Nearpod keeps students actively engaged and provides real-time data for teachers

Submitted 8 years ago
Fay C.
Fay C.
Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Hanover County Public Schools
Ashland VA, US
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

I think Nearpod is a wonderful vehicle to engage students in active class participation. Pre-made Nearpod presentations are easy to edit/adjust to meet the needs of each particular class. Creating Nearpod presentations from scratch (or loading pages from existing non-Nearpod files) is a bit cumbersome. I actually grew frustrated with how time consuming it became, so I chose to stop attempting to create my own and stuck with using pre-created presentations. It is great that Nearpod can be used on both tablets (via the app) or a PC. This makes accessible by such a vast audience. Nearpod also has a reports feature, in which you can take the 'real-time data' you receive during a class session and download reports to analyze that data to help drive upcoming instruction. Nearpod does have paid upgrades, which allow the user great access to a session, more storage, and enhanced reporting capabilities.

How I Use It

I have used Nearpod with a fourth grade class to review previously taught geometry concepts and explore new geometry concepts. This tool made it easy for me to quickly gauge student understanding of review and new topics. I used a pre-made presentation and with just a few simple edits, it fit my lesson and needs perfectly. My students were engaged and excited for this new mode of instruction. They were also excited to be able to access a personal device to work independently during our whole class lesson. My students did not have access to tablets, but were able join our Nearpod session on laptops. Based on the real-time data collection, I was able to adjust instruction on the fly to remediate when necessary, and move a bit faster as student responses indicated.