I recently learned of PollEverywhere at the recent Council of EM Residency Directors conference when it was used during a lecture on Web 2.0 (how appropriate!). PollEverywhere allows audience members to use their mobile phone or laptop computer to vote and/or comment on questions posed by the speaker. Information can be send via text message, online, and even by Twitter!
You can equate this to having an Audience Response System (ARS) setup without having to purchase all of the hardware equipment, such as a receiver and individual remote "clickers".
Although most plans have a monthly service fee, there is a free plan option. I like free. This option allows you to pose one multiple-choice or free-text question and to get up to 30 responses. This can definitely get the job done for residency and medical student talks.
Here's the link to build a poll for free:
http://www.polleverywhere.com/my/polls/new
I do not have any financial affiliations with PollEverywhere. Just a fan.
