Soaring with Ms. Sweeting

Nearpod

What is Nearpod?

Nearpod is a presentational tool that makes presentations more interactive and engaging, which would be good for teaching lessons to students. Nearpod is free for the most part; some presentations costs money but you can do almost everything with the free version.

Benefits of Nearpod:

• Students can have the presentations on their own devices
• Engages students
• Great for whole-group instruction, allowing for groups and discussion settings
• Allows the teacher to be provided with instant feedback
• Allows students to self-pace their own learning
• Great assessment tool- the teacher can immediately see what the students get and do not get
• Benefits students with special needs- lessons can be individually made according to each students' needs and teachers can also chunk the lessons and use tools to keep them on task
• Does not put children on the spot when they do not understand concepts

What All Can Nearpod Do in the Classroom?

• Virtual/virtual reality field trips
• Interactive lesson plans and activities
• Provides ongoing formative assessment
• Allows classrooms to be flipped and provide children the opportunity to learn wherever they are, allowing for deeper discussions in class the next day
• Can be used in all content areas

Resources:

• https://nearpod.com/blog/using-nearpod-support-differentiated-instruction/
• https://classtechtips.com/2017/05/14/small-group-instruction-nearpod/
• https://nearpod.com/blog/best-nearpod-tips-2018/
• https://samsonsshoppe.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-to-use-nearpod-to-increase.html - Nearpod in Science
• https://nearpod.com/blog/virtual-field-trips-extending-learning/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blog-extending-learning-vr-field-trips

Reflection:

I have never really studied or looked into Nearpod before so this presentation was very helpful. I can see myself using it as an assessment tool in my teaching career. I never thought about it as beneficial for students with special needs, but through this presentation, I understand that Nearpod allows for self-pacing and individualized instruction for all needs in the classroom. I like the idea of it allowing for interactive and engaging discussions between classmates and teacher. I also like how it provides the opportunity for a flipped classroom! I like the idea of having a tool in my pocket to create interactive presentations for my students!

All pictures are from Google and Pinterest!