Nearpod is an interactive presentation and assessment tool that can be used by teachers to help bring that “Wow” factor to any lessons. The concept is quite simple in classrooms with access to technology such as laptops, iPads, iPhones etc. A teacher or instructor teaches a lesson through the use of a presentation and every students follows along on their own device. A teacher simply creates a nearpod presentation by creating new slides or uploading an already existing power point presentation. The interactive lesson presentation is then synced and shared with all the students devices allowing them to follow along all while being monitored in real time. What makes this so attracting is the wide range of different presentations that can be created. A teacher can incorporate videos, images, drawing-boards and so on to keep students engaged with interactive activities. Quizzes and polls can also be included in the presentation allowing students to interact in the lesson and submit responses. Nearpod allows instructors to monitor and measure a students results, helping teachers instantly see a students understanding of the material.
Nearpod comes in four packages: Silver, Gold, School and District. The silver package is free allowing a class size of up to 30 with 50MB of storage and includes all the basic features. The gold package is $10/month allowing a class size of up to 50 with 3GB of data and includes both basic and premium features. For the school and district package it is best to contact Nearpod directly and discuss possible options.
Nearpod is a great example of taking notes as it goes beyond the basic paper and pencil routine. With all the multiple interactive activities incorporated within each presentation, students experience of learning changes completely. The curriculum students need to learn is being presented however, now instead of just having students write down notes from the board they have all the information in front of them and are able to take part in the engaging lesson.
I would use Nearpod in the classroom during a lesson on photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a processes with many processes within itself making it quite difficult for many students to understand. Using Nearpod I can create a fun and engaging presentation which would include images and videos, step by step on how plants absorb light energy turn it into chemical energy and then store it as sugar. After the lesson is complete I can give each student a quick quiz to test the information they have just learned and monitor everyones progress.
A problem or limitation to Nearpod is that not every school has the ability of provide each student with a computer, laptop,or iPad. Without each student having a device it is difficult to have them take part in the interactive lesson as well as monitor their progress.
I really love this tool, as long as the school is able to provide the students with iPads or laptops to follow along. I think the best part of this is the quizzing that can be done through the presentation which will help enforce the concepts learned!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really neat tool for teachers to make use of! I would think adding quizzes and polls would be a way to keep students engaged and make sure they're following along and paying attention.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both points jenna and joseph made. Adding quizzes and surveys allows for reinforcement of knowledge that is taught.
ReplyDelete