Nearpod
For those who have never heard of Nearpod before, you are missing out! Nearpod is an excellent resource for teachers to use to create interactive presentations for students. They offer all different kinds of interactive slides like collaboration boards, matching activities, polls, and so much more! I used Nearpod to create a sample sixth-grade-level interactive presentation on solving equations, and it was so easy to use. Regardless of what subject or grade you teach, definitely check out Nearpod for a fun way to get students involved.
Relation to Domain 3 of Danielson Framework
Domain Three of the Danielson Framework for Teaching is all about instruction, focusing on creating engaging and interesting instruction for students. Nearpod is an excellent way to get students involved in the learning process. Nearpod allows you to incorporate all kinds of formative assessments and activities so that we as teachers can see what our students know and what they need additional instruction on. It helps to keep students on task and allows teachers to see how students are thinking. One of my favorite aspects of Nearpod is the poll option. I enjoy using polls in the middle of my lesson as a way to check in with students and see how the lesson is going. These polls allow students to mark a thumbs up or thumbs down, and it gives them a space to explain why they reacted that way. Seeing these poll results in the middle of the lesson allows teachers to adjust their instruction to better accommodate where our students are in the learning process.
Should You Use Nearpod?
I am a huge Nearpod fan! I will absolutely continue to use Nearpod in the classroom to create engaging PowerPoints for students. Students get bored very easily when teachers stand at the front of the class and lecture for the duration of the period. Using Nearpod allows students to take charge of their learning by interacting with the material as they go, rather than just taking notes about the material. Start getting your students involved in their education by using Nearpod for your presentations!!
Evaluation of Nearpod
ISTE Standards Tie In
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) created a bunch of standards for teachers, students, and administration to keep in mind when incorporating technology in the classroom. The ISTE standards for students relating to developing empowered learners, computational thinkers, and creative collaborators are all seen when using Nearpod in the classroom. Nearpod allows students to take an active role in their education, encouraging them to dive into the material and work with the teacher and fellow classmates to gain a deeper understanding of the material than they would get by simply listening to a lecture.
