Nearpod: A Tutorial
Learning new technology for the classroom can be difficult, especially when balancing a transition to virtual teaching. Nearpod is a fantastic (and easy to use) virtual platform for teachers to engage students in interactive lessons.
Nearpod: A tutorial
In an earlier blog post, I shared my experience using the virtual teaching platform, Nearpod, as a way to make lesson virtually engaging for students. Check out the video below to follow along with me as I both show how to use Nearpod, as well as share my insights to its benefits in the classroom. After you watch the video, let me know if you think Nearpod could be a useful tool in your classroom context.
Watch this video to learn more about Nearpod!
Tutorial created using Screencast-o-matic
I really enjoyed your tutorial for Nearpod. It seems incredibly versatile and I was intrigued by the fact that you create the assignment first and only then do you choose a delivery method. That seems like it would make it easier to be flexible if teaching abruptly goes online or returns to in-person, while maintaining the same overall curriculum. However, I wonder whether that approach takes full advantage of the different affordances of the different delivery systems.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like my concern might just be lack of familiarity, however, because you mentioned that the asynchronous version gives students the ability to complete work in their own time. I support I'm curious whether it feels like one delivery method is primary, and the other two spin off of that, or whether each one feels organic to the assignment. Which may depend on the assignment and the initial mindset of the instruction when creating it - that was just the part of the tool that most caught my eye and simultaneously made me most curious. We spend a lot of energy at my job talking about how to deliver content in ways that feel authentic to their particular media, yet also align. If Nearpod has solved that conundrum, I definitely need to check it out further! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Sofia! Thanks for sharing and reminding me of Nearpod. It's one of those apps that I've seen around but haven't dove into myself. I've been looking for capabilities similar to what Nearpod offers, so I think I'll be taking a closer look at it. Have you ever used PearDeck? I used it a couple years ago with full capabilities for a trial period, but my school wasn't 1:1 and I couldn't justify fronting the cost so I let it go. Nearpod seems to be similar. Possibly a side-by-side comparison would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this tutorial on how to use NearPod! I heard of NearPod last year but recently explored it more while doing a tech tools assignment for this class. I appreciate the details you gave on how to use it since it is very new to me. I was wondering how it looks for students so it was helpful to see how students would access the content. I like how it can be used for synchronous and asynchronous lessons. Also, I was excited to learn that you can incorporate the NearPod slides into Google Slides since I already have a lot of different things created in Google. Did you download the extension and play around in Google Slides? If so, what did you think? I also noticed there are a lot of presentation already created? Have you explored any of those?
Thanks for all of the information!
-Natalie
Hi Sofia,
ReplyDeleteI love Nearpod as well! It truly is a great resource. I did my presentation on Nearpod as well. I appreciated how you took us through from start to finish as a new user, this is super helpful for those that are novices. I love how you touched on the different uses and how it can be used both in person and asynchronously, which as a teacher is super important to have that flexibility this year. Have you had an opportunity to use any of the game side of Nearpod? My students have come to love Time to Climb. As well, are you super comfortable with the integration into Google Slides, this is one place that I am not super comfortable with and would love to chat with someone who has more experience!