Nearpod

"Middle school science teacher for 5 years; Instructional Technology Facilitator for 2 hears"

Vorteile: Nearpod is a high-quality, user-friendly, reliable presentation program that could be a valuable asset in every teachers classroom. There is a fee, but it's definitely worth the investment individually or at the school-wide level. For starters, it's easy to create slide decks, but what's amazing is that these presentations can be pushed to student devices or phones instantly and with ease. Students can then follow along and interact with the instructor. Other types of presentations can easily be converted and used within NearPod, too, so you don't have to reinvent good material. Just upload and begin pushing to students with ease. Next, audio and video files can be dropped in to decks which enables students to interact with the multimedia individually or in groups. Beyond that, and perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to collect real-time feedback from students through a wide variety of question types/formats. This enables the presenter to pace the lesson appropriately, follow-up with anyone who may be struggling, or engage students in conversation or clarifications based on the feedback. Next, NearPod has a database of phenomenal content available to educators. Large amounts are free. Some of the content even offers VR360 opportunities for students who are using capable devices. Last, I just appreciate that they are committed to improving their product - always taking steps forward, listening to user concerns, offering loudly support, and advancing.

Nachteile: It would be great if they could add on some sort of homework feature for students who may not have access to WiFi. I know they are exploring several potentials here, and I think they'll figure out a solution, but this would be helpful for flipping the classroom in Title One environments.

"Catholic emelentary use of nearpod"

Kommentare: The product is so unique and fun that the students enjoy learning. There are so many academic benefits that I don't think I have enough room to list them all. It can be used in every classroom for all ages and subjects. I even got the school counselors using it with the middle school kids. Like any product, it takes time to make it your own, but it is time well spent.

Vorteile: I am able to take control of the student's computer screen so they are unable to move ahead or fall behind. I am able to see each student's answer as they submit it. If I want to I can share all responses or select the responses that work for the lesson. I see what each person is doing on their desktop or laptop computer. It saves the data and I can use it to triangulate future data. The students LOVE it and always ask if we can "do a nearpod" today.

Nachteile: It took me days to purchase a subscription and they tried to "upsell" me and I hate that. I just want to be able to order a subscription online. Instead, I had to call and get transferred, then their system was down and they could not process my credit card. They asked me to call back so I did and it still did not work. I only had the school credit card for a few hours and I was trying to teach. It should not have been so difficult. I almost quit trying but I really really wanted to use the product because it is amazing.

"Great Engagement and Success Tracking"

Kommentare: Nearpod is my presentation go-to that helps me deliver information or learning in a fun and efficient way. It allows me to assess my students with reports in real time. I can even share a code with adults then I can track who has accessed it. I often turn to the Nearpod library when I need a last minute lesson-- it gives me content to start with so I don't have to build a lesson from scratch.

Vorteile: I use Nearpod for training teachers as well as creating and delivering lessons to students. The interactive features such as quizzes, a Time To Climb game, and Draw It keep grownups and kid engaged in the material. The VR "field trips" are amazing also, even if you don't have VR goggles. Nearpod support is great, there is a very active community of users to learn from, and the company is very responsive to feedback.

Nachteile: There is a learning curve before a person can use Nearpod to its full advantage. There are many premade lessons, but they often need to be customized for specific audiences such as grade level (I have found some of the Kindergarten lessons, for example, are too advanced for most little ones).The file structure and management is also a little awkward.

"Another Tool in the Teacher Toolbox"

Kommentare: Nearpod is a great way to run interactive whole group or independent lessons with students, but it doesn't fully implement itself with other classroom tools such as Google Classroom. Because of this, it can be frustrating to go from one tool to another to create a lesson and then formative assessment for students. This has been great for me for interspersed uses, but until it implements a little better, it can be tough to use daily.

Vorteile: Nearpod helps teachers (and others) create powerpoint-like lessons for students to go through either in whole group settings or student-paced. The slides can range from interactive ones like student drawing or typing responses or can be static slides, linking students to other resources. Students can join on a variety of device types with a lesson code, or by linking the lesson directly to your Google Classroom.

Nachteile: While the tool can help students go through a lesson, I wish it implemented itself with other tools a little better. The fact that I can link this straight to my Google Classroom is great, but it won't allow me to keep or save any individual grades from the Nearpod easily. This means if I want this to be an independent lesson for students with a formative assessment at the end, I have to make the Nearpod, and then create a graded opportunity separately. I've been told this update will come to the program, but until then, that can be frustrating.

"Nearpod"

Kommentare: I used this product because my school site bought us a license. I had used Pear Deck previously which is a similar software. In my opinion Pear deck is much easier to use and the students enjoy using it more as well.

Vorteile: It makes boring powerpoints more interactive. You can engage students by asking questions throughout the lesson and see their responses on your screen. There is also a library of pre-existing lessons ready to use.

Nachteile: The pre-made lessons didn't really fit my needs and creating your own Nearpod presentation from scratch is extremely time consuming. During the lesson it is difficult to go back and forth between the presentation and checking student responses.