Finding the perfect tool to teach students, whether they are attending remotely, participating in a hybrid model, or being physically present in the classroom, can be quite the challenge. However, Nearpod offers a plethora of interactive tools and resources which engages students and encourages their participation, helping to solve this common dilemma.

Nearpod is a web-based application which allows teachers to make any lesson a live, interactive learning experience, whether the students are learning in school or via remote methods. Accessible through the website or available as an application, Nearpod is free to download but can be upgraded at an additional cost. Although the free version is limited, it offers a wide range of opportunities for active engagement.

The availability of interactive tools directly involves the students and requires them to be involved in the lesson, regardless of their location. A variety of K-12 standards-aligned lessons are freely available, including a procured resource library of assorted videos that can be filtered according to grade and subject. With teacher-led lessons, students are not able to advance the slides in the presentation. This innovative classroom management tool will help to keep students focused on the current material being taught. With the available student notes option, learners can take notes during the lesson as the slides are being presented and download the entire presentation directly to their Google drive. Lessons can also be administered as student-paced, which lets students control the flow of the lesson, promotes active engagement, and gives learners the option to progress on their own while they work independently. This type of lesson can also be used during substitute days, school closings, or as a homework assignment.

Because of its dynamic options, Nearpod is an exceptional interactive alternative to a typical static presentation. By installing the Nearpod add-on in Google Slides, activities can be directly incorporated into any Google slide presentation. When displaying a Nearpod teacher-led lesson to the class, each student accesses the presentation directly on their device after they have logged in with a teacher-generated code. Students can be engaged with virtual reality activities, as well as customized quizzes, polls, collaborative boards, open-ended questions, matching pairs, fill in the blanks, a video activity similar to Edpuzzle, a new Flipgrid option, and more (depending on the subscription tier). These activities allow for students to be involved in the lesson, giving the opportunity for teachers to check for understanding in real-time. As a result, instructors can provide immediate feedback to the students and also have the opportunity to make immediate adjustments to the lesson as needed. Results from student answers can be shown directly to student devices, including those belonging to remote learners. A recently added feature in Nearpod helps to support scaffolding instruction by quickly inserting a new activity during a presentation, such as embedding a whiteboard, slide, or webpage into a lesson. Another benefit is the ability to download formative assessment data to check for student progress, which can be used later for grading.

Since the teacher-led presentation doesn’t allow for the students to jump ahead independently, my students who have a hard time focusing will keep from getting distracted and won’t be able to progress ahead of the class. My visually-impaired students will have access to the lesson directly from their devices and won’t have difficulty viewing the lesson and following along. For any of my students who may need additional support, the poll feature can be used as a way to let them self-assess or share opinions in order to facilitate classroom discussion. This allows both the teacher and the students to see where any additional support may be needed. Finally, with the use of open-ending questions, all students will be tasked to use their critical thinking skills and be creative with their answers.

Overall, Nearpod is my favorite technology tool because it will help all my students, whether they have been designated as a student with a disability or not. It’s an extraordinarily versatile tool and all of my students will greatly benefit when purposeful activities are incorporated throughout my lessons.