Nearpod is an interactive presentation tool that provides multiple avenues of formative assessment in the classroom. Not only can you create a slide presentation to teach content to students, but you can implement other tools to measure their comprehension. For example, Nearpod allows for virtual reality tours of different places. After being able to click around and explore, students can reflect on their observations using the drawing tool or collaboration space. In this feature, students can post responses, and they can even record their initial thoughts about the content during the anticipatory set. Nearpod also provides open-ended questions and quiz formats to embed, along with the option of uploading images or files from your own computer. It creates versatile lessons and demonstrates the fact that learning takes place in multiple ways.
This tech tool aligns with two different domains of the Danielson Framework. In Domain 1: Planning and Preparation, Nearpod helps educators to craft assessments (1f) based on the knowledge of their students and how they learn best (1b). Some children need visual cues, hence the customizable presentation features. Other students are auditory learners, and Nearpod provides the option to add videos and sound buttons to record someone talking. By including the virtual reality element, kinesthetic learners have a chance to engage their senses while using technology. Additionally, Nearpod fits Domain 3:Instruction because of its ability to engage learners (3c). Teachers can control the timing of the slides and therefore regulate the pacing of the lesson. The questioning and discussion techniques (3b) are evident through the collaboration and quiz options, which build an interactive classroom. This leads into proper assessment (3d) , since teachers can see the responses of different students immediately and watch the progress of the student's learning throughout the lesson itself.
Nearpod especially relates to the ISTE Standards for Students through the first standard: Empowered Learner. By providing tools that can be used at the beginning of lessons and assessment tools for the closing, students can view their progress and work on reaching personal learning goals (1a). This can inspire them to use technology to seek out new methods of learning to suit their individual needs (1c), understanding that learning is a lifelong process. This growth may start from the availability of so many digital tools in Nearpod, which allows students to gather information from sources in different formats to become Knowledge Constructors. Nearpod also promotes Creative Communicators by breaking down complex ideas using different tools (6c). For example, they can draw pictures of the content or explain their thoughts using open-ended responses. Nearpod also supports the Four C's of Teaching and Learning when used in the classroom. It increases the level of communication between teachers and students through the assessment tools, and students can also communicate with each other through collaboration notes and polls. The whole class can use technology while simultaneously learning as a group. By providing the feature of timing on Nearpod, teachers can also promote collaboration as students must work together to complete responses and solve problems. By approaching the lesson from different technological platforms, Nearpod encourages critical thinking as students challenge their knowledge of the material when presented in different ways. They can demonstrate creativity in their responses, allowing for a more open-ended and student-centered formative assessment.
I can see myself using this tech tool in my future classroom due to the ease at which I can incorporate formative assessment. While quizzes and exit slips can demonstrate student takeaways from a lesson, Nearpod provides consistent feedback as often as I want, and every type of technology is accessible in one spot. My one critique as an educator would be that the Nearpod slides themselves do not provide many options for teachers to creatively use themes or designs, and I found it tricky to insert photos and text boxes on one slide. Luckily, slides and images from other platforms can easily be uploaded. Nearpod is a great tool that excites learners and sparks their curiosity as they try to gain new knowledge through new perspectives.
Feel free to explore this Nearpod presentation I created about Literary Genres!