multi-dimension assessments collect ratings across multiple categories simultaneously.

Example: IACT Assessment

Code	Dimension	Description
I	Interpersonal	Communication and relationship skills
A	Adaptability	Flexibility and responsiveness
C	Cognitive	Knowledge and analytical skills
T	Technical	Technical expertise and skills

Creating an Assessment

Click "Create New" → "Assessment"
Enter the assessment title and subtitle
Add dimensions with code, label, and question text
Set the maximum rating value
Click "Create Assessment"

Managing Items

Item Navigation

All items are accessible from the dropdown menu in the Admin Panel with type icons and titles.

Reordering Items

Use the arrow buttons to change item order:

⬆️ Move Up – Move item earlier
⬇️ Move Down – Move item later

Reset Function

Each item has a Reset button (🔄) that clears all data without deleting the item.

Item Type	What Gets Reset
Poll	All votes cleared
Q&A	All questions removed
Word Cloud	All submissions cleared
Quiz	Scores cleared, progress reset
Rating	All ratings cleared
Assessment	All responses cleared

Deleting Items

Click 🗑️ to permanently remove an item (requires confirmation).

⚠️ Warning

Deletion cannot be undone. Consider using Reset instead to keep the item for future use.

Presentation Mode

Presentation mode provides full-screen views optimized for projection.

Opening Presentation View

Click "Present" on any item for full-screen mode
Use "Presentation" link for slide-based presenter

Push to Audience

"Push to Audience" displays the current item on all participant screens automatically.

🖥️ Best Practice

Open Display view on a projector while keeping Admin Panel on your main screen.

QR Codes & Sharing

Session QR Code

Each session has an auto-generated QR code with embedded "AcadNet" branding.

Item-Level QR Codes

Every poll, word cloud, quiz, and other item has its own unique QR code and direct URL. Click the 📷 QR/Link button on any item to access:

Element	Purpose
Audience URL	Direct link for participants to respond to this specific item
Display URL	Full-screen results view for projector
PPT Alt Text	Code for PowerPoint VBA macro integration (format: `SessionCode\|type_ItemId`)
QR Code	Scannable QR that links directly to the item

Accessing QR Codes

Session QR – Click "QR Code" button in Admin Panel header
Item QR – Click "📷 QR/Link" on any poll, wordcloud, quiz, etc.
Join Page – Open join.php?code=XXXXXX for full-page display

Downloading QR Codes

Click "Download QR Code" to save as PNG with embedded branding, URL, and session code.

💡 Fullscreen Mode

Press F on the join page to enter fullscreen – perfect for projection.

Import/Export

Transfer items between sessions or create backups using the import/export functionality.

Exporting Items

Click 📦 Import/Export in the Admin Panel
Select the Export tab
Choose items to export or use "Export All"
Download the JSON file

Importing Items

Click 📦 Import/Export in the Admin Panel
Select the Import tab
Choose a JSON file to upload
Items will be added to your current session

📋 Supported Formats

Import files should be JSON format with valid poll, wordcloud, qa, quiz, rating, or assessment structures. Export from one session and import into another to reuse content.

Participant Tracking

AcadNet Engage includes a comprehensive participant registration and tracking system.

One-Time Registration

When participants join a session, they are prompted to register once. Their details are stored in a cookie, so they won't be asked again for different activities within the same session.

Collected Information

Field	Source
Name	Form input (required)
Email	Form input (required)
Phone	Form input (optional)
IP Address	Automatic
Browser Session ID	Automatic
Registration Time	Automatic

Viewing Participants

Click the 👥 Participants button in the Admin Panel to view all registered participants for the session.

Exporting Participant Data

Click 📥 Export CSV to download a spreadsheet of all participant data, including their activity history (votes, submissions, quiz scores).

💡 Activity Linking

All participant activities (votes, word submissions, quiz answers) are linked to their registration via a unique participant ID.

PowerPoint Integration

Seamlessly launch AcadNet Engage activities directly from your PowerPoint presentation using VBA macros.

Setup Overview

Open VBA Editor

Press Alt + F11 in PowerPoint

Insert Module

Right-click your presentation → Insert → Module

Paste VBA Code

Add the LaunchLivePoll macro code

Set Alt Text on Shapes

Right-click shape → Edit Alt Text → Enter the PPT code

Assign Macro

Developer tab → Assign Macro → Select LaunchLivePoll

Alt Text Format

Each item has a unique PPT Alt Text code in the format:

SessionCode|type_ItemId

Example: 266C6B|poll_abc123

Get this code by clicking 📷 QR/Link on any item and copying the "PPT Alt Text" field.

VBA Macro Code

Use this macro to launch activities in full-screen Microsoft Edge:

📋 LaunchLivePoll Macro

Sub LaunchLivePoll() If SlideShowWindows.Count = 0 Then Exit Sub Dim sld As Slide Set sld = SlideShowWindows(1).View.Slide Dim shp As Shape Dim code As String For Each shp In sld.Shapes If Trim(shp.AlternativeText) <> "" Then code = Trim(shp.AlternativeText) Exit For End If Next If code = "" Then Exit Sub Dim pipePos As Integer pipePos = InStr(code, "|") If pipePos > 0 Then Dim sessionCode As String, itemCode As String sessionCode = Left(code, pipePos - 1) itemCode = Mid(code, pipePos + 1) Dim url As String url = "https://engage.acadnet.net/display.php?code=" & sessionCode & "&type=" & Left(itemCode, InStr(itemCode, "_") - 1) & "&item=" & Mid(itemCode, InStr(itemCode, "_") + 1) Shell "cmd /c start msedge --start-fullscreen """ & url & """", vbHide End If End Sub

During Presentation

Click the button/shape during slideshow to launch the activity
Edge opens in full-screen with the display view
Press Alt + F4 to close and return to PowerPoint

💡 Pro Tip

Each slide can have a different activity button. Use different Alt Text codes for each shape to launch different polls, quizzes, or word clouds.

Participant Guide

Joining a Session

📱

Scan QR Code

Use your phone's camera to scan the displayed QR code

🔢

Enter Code

Go to the website and enter the 6-digit session code

🔗

Direct Link

Click a shared link to join directly

📝

Enter your name and email once – details are remembered for the session

Participating

Activity	How to Participate
Polls	Tap your answer choice(s) and submit
Q&A	Type your question or upvote existing ones
Word Cloud	Enter words or short phrases
Quiz	Answer questions quickly for maximum points
Rating	Tap the stars to rate
Assessment	Rate each dimension and submit

System Requirements

Server Requirements

PHP 7.4 or higher
PHP GD extension (for QR codes)
Web server (Apache, Nginx)
Write permissions for data/ directory

Browser Requirements

Google Chrome (recommended)
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Safari
Mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Android Chrome)