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Audience response for education and organisations

Quiz, estimate,moderate questionslive and free without an account.

arsnova.eu brings together live quizzes, numeric estimation questions, confidence ratings on scored questions, a Q&A wall, word-cloud analysis and Pulse Check feedback in one interface for schools, universities, continuing education, workshops and business. Open source, runnable on your own infrastructure and designed for operation with GDPR in mind.

Conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA — keyboard, screen reader and individually adjustable response time.

  • Live in seconds
    Share a session via code or QR
  • Q&A with a question wall
    Moderation, voting and topic word cloud
  • Confidence rating & follow-up
    Spot misconceptions, export a PDF results report
  • Open source & self-operated
    Docker, Postgres, Redis and admin activity log

For teaching, training and workshops

From idea to live session in a few minutes

From the question to the running session, the flow deliberately avoids unnecessary steps. That is what makes getting started fast and reliable for educators, trainers and facilitators.

  1. 01Step

    Prepare a quiz

    Create questions directly or import existing content. Markdown, KaTeX, short answer, numeric estimation, matching, ordering and categorisation are built in.

  2. 02Step

    Start a session

    Start without an account: open a session, choose a style, share a code or QR and use the presenter view if needed.

  3. 03Step

    Moderate live

    Participants vote, ask questions and prioritise together. The facilitator and presenter show the quiz, Q&A wall, word cloud, reading phase, countdown, second round and results in one flow.

  4. 04Step

    Follow up and export

    After the session ends, the results report (PDF) is ready — with learning progress, confidence rating and full question text. In the quiz collection you will find debriefing and PDF for the last run; CSV for Excel under “More”.

What sets arsnova.eu apart

Built for live interaction, not only for polling slides

arsnova.eu combines a fast start, pedagogical depth and a transparent technical foundation. The platform stays simple day to day without shrinking what you can do.

  • Ready in no time

    Facilitators start without an account. Participants join the session directly with a 6-digit code or QR.

  • Confidence rating in the live quiz

    Participants say how sure they are after answering. You spot confidently wrong answers, prioritise the debriefing and export the level of understanding in the results report (PDF).

  • Results report for follow-up

    After the session ends you export a print-ready PDF report with charts, question text and confidence rating. CSV for Excel remains optional under “More”.

  • Numeric estimation questions for teaching

    Years, orders of magnitude and measurements can be estimated with a reference value, tolerance band, statistics and an optional second round.

  • More than a standard quiz

    MC/SC, short answers, ratings, matching, ordering, categorisation, reading phase, Peer Instruction and presenter mode support learning, training and live facilitation.

  • Q&A wall instead of a side chat

    Q&A offers pre-moderation, pinning, archiving, up/down voting and sorting by support, quality and controversy.

  • Rich word cloud

    Free text and Q&A are condensed into words and phrases; the wall weights by agreement, clear majority score or controversy.

  • For different settings

    Presets, team mode, anonymous mode, nicknames and style choice help from class and seminar to workshop, event and meeting.

  • Conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA

    Keyboard use, screen-reader status updates, individually adjustable response time and PDF/UA-1-validated results reports — so more learners can join live sessions independently.

  • Privacy and control

    Quiz content stays on your device, optional data removal and operation on your own infrastructure give you more control over content and live data.

  • Open source with deployment and operations

    Docker, Postgres, Redis and an admin activity log make the platform reliable for deployment, operations and auditability.

Structured question types

Match, order and categorise — complete interactions with useful results

Three formats turn relationships, sequences and conceptual boundaries into active tasks. Solutions stay hidden while voting is open; model answers and common error patterns appear only after reveal.

  • Matching

    Match terms, definitions or examples one to one. The results reveal common mix-ups.

    Interaction
    Each term receives exactly one target, each target is used once, and every match must be completed.
    Teaching example
    Match historical dates to the corresponding events.
    Results
    Correct pairs, hit rates and frequently confused targets.
  • Ordering

    Put steps, events or stages of a process in the correct order. The results show which positions caused uncertainty.

    Interaction
    Every item forms one complete linear sequence, using visible move controls and the keyboard without requiring drag-and-drop.
    Teaching example
    Order the stages of a biological process.
    Results
    Model sequence, position distribution and common swaps.
  • Categorisation

    Assign terms or examples to the appropriate categories. The results reveal clear distinctions and common misclassifications.

    Interaction
    Each item receives exactly one category, and every item must be assigned.
    Teaching example
    Classify literary works by period.
    Results
    Model grouping, category distribution and common misclassifications.

All three formats are scored. An answer currently receives full credit or no credit; partial credit is not available.

During an active round, correct pairings, target order and target categories remain hidden. The model answer and detailed distributions appear only after reveal.

New in the live quiz

Estimate numbers, discuss, and compare the second round clearly

The numeric estimation question is built for years, orders of magnitude, measurements and probabilities. Facilitators set a reference value, allowed input range and tolerance; participants enter only a number.

  • A plausibility band limits allowed inputs.
  • A tolerance band scores estimates that are acceptable from a subject-matter perspective.
  • Nobody sees the distribution before results are released.
  • Round 1 and round 2 are compared after the discussion.
Open the numeric estimation question documentation

Facilitator view after release

When did the French Revolution begin?

Reference 1789

Tolerance band

1700 to 1900

Plausibility band

1500 to 2000

178915001700178919002000

Histogram, reference line and tolerance band appear only after results are released. Until then, only a neutral progress indicator is visible.

n

20

Median

1788

in band

95 %

Round 2

14 answers closer to the reference

Facilitator view after release

Which structure is the most stable?

Confidence rating

Correct · low confidence

3

Correct · medium confidence

8

Correct · high confidence

11

Incorrect · low confidence

2

Incorrect · medium confidence

4

Incorrect · high confidence

2

2 confidently wrong answers

Option B was chosen twice with high confidence — a signal for possible misconceptions in the debriefing.

Solid

11

Misconception risk

2

Fragile

3

After the session ends

DebriefingResults report (PDF)

Print-ready report with learning progress, heatmap and full question text — in the facilitator view and on the quiz card. CSV for Excel remains available under “More”.

Pedagogical analysis

Right or wrong — and how sure?

With the confidence rating, participants indicate how sure they are after answering (1–5). You see not only the hit rate, but also confidently wrong answers — a useful tool for formative evaluation, focused debriefing and the results report (PDF) after the session ends.

  • Not a separate question type — optional on scored quiz questions.
  • Scale 1–5 after the answer, with no effect on points.
  • After release, the facilitator sees correctness × confidence.
  • Confidently wrong answers may indicate misconceptions.
  • After the session: results report (PDF) and debriefing.

Live Q&A as a moderation space

Collect questions, prioritise them, and read them as a topic map

The Q&A wall is not a side chat. It is a dedicated live channel for facilitators and speakers: moderate submissions, spot collective priorities, surface controversial points and bring the key themes into the room via a weighted Q&A word cloud.

  • Pre-moderation
    Release questions only when they are relevant in the teaching context.
  • Collective voting
    Upvotes and downvotes indicate priorities, points of disagreement and needs for clarification.
  • Topic word cloud
    Words and phrases are weighted by support, agreement or controversy.
  • Coming next: moderation compass
    Deterministic signals come first; optional language analysis and summarisation remain extensions.
Open Q&A scoring and controversy docs on GitHub

Facilitator’s Q&A view

Questions about the event

Pre-moderation on
Most supportedBest questionsControversial
+18

When is an estimate still plausible from a subject-matter perspective?

15 up · 3 down · best question

+4

Should we really hide results before the discussion?

9 up · 5 down · controversial

+11

How does Q&A differ from free text in the quiz?

11 up · 0 down · mostly supported

Q&A word cloud

Weighted by positive support and controversy.

Live updates paused
Tolerance bandDiscussionQ&APlausibilityControversyPeer InstructionModerationClarification need

Next step: a deterministic moderation compass, optionally complemented by asynchronous language-analysis signals and summaries grounded in the submitted questions.

Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 AA — so more learners can take part independently

For schools, universities and continuing education, accessibility is often a decisive criterion. arsnova.eu meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA — with keyboard use, screen-reader support, individually adjustable response time and accessibly structured PDF results reports.

  • Keyboard operation

    You and your participants can use the core flows without a mouse. Visible focus marks and a skip link to content make navigation easier.

  • Screen-reader support in live use

    Status changes when joining a session, during voting and at phase changes are announced for screen readers so users can follow the flow.

  • Individually adjustable response time

    For timed questions you choose standard time, tenfold response time or participation without a time limit. Reasonable adjustments can be applied directly in the live session.

  • Accessibly structured results report

    The print-ready report is PDF/UA-1-validated and includes document title, language and tags — for follow-up and accessible sharing.

Trust

Built on an established foundation

arsnova.eu continues the ARSnova ecosystem tradition and builds on scientific, pedagogical and practical experience from many years of education technology.

  • Since 2012

    ARSnova tradition in education and edtech

  • WCAG 2.2 AA

    Verified accessibility for teaching and institutions

  • 5 UI languages

    German, English, French, Spanish, Italian

  • Open source

    Transparent code instead of opaque systems

  • Research
    „A privacy-friendly path: no personal data stored permanently on the server.“
    — DeLFI 2017
  • Study
    „UX evaluation in direct comparison with Kahoot! as an empirical design checkpoint.“
    — fnm-austria
  • Architecture
    „Privacy from the ground up and technical openness are a real differentiator for European edtech contexts.“
    — Publication analysis
  • Practice
    „Practically proven in real education settings, not only described as a concept.“
    — Use in teaching and training contexts

Full references and the underlying publication collection are in ARSnova-Recherche.pdf on GitHub.

Differentiation

Not just a Mentimeter or Kahoot substitute

The focus is not only voting, but the full live flow: prepare, facilitate, make results visible and keep control of content and operations.

  • Lower barriers to entry

    No separate product logic for “create” and “join”. Facilitators start without an account; participants enter the session via code or QR.

  • More interaction formats

    Alongside quizzes: matching, ordering, categorisation, numeric estimation questions, reading phase, Peer Instruction, Pulse Check, Q&A wall and weighted word cloud in one platform — not only slide polls.

  • More control over data and access

    Open source, runnable on your own infrastructure and with quiz content kept locally — plus conformance to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Relevant for schools, universities and organisations with privacy and inclusion requirements.

You can still find the full feature comparison in the docs: Open the comparison on GitHub

FAQ

Common questions before the first session

Do facilitators or participants need an account?Answer

No. A session can be started without an account. Participants join via code or QR.

Where is the data stored?Answer

Quiz content stays on your device. For live sessions only the technically necessary session data is processed; when you run it yourself, operations stay in your own infrastructure.

Can I run arsnova.eu on my own infrastructure?Answer

Yes. The platform is open source and designed to run with Docker, PostgreSQL and Redis.

What is confidence rating in the quiz?Answer

An optional follow-up after scored questions: participants rate on a scale of 1–5 how sure they are about their answer. Points stay unchanged; in the facilitator evaluation you see correctness × confidence and flag confidently wrong answers as a misconception signal. After the session ends, learning outcomes feed into debriefing and the results report (PDF).

Can I export session results?Answer

Yes. After the session ends, the results report (PDF) is the primary format — including confidence rating, debriefing priorities and full question text. In the quiz collection you will find debriefing and PDF for the last run. Tabular CSV data is available under “More” for Excel.

What makes the numeric estimation question special?Answer

It separates allowed inputs from the subject-matter tolerance band, shows no distribution during voting, and can evaluate a second round after discussion with statistics and round comparison.

What can the Q&A wall do?Answer

Participants submit questions and weight them with upvotes and downvotes. Facilitators can pre-moderate, pin, archive or remove questions and sort the list by support, clear majority agreement or controversy.

What makes the Q&A word cloud different?Answer

It condenses visible questions into words and phrases and follows the active sort logic. So it shows not only frequent terms, but topic groups from supported, clearly high-scoring or controversial questions.

Who is the platform for?Answer

For live interaction in education and organisations: school, university, continuing education, training, workshop, event or meeting.

Is arsnova.eu accessible?Answer

arsnova.eu conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Core flows are keyboard-operable, screen readers announce status changes, response time on timed questions is individually adjustable (standard time, tenfold response time or no time limit), and the accessibly structured results report is PDF/UA-1-validated.

Open the accessibility statement

Ready for the next live session?

Try the live flow directly in the app, or take a look at the open source code, the Q&A logic, the word-cloud processing pipeline and the technical foundations for deployment and operations.