Digital Contest Ballots, Timer Tool, and Contest Organizers' Dashboard Updated for 2021

Here are a few video tutorials on the online tools for conducting contests created as part of the WordPress for Toastmasters project. These are also independently available at contest.toastmost.org for clubs that don’t have a a Toastmost or WordPress for Toastmasters website and for use in area, division, and district contests.

Each judge receives their own coded link to a digital ballot. As the judges vote, the Chief Judge and ballot counter can watch the as the ballots roll in and are automatically tabulated. The ballot counters can then hunt down any that may be missing, if necessary. With a little preparation, you can use this system to allow you to run a contest that will go smoothly and allow you to announce a result very quickly.

These tools are not new, but they are improved. New for 2021:

Easier setup for events that include 2 contests, such as International Speech and Table Topics
A quick way of emailing out the ballots and timer’s report links to contest functionaries
Clearer on-screen prompts and instructions for the judges on how to submit the digital ballot
Timer controls can be enlarged for easier viewing. Clarified some button labels and other controls. Updated instructions for sharing in Zoom, below.

Digital Ballots and Vote Counting Dashboard

Updates: Since this video was recorded, two elements of the contest organizer’s dashboard have moved to tabs at the bottom of the screen:

Email Links – this tab will help you send coded links to the judges and the timer.
Backup Forms – if any of the judges are unable to use the online ballot but get you their votes some other way (such as texting them to you), you can enter them on their behalf. They will then be added to the final tally.

Video: Contest Speech Timing Tool

Streaming the Timer Video to Zoom

If you want to share screen colors in a Zoom meeting, you will need some sort of webcam or streaming software. I use OBS Studio, which is free, open source software that allows you to mix your webcam video with other video sources. The virtual camera function, which used to require a separate plugin but is built into the latest release of OBS, must be turned on. In Zoom, you will then select OBS Virtual Camera as your video source.

Click Start Virtual Camera to begin sending output to the virtual camera. In OBS, you will select the timer window or the popup timer as the video source to use as your background.

Here’s a good tutorial on green screen setup for OBS Studio.

If your club has a Toastmost.org website, or its own WordPress-powered website, the same tool is available from a contest agenda. For regular meetings, the timer pulls in the names of speakers and evaluators from the agenda and gives you options for timing Table Topics and other events.