Nearpod is a hybrid learning must-have tool as it intuitively combines multimedia learning with digital assessments for use in class and beyond.

This platform is easy to get started with and can be used by students of a wide range of ages and abilities. The fact it works across a host of devices is also helpful for use in the classroom, as a group, or from home where students use their own devices

The ability to add questions to the presentation, that can be created with Nearpod, allows for a fun yet interactive way to follow along in the class. This can allow teachers to better see clearly how their students are learning, or not.

There are also formative assessments and standards-aligned content, which help in that measure of how to continue teaching -- with new content or to go over current topics more.

Read on to find out everything you need to know about Nearpod.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers
• Nearpod Lesson Plan

What is Nearpod?

Nearpod is a website and app-based digital tool that lets teachers create slide-based learning resources that are interactive for students to engage with and learn from.

Nearpod can also use gamification of information to make learning more engaging and fun. It is also built to work well with lots of pre-existing tools, such as Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, and YouTube. Teachers can easily import media to make a lesson quickly and simply using already existing resources.

Nearpod allows teachers to create lessons from scratch or use the existing library of more than 15,000 lessons and videos, across grades, to get up and running quickly. The system also allows you to pull in videos from the likes of YouTube for easy integration with a quiz, for example. More on that below.

Cleverly, Nearpod works in a number of ways to support a teacher-led classroom, student-led remote learning, or a single screen-led presentation teaching mode. Crucially, whichever style is used, it can easily be integrated with Zoom to include all students, regardless of their location.

How does Nearpod work?

Nearpod allows teachers to create original interactive presentations with extensive standards-aligned content available. From creating a quiz using a 3D model of a molecule that students can explore to making a click-based game that teaches words and spelling, the options are abundant.

Lessons can be created within Nearpod or in Google Slides. Within Nearpod, build and add a name, then add content using the Add Slide button. Use the Content tab to engage students and the Activities tab to find assessment tools to add in.

You can also upload PowerPoint decks and more by selecting and uploading each directly from within Nearpod. These will appear within the library, allowing you to add in Nearpod features and activities to enhance the lesson you already have.

Add images, color themes, and more, then save a project and it will appear in the library proper, ready for students.

If you want to use Slides, select lesson in Google Slide and you'll then be taken through, step-by-step, on creating a slide, much as you would in Nearpod. In short, it's super simple.

This sample Nearpod lesson plan is designed to help implement the tool into instruction.

What are the best Nearpod features?

Nearpod is great for making YouTube videos interactive. Simply select the one you want and then you can add assessment questions at certain points along the way. So all students need to do is watch and select the correct answer as they watch – ensuring they pay attention and allowing you to see how much they know, or areas that need attention.

The use of virtual reality is also a nice addition as Nearpod works with VR headsets to allow students to explore an area, much like a school trip, only without a limit on distance.

The ability to draw directly on slides is a useful way to give students freedom to interact, either adding their own images or perhaps drawing on a map or annotating a diagram.

Collaboration boards allow students to contribute multiple perspectives that can be useful both in the classroom and remotely. In student-led mode they can go at their own pace, while in teacher-paced mode you can take time to pause and reflect or expand on points made, live.

As a differentiation tool this is useful as students could be assigned varying levels of tasks at which they all work at their own pace.

Poll questions and multiple choice quizzes are also useful parts of the assessment tools that allow teachers to get a fix on how students are learning.

How much does Nearpod cost?

Nearpod is free in its most basic package, called Silver. This includes the ability to create lessons and deliver these digitally. It includes more than 20 media and formative assessment features, and you also get access to the massive Nearpod library of content and the three teaching modes.

Go for the Gold package, at $120 per year, and you get all the above plus ten times more storage, 75 student joins per lesson, a Google Slides Add-on, and sub plans, as well as email and phone support.

At the top end is the Platinum plan, at $349 per year, which gets all the above plus fifty times storage, 90 students per lesson, and student notes.

For school or district quotes the company can be contacted directly to add features such as unlimited storage, LMS integration, and shared libraries.

Nearpod best tips and tricks

Go self-paced at home
Create a self-paced slideshow that allows students to engage with the content at a speed which is right for them -- ideal for homework or prior to an assessment.

Use your camera
Take photos of text and the like with your phone and add these to Nearpod slides. This allows students to read what you share but also interact, annotating as needed.

Present to everyone
Use live mode to share with all the devices in the class, allowing everyone to following along and interact digitally -- also useful for polls held as you work through the lesson.

• Best Tools for Teachers
• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Nearpod Lesson Plan

The comprehensive and interactive online platform Nearpod is an all-encompassing edtech tool that can be used to carry out lesson plans for a variety of subject areas and grade levels. For an overview of Nearpod and some of the different features, check out “What is Nearpod and How Does it Work?” 

Below, is a sample Upper Elementary and Lower Middle School lesson plan that is focused on a US States and Capitals Social Studies lesson.  

Subject: Social Studies 

Topics: U.S. States and Capitals 

Grade Band: Upper Elementary and Lower Middle School

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• State the number of states within the United States of America 
• Define what a state capital is 
• Name at least 10 U.S. states and the respective capitals 

Nearpod Creation and Instruction 

To begin the lesson, you will need to create a Nearpod module. This can be done by searching within Nearpod for learning standards and objectives that match your lesson. You can either create activities adding video, text, and audio content, or by using some of the premade lessons and activities that Nearpod offers. 

Start with a Quick Launch activity, using the Nearpod Collaborate Board, which is similar to a Padlet, and have students answer an open-ended question regarding what they already know about state capitals. Then, start instruction in which you introduce the different states and capitals using interactive slides within your Nearpod. 

As you go through the content, have stop points for formative assessments. This can be a quick poll, quiz, or open-ended question that are all features of Nearpod that can be easily integrated. This way, you will know where students are before moving on in the lesson. 

In addition to interactive slides, you can also create interactive videos or upload existing ones in which you are explaining content on the screen with dynamic images and captions.

Guided Practice and Engagement  

There are many ways for students to practice and engage with content within Nearpod. For this lesson, you could include the following engagement activities: 

• Have students use the matching pairs feature to match states with the respective capitals. 
• Use the draw tool to write how they define a state capital, or enable the audio record feature and allow students to verbally answer. 
• Place a map of the U.S. on the screen and have students use the drag-and-drop feature to place the capital in the correct state. 
• List the state name and have students use the fill-in-the blanks feature to add the state capital, or vice versa. 

You can also use live annotation on the screen to highlight, circle, or draw on items that you want students to focus on, and as you do, it will appear on the students’ individual devices in real-time. 

Extending the Learning  

After the live Nearpod lesson on states and capitals, you could have students take a Virtual Reality Field Trip through the United States, exploring some of the states and capitals that they have learned about. Through these VR technologies, students will be able to view diverse scenery and natural elements, as they travel from state to state. Nearpod has a built-in button to seamlessly add the Virtual Reality Field Trip to your Nearpod lesson that also includes mini learning activities and field notes templates to guide the experience for students. 

Should I Use Nearpod for Live Instruction or Independent Work? 

Both! Actually, what makes Nearpod great is the versatility in using it in three different ways. 

You could:

1. Have students on individual devices while teaching from the Nearpod lesson live 
2. Use Nearpod to show videos and engage students in the content without them having a device.
3. Use it for independent student-paced personalized instruction.  

What Type of Professional Learning Community Does Nearpod Offer Teachers? 

Similar to the Google Certified Educator program, Nearpod offers a Certified Educator program. Community connections is a unique feature of Nearpod’s certified educator program with access to a private Facebook group and opportunity to become a school leader for Nearpod. Having other teachers to exchange ideas and build content through Nearpod can help strengthen your own lessons. As a Nearpod Certified Educator you will also receive a 6-month gold subscription, access to new features before any become widely available, and possibly some Nearpod swag.  

Using Nearpod to carry out dynamic and engaging lessons in both live in person and remote online settings allows students the opportunity to deeply engage with learning content while providing them with varied opportunities to demonstrate their learning. Consider trying out Nearpod for one of your next lessons or trying a new feature of Nearpod if you have already been using it for a while. 

• What is Nearpod and How Does It Work? 
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

I started to write this post in my last blog, but I realized that I was putting the cart before the horse. My last blog started off as five tools to present content in an alternative way, but it soon turned into strategies rather than tools. The funny part of it is that it helped give me the reminder that we always need: technology is used to amplify instruction and the tools should always come second!

The tools below all give you great options to get started in producing and using content in different ways. If you have not read my blog on alternative strategies to deliver content, I highly encourage it. I think the best way to use these tools is to find some structure that puts you in between the traditional lecture-based classroom and the flipped classroom approach. All these tools can be used to get you there!

cross posted at www.bigguyinabowtie.com

David Lockhart is an edtech presenter, speaker, advocate, and coach with over ten years' experience teaching high school social studies. As an Education Technology Specialist with the Iteach Center at Kennesaw State University, he works with a metro Atlanta school district to personalize learning for students with the aid of technology. Read his blog at bigguyinabowtie.com and follow him on Twitter @bigguyinabowtie.