A Brainstorm Is Coming! AnswerGarden is a social response app for creatives, conferences and classrooms. Also see http://bit.ly/answergarden-app for a version without ads.
This audience participation tool allows you to pose a question or a topic for your crowd to answer or comment on. The unique twist of AnswerGarden is that it cleverly combines the expression of the respondents’ own answers with a Twitter-like confinement of 20 characters and a representation in the form of a word cloud. The end result provides a quick overview of all answers, ranked in popularity, which can then be used for further analysis or group discussion.
Since its launch users have found numerous applications for AnswerGarden. Creative designers use it for brainstorming while conference speakers employ AnswerGarden for breaking the ice with their audience. Educators use it with their students for formative assessments and therapists apply AnswerGarden to personal mind mapping exercises.
The new AnswerGarden for iPad app now makes it easier to connect your AnswerGarden to your audience as it automatically detects AnswerGardens that are shared over local WIFI networks.
AnswerGarden is made by Creative Heroes, a two-person design team in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
* Critical Acclaim *
"AnswerGarden is the answer to great polls and brainstorming" - ICT For Educators
"When I first read about AnswerGarden on Twitter (...) I admit I was skeptical. It seemed as though it was almost too simplistic...but thats the beauty of it!" - Teaching with Technology
"A kind of Wordle for responses" - Tim Rylands, ludodidactic
"I recently came across a Web 2.0 tool that is new to me and I’m already hooked. (...) It appears to be a great tool for encouraging higher order thinking and building vocabulary because unlike Twitter that lets you type the exorbitant amount of 140 characters, AnswerGarden only allows you 20 characters." - Discovery Education
"AnswerGarden – quick, simple brainstorming"- Whiteboardblog.co.uk
"With AnswerGarden, creative brainstorming and collecting feedback has never been easier! In addition to surveys and polls, this "cool tool" can be used to establish the knowledge level of a class regarding a certain concept. It also can be used as a fun and interactive assessment, icebreaker, parking lot and/or exit ticket." - Edutech for Teachers
"AnswerGarden can also be embedded in your own blog,website, or a wiki. It is a very practical way for teachers to establish the knowledge level of a class on a certain subject." - Educators Technology
"You don’t need to sign up to use it and creating an AnswerGarden literally takes seconds. (...) For short answers that are collected with absolute minimum fuss, AnswerGarden trumps anything else." - Inquiry + elearning
"At first, I didn’t appreciate its depth so don’t be surprised that on the surface it looks quite drab. (...) The key piece is the collaboration (and) in its Twitter-like confinement to a limited number of characters. AnswerGarden’s is only 20 characters." - Tuesdays with Karen
“Processing feedback manually can take an eternity. This takes care of the tricky bits.” - KillerStartups.com
"Answergarden is a great tool for canvassing your class for their ideas and understanding (...) for taking quick snapshots or for citizenship work." - David Kinane, eLearning Innovator
"And the final verdict? AnswerGarden had the best export features – I loved the fact that it just worked seamlessly with Wordle." - athrawes.com
"Its a nice way to see how the class as a whole feels about their knowledge and weaknesses." - Matthew Gillispie, From Notepad to IPad
"Answer Garden is a fun way for students to brainstorm, plan, and work together. (...) The possibilities are endless!" - ilearntechnology.com
"AnswerGarden is a FREE and easy way to get feedback from the children. You could use this to get scientific predictions before an experiment." - talkPrimaryICT