Using Nearpod during trainings keeps everyone engaged and interested. It’s a more interactive and dynamic format! You create the presentation slides and then add interactive activities and media. You can then share the presentation using a 5-digit code, and participants will be able to follow along on their own devices. Keep reading to explore tips for conference presentations!

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for free below to access formative assessment activities and create interactive presentations. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

6 Effective training presentation tips for conferences

1. Hold the room’s attention

Are your past presentations created in Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides? Drop your pre-existing presentations and give them a facelift with Nearpod to create an effective and good training presentation.

With Nearpod, you can add interactive activities and engaging media. You can embed multimedia activities like questions, collaboration discussions, videos, and GIFs to keep the room’s attention. Participants will be able to follow along and complete prompts on their devices. With Draw It, you can add a presentation template image as the background as participants draw responses. Presenters can view responses and progress in real-time, provide feedback, or share out audience responses.

If you’re an administrator who wants to ensure that all of your teachers are paying attention during the training and conference talk, you can see who gets out of the lesson because that user will be highlighted red.

2. Eliminate multi-tab clicking

It’s easy to create presentation designs that link to other sites and forms. With Nearpod, you can embed your favorite web links to keep everything in one hub. Include links to forms, articles, and videos. And, of course, you can embed interactive activities, like Polls, Collaborate Board, Matching Pairs, and more. This is perfect for training sessions so participants can focus on presentation topics by keeping everything in one place.

3. Adjust training in real-time

This training presentation tip is a game-changer!

Did someone ask a question during the presentation that you would like to share with everyone? Did you think of a new slide or activity idea at the moment? Just like teaching a class, you want to be able to check for understanding in real time, and with Nearpod’s Quick Start Activities, you can do just that. Choose from popular activities to create a quick assessment that participants can complete. Additionally, Quick Launch gives you the ability to create an open-ended question, Collaborate board, or start a timer.

4. Collect presentation feedback

Embed open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, polls, and Google Forms into your Nearpod lesson.

These training presentation tips are a game-changer! You can use this to:

• Determine during the training if anyone has questions.
• Collect attendee information after the presentation.
• Collect training feedback.

5. Brain breaks

It’s not only students who need a break from long-winded presentations; adults also need time to reset.

Here are ways to use Nearpod for brain breaks:

• Embed a fun video to break up the lengthy lecture.
• Add discussion questions to a Nearpod slide for controlled chatter.
• Use the Draw it feature to leverage the teacher’s creativity.

6. Incorporate with webinars

Use Nearpod during a Zoom meeting or webinar so that you can embed video clips without the “strain” on the bandwidth of the meeting. Nearpod allows for interactivity that you would normally have in a live session through the Polls, Collaborate Board, and Open-Ended Questions without the need for “taking turns” in audio. Have participants turn on Student Notes to take notes and have the training materials automatically emailed to them after the conference presentation.

Start using Nearpod for presentations

We hope you’ll be using these professional development and employee training presentation ideas for your next conference! With these tips for creating good presentations and tools like Nearpod, you can transform the way conference participants experience sessions.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for free below to access formative assessment activities and create interactive presentations. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post 6 Effective training presentation tips for conferences appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

How can summer learning loss be prevented?

When preventing summer learning loss, building an effective summer learning program for both teachers and students is essential. This requires school leaders to provide teachers with a comprehensive instructional platform and an intentional focus on accelerating learning and supporting the whole child. Simply extending instruction into the summer months won’t be enough to recoup learning loss and get students back on track. Teacher burnout and staffing shortages make this summer’s school year a bigger challenge than ever. School leaders must anticipate having summer school teachers working in grades and subject areas outside of normal experience. Summer school teachers might also be less experienced than in previous years or even brand new to the profession.

No matter how you and your fellow educators decide to tackle summer learning for students, know that Nearpod is here to support you through planning, execution, and providing a space for educators to learn from one another. Teachers can make any lesson interactive within one platform that has real-time student insights through interactive lessons, interactive videos, and gamified learning. When exploring how to prevent summer learning loss, Nearpod’s interactive lessons can keep teachers ahead of the curve and ensure you return to school in the fall ready to take on the challenges of the new academic year.

Unlock the full instructional power of Nearpod with the unlimited access, collaboration, integrations, and support your teachers need.

Effective summer strategies to accelerate learning and prevent learning loss

As you and your colleagues are refining plans for summer programming and preparing to welcome students enrolled, here are a few strategies to consider to help drive student success:

1. Get a baseline of student understanding with formative assessments

Utilizing formative assessments tied to state standards at the start of your summer program gives the teacher insight into student comprehension, knowledge, and skill levels, without the intimidation of formal tests. Continued use throughout the program allows students to control their learning path by providing immediate feedback to the student and teacher. In turn, with information on how the student interprets the material, teachers can support the student with targeted and focused instruction.

Nearpod has nine formative assessment tools and interactive activities teachers can use to get real-time insight into student understanding to prevent learning loss over the summer:

• Time to Climb
• Drag and Drop
• Draw It
• Collaborate Board
• Matching Pairs
• Open-ended Questions
• Quiz
• Polls
• Fill-in-the-blanks

2. Engage students with interactive activities, lessons, and videos across core subject areas

Summer school teachers need broad support as they prepare their classes for instruction. Remember, many summer school teachers will be teaching out of the grade level and subject area and are unsure of the academic content they will be responsible for delivering, so it’s essential to equip them with the proper materials.

Data released by NWEA focused on students in grades three through eight and compared their progress in the 2020-2021 school year to similar students from before the pandemic. Education researchers reveal data that indicates students, on average, were between three and six percentile points behind in reading skills and eight to 12 percentile points in math compared to previous years. Younger students struggled more than older students, as remote/hybrid learning proved to be a more significant challenge for young scholars.

Administrators can help teachers accelerate learning by providing access to premade standards-aligned lessons across core content areas through Nearpod. These quality lessons made by content experts are turnkey, interactive, and engaging for students. This is especially important for essential content areas and standards in Math and English Language Arts (ELA), as students are often recommended for intervention based on assessment and test scores for these two content areas.

Prevent the summer slide and use the following lesson guides to teach science, social studies, reading, and math skills to students in middle and elementary school.

3. Support students’ social emotional learning and academic development

In addition to opportunities to accelerate learning and summer learning loss prevention, educators are still supporting students to adjust to the current environment following the social and educational barriers that were in place during and after the pandemic. A vital goal of any effective summer program is to continue addressing those needs and supporting students’ development. Summer school leaders must ensure that social and emotional learning (SEL) is essential to their summer program, as it will benefit both students and teachers.

By incorporating lessons on social emotional learning activities into core instruction, educators help students access their feelings and emotions, develop healthy identities, and build positive relationships while giving them the tools they need to succeed academically. Doing so can be a simple 5-minute activity where students practice self-management by sharing some of their most helpful habits. Using activities where students can self-identify their feelings anonymously to their teacher and engage with their peers will help them navigate their reality. Having brain breaks will also be a vital element in summer programs, as students will need time to disengage from academics and explore other avenues. Working on SEL initiatives is something all teachers can do regardless of their experience level to prevent summer learning loss.

4. Provide opportunities for extracurricular activities and summer enrichment

Students missed out on more than the instructional time during distance and hybrid learning. And as such, summer programming shouldn’t be limited to academics to accelerate learning. Ideally, your district can partner with local organizations and parks and recreation departments to provide students with various opportunities to get outside of the classroom and reconnect with their peers while learning a new hobby or skill. Though if that’s not possible, don’t discount virtual reality (VR) experiences. Providing equitable, virtual reality experiences allows students from all backgrounds to travel the world, try on various careers, and more!

5. Stay organized and prepared with multiple solutions in one streamlined platform

Remember teachers’ challenges and devise innovative solutions to support them and their students during summer break. Maximizing the edtech tools your school and district can access can help, but what’s most important is choosing the right tools to set teachers for success. Nearpod’s mission is to make teaching easier with the interactive tools, resources, and content teachers need, all in one place. Whether you’re experiencing staffing shortages, onboarding new teachers, or simply trying to support your teachers and students, having a core tech toolkit is crucial. It will save teachers time in training and planning and give them more time to do what they do best: teach, connect with students, and help accelerate learning. Teachers can have the ability to create slides, embed interactive assessments, get real-time student insight, and have a library of standard-aligned resources, all in one place.

Unlock the full instructional power of Nearpod with the unlimited access, collaboration, integrations, and support your teachers need.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Effective summer strategies to accelerate learning and prevent learning loss appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

In June, we celebrate Pride Month. The month was chosen to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. While Stonewall was not the beginning of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, the event is often considered a tipping point that helped raise awareness and galvanize people and groups to the cause. 

For Pride Month and LGBTQ+ History Month, teachers play a pivotal role in fostering inclusive schools where all students feel safe and supported. With a commitment to LGBTQ-inclusive education, educators can help increase representation and create environments where every student can thrive. Below, we’ve curated resources you can use to celebrate LGBTQ+ history in the classroom during Pride Month and all year long.

Pride Month and LGBTQ+ history resources for teachers

Nearpod has curated free resources and Pride Month activities for students to help teachers celebrate Pride Month and LGBTQ+ history in the classroom.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for free below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

LGBTQ+ and Pride history lessons

All of these Nearpod lessons can be found in our Pride Month resources lesson folder. We recommend teachers preview these resources, as some of the topics covered may be emotional or sensitive for some students.

Families and identities

• Different Types of Families (Grades K-2): In this lesson adapted from Learning for Justice, students explore how families all over the world have similarities and differences. They discover how diversity can help their communities and ways to celebrate diversity.

• Pronouns and Gender Identity (Grades 4-12): People use pronouns to identify themselves to others. This Nearpod Original Video provides an overview of gender identity and gender-neutral pronouns. Students will consider why it is important to recognize people’s personal pronouns.

• My Aunties: Father Figures (Grades 9-12): In this Windows & Mirrors mini-lesson, students watch a StoryCorps video about Stefan Lynch, who was raised by gay parents in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic. Students consider how Lynch’s story can serve as a window, a mirror, or both for them. (Sensitive content)

Historical figures

• Marsha P. Johnson lessons (Grades 9-12): This Flocabulary video and the corresponding Nearpod mini-lesson introduce students to the life and activism of gay and trans rights activist Marsha P. Johnson. Students learn about Johnson’s childhood, her life in New York City, and her involvement in the gay rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s. They explore her legacy and the lack of recognition she received while she was still alive.
• In the accompanying Windows & Mirrors mini-lesson on Nearpod, students will watch the video and explore how Johnson’s story serves as a window, a mirror, or both.

• James Baldwin lessons (Grades 9-12): This Flocabulary video and the corresponding Nearpod mini-lesson introduce students to the life and work of American writer James Baldwin. Students explore Baldwin’s frank discussions of racism and discrimination in the United States and abroad and learn how Baldwin’s refusal to pigeonhole his writing, national identity, and sexual orientation made him a true iconoclast.
• In the accompanying Windows & Mirrors mini-lesson on Nearpod, students can watch the video and consider how Baldwin’s story serves as a window, a mirror, or both.  

• Harvey Milk (Grades 9-12): In this Nearpod Original one-minute video, students learn about Harvey Milk. A host describes Milk’s life and work as one of the first out gay public officials in the US, and students consider his lasting legacy.

• An Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement (Grades 9-12): In this video from TED-Ed, students learn about the life of Bayard Rustin, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, a gay rights activist, and one of Martin Luther King’s closest advisors.

Pride history

• Stonewall Riots (Grades 9-12): In this video from History, students learn how the Stonewall Inn Uprising sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. They also learn how the LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.  

• The history of the word “gay” (Grades 9-12): In this video from Origin of Everything, students learn about the history of the word “gay,” including the evolving meaning of the word “gay” and how it entered the mainstream vocabulary.  

• The Gay Rights Movement (Grades 9-12): In this video from Origin of Everything, students learn about the history of the word “gay,” including the evolving meaning of the word “gay” and how it entered the mainstream vocabulary.  

LGBTQ+ resources for teachers

Looking for more? Below, we’ve included additional teacher-recommended resources to celebrate Pride and honor LGBTQ identities in the classroom. Be sure to preview these materials to be sure they meet the needs of your learners, and some of the topics may be emotional or sensitive for some students.  

• Learning for Justice’s Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ Students: On this page, you’ll find a range of valuable resources for fostering LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools and classrooms. The free Teacher Resources contains an LGBTQ library of books and films, a list of historical figures, a glossary of terms, and a school checklist. 

• Queer Icons FREE Bulletin Board Set from Visionary Classroom Decor and The Superhero Teacher: The free bullet board setup comes with portraits of queer icons. Each has a QR code, which students can scan to read biographies. 

• Lindz Amer’s LGBTQ+ resources on Teachers Pay Teachers: Lindz is a GLAAD Rising Star and host of the series Queer Kid Stuff. On this page, you’ll find resources for educators, including a social justice songbook, LGBTQ+ vocab posters, and more.

Start teaching with Nearpod

From implementing Pride Month activities to incorporating LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, there are numerous resources available to help educators champion diversity and celebrate LGBTQ pride month. By equipping themselves with these tools, teachers can better serve LGBTQ youth and ensure that all students feel respected and valued in their classrooms.

The learning doesn’t end in June! You can use any of these resources at any point in the school year. And remember, a more inclusive classroom benefits all learners, creating more room for empathy and understanding and helping all students feel engaged, valued, and heard.

Happy Pride Month!

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for free below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Teacher resources for LGBTQ+ and Pride history lessons appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

4 Ways to amplify instruction for English language learners using Nearpod EL

1. A research-based approach to ELL instruction

A report by WestEd (2014) found that teachers of English language learners (ELL) must design their instruction to “amplify rather than simplify” concepts to offer the academic rigor necessary for students’ learning (p. 11). In other words, teachers must augment their lessons to include multiple pathways to learning, particularly when it comes to providing plenty of verbal and nonverbal messages (11). This is challenging, especially for teachers who may teach a range of students.

Nearpod EL aligns with this model of amplification and supports teachers in its implementation. With Nearpod EL, ready-to-teach lessons provide an interactive, standards-aligned curriculum designed to engage and inspire ELLs across subject areas and grade levels. Nearpod lessons leverage digital activities and research-based formative assessments to seamlessly connect instruction and evaluation to meet the unique learning needs of ELL students. The lessons are designed to teach rigorous Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies content through scaffolded instruction and strategies to support language acquisition.

Nearpod became integral to Compton Unified School District’s (CUSD) efforts to support English Language Learners (ELLs). Nearpod’s adaptability enabled effective scaffolding of instruction, providing multiple points of entry and immediate feedback crucial for language development.

2. Interactive lessons with clear learning goals

Within the design of each Nearpod EL interactive lesson, ELL students are at the center of teaching and learning. As the WestEd report demonstrates, interactive lessons created for ELL students should begin with clearly defined learning goals and objectives. Nearpod EL lessons are guided by these constructs and use learning progressions and success criteria as indicators of comprehension. By promoting a continual process of instruction, assessment, and feedback, lessons allow teachers to design their own instruction by immediately identifying gaps between current levels of learning and expected levels of learning.

With clear direction on learning goals, the Nearpod EL ready-to-teach lessons harness the power of interactive technologies and multimedia-rich content to highlight academic knowledge and academic language. As the lessons offer editable content, teachers further customize lessons according to individual needs and goals. This purposeful process of planning and building interactive lessons, and learning for ELL students becomes an enriched experience with great opportunity for growth.

3. Facilitates learning through authentic engagement

A best practice in instruction with ELL students facilitates learning through authentic engagement with interactive content and meaningful peer interactions and collaboration. Lessons within the Nearpod EL library balance direct instruction with experiential learning and continual practice in speaking and listening. Within a context of subject-matter learning, Nearpod lessons build on background knowledge by incorporating reference images and familiar multimedia, explicit references to key vocabulary, and metacognition and reflection. Through the gradual release of responsibility, students are empowered to reach for levels of independence with activities following an I do, we do, you do scaffolding of skill building.

Nearpod’s On the Fly feature lets teachers respond to teachable moments during instruction and encourage ELL students voice and choice within the lesson. Open-ended tasks allow for multiple points of entry, a practice described by WestEd as effective in revealing ELL students’ learning by demonstrating their understanding through varying modes of expression, including writing, speaking, drawing, and reading. With a range of interactive activities (such as Polls, Fill-in-the-Blanks, Quizzes, Draw It’s) and interactive content (including Nearpod Virtual Reality (VR) Field Trips, Nearpod 3D, interactive video, and audio responses), students are supported in all forms of learning.

ELL students participating in Nearpod EL lessons are not only part of the instruction process, but they become creators of their own learning by assessing their personal understanding and determining their particular readiness based on feedback and support embedded within each of the lessons.

4. Access real-time data to help guide instruction

Within an instructional program for English language learners, constant interpretation of evidence of student progress is needed to inform instruction. Nearpod EL provides teachers with real-time feedback and reporting based on student interactions and responses. This continuous feedback offers the status of students’ current learning and provides direction for moving students toward identified learning goals. As the lessons are designed to minimize irrelevant language and unnecessary information, teachers can easily pinpoint and evaluate the intended learning targets. Based on feedback obtained in these embedded checks for understanding, systematic support in the forms of modeling, prompting, and repetition can scaffold ELL students and move them toward content understanding. For both teachers and students, learning progressions within Nearpod EL’s lessons allow for immediate feedback for in-the-moment adjustments to help anchor and monitor skills throughout the process of teaching and learning.

Formative assessment is essential when it comes to better ELL student learning in both academic content and the development of academic language. The Nearpod EL curriculum was developed with this in mind and provides an interactive and engaging long-term solution for instruction.

Bring Nearpod EL to your school or district

Following the understanding that desired changes must start with dedicated teacher support, Nearpod EL training targets ELL teachers and their unique instructional needs. Demonstrating best practices in the use of Nearpod lessons for teaching, teachers participating in the Nearpod PD discover ways to use Nearpod EL for whole group instruction, independent practice, and enhanced learning opportunities. With a focus on “amplification” of learning and empowering ELL students in the classroom, Nearpod EL advances culturally responsive instruction and brings agency to all students in all classrooms.

References

Alvarez, L., Ananda, S., Walqui, A., Sato, E., & Rabinowitz, S. (2014). Focusing formative assessment on the needs of English language learners. San Francisco: WestEd.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Amplify instruction for English language learners with Nearpod EL appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

How can I edit my Nearpod lesson?

Nearpod offers a lesson library of 22,000+ lessons from the Nearpod team as well as reliable content experts and trusted partner brands. With any of these lesson plans, you can make a copy and then edit the lesson as you see fit.

Nearpod gives you the ability to do the following:

• Add a slide or activity
• Remove a slide or activity
• Rearrange the order of the slides or activities
• Add an additional activity (or two!)

You may also decide to take an existing lesson and split it into more than one session to dedicate more time to specific concepts or skills and extend the learning further. Conversely, you may choose to combine lessons to create an immersive learning experience or to outline a suggested learning path. Really, the sky’s the limit when it comes to how you want to retain the original content or reimagine the learning objectives.

Editing Nearpod lessons is quite simple:

1. First, choose a lesson from the Nearpod Library. You can toggle by grade, subject, content type, publisher, and premium content. Plus, you can filter by standard (all the way down to a specific strand!) to find correlated lesson plans.
2. Then, select ADD TO MY LESSONS. 
3. Hover over the lesson tile and click on EDIT LESSON to see an overview of the slides and the lesson builder tool.
4. Drag and drop these slides into your desired sequence. 
5. Double-click into an individual slide to modify and customize the activities. Perhaps you want to reword the directions, add a timer, insert media-rich content (images, video, PDFs, audio, or web content), or layer on another interactive activity.
6. Simply SAVE & EXIT and then teach!

6 Ideas for planning and editing your Nearpod lesson

1. Differentiation

Teachers are masters of differentiating instruction and modifying learning objectives for those who need a bit of extra support, as well as those who need a bit more challenge. With Nearpod, you can edit a lesson to address the needs of a whole or small group and teach in Live Participation mode. Or you can target your instruction by sharing the lesson via Student-Paced mode. In that case, To modify a lesson for more targeted instruction, make adjustments for that group of students. Keep in mind, that modifications are never a detriment for anyone, so consider making more global support available to everyone in a single lesson. In both cases, your Teacher Dashboard will show students’ interactions in real time, so you can keep a tab on progress and use data-informed instructional practices to plan your next steps. Such a personalized approach will ensure that students are engaged, motivated, and feeling confident.

Here are some ideas! Explore more examples of differentiated instruction here.

• Open-Ended Questions for more in-depth responses
• Draw It for responses that need more than just words
• Time to Climb for the element of fun and competition
• Drag and Drop for questions open to multiple right answers
• Collaborate Board for making learning social
• Polls for taking a stance without peer pressure
• Matching Pairs to gamify repetitive learning
• Fill in the Blanks for contextual vocabulary practice
• VR Field Trips for exploring new places from the classroom

2. Small groups

Small group work is an effective instruction strategy, whether you are grouping students by similar needs or by similar interests. With Nearpod, you can modify lessons to meet both goals by duplicating and editing content as you see fit. With this amount of content at your fingertips, organization is the goal! Within Nearpod, you can search the Nearpod Library and then organize lessons within your own—My Lessons—or within a District Library or School Library. You can create folders by color, subject, theme, grade, or date; there are even subfolders. If small group work is a regular occurrence, you may want to organize by skill or teaching group. Take a look at these 17 tips for organizing your Nearpod content.

3. Homework

If you give homework, you know how important it is to make sure it is meaningful practice. Based on the formative assessment data you gathered during the day, consider how you can take one interactive activity and modify the directions to speak to various needs. Conversely, you may want to choose a handful of activities and dole them out depending on who needs which skill practice. You may want to provide a mix, where some activities are speaking to lower-level thinking skills and others are encouraging high-order thinking skills. You may also want to craft homework assignments that extend the learning further. Search in the Nearpod Library for a topic, and share a couple of related lessons … we’ll bet your students don’t just do one! The rich media and active learning will pique their curiosity and pull them in. Make sure to use Student-Paced mode and set a deadline if needed.

4. Accessibility

In today’s digital landscape, there is plenty of content, but not all of it is of high quality or even accessible for all. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) and Sections 504 and 508 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provide guidelines for schools and districts to follow around edtech adoption. Consider the following features within Nearpod to promote accessibility for all:

• Enable closed captions for video so that students can read along through subtitles, whether in English or another language.
• Enable Microsoft Immersive Reader to provide students with text-to-speech, font size, voice speed, translations, and more on activities.
• Enable audio functions so that students can use audio responses as a type of formative assessment on Open-ended Questions and Collaborate Board.

5. Choice boards

Teachers know how valuable the concept of “voice and choice” is for students when it comes to appealing to their interests. One way to do so is to offer choice boards. Choice boards promote student agency and encourage students to take ownership of their own learning journeys. Let’s say you are teaching about the Civil War; simply search for the topic within the Nearpod Library to see the lesson options. Then create a new lesson that features links or Nearpod codes for the chosen lessons—for instance, you can create a 3×3 grid and use text or images from the lessons themselves to link to each. You may want to intersperse some interactive activities so that they can check their own understanding. Try using Choice boards during rotation stations. Create a board that focuses on a specific skill for each station. This station model can work well when students are reviewing skills as part of spring standardized test prep. Choice boards are also great for engaging students during Free Choice Fridays or other downtime, when students can work individually or in pairs.

6. Sub plans

Every teacher knows that preparing for an absence and making sure a substitute teacher is as prepared as possible is often more work than teaching! You can use Nearpod to prepare turnkey lessons that a sub can share during your day out of the classroom. Consider lessons that might not take a lot of preparation or knowledge on the substitute teacher’s part. For instance, maybe suggest that the class take a VR field trip. You might choose one of these top ten suggested VR field trips and edit it to include some open-ended discussion questions.

Start editing your Nearpod lessons

One of the rookie mistakes I made early on in my teaching career was assuming that my first year of lesson plans were “done” and that I could use them—turnkey—the next year. Well, when my second class of students entered the door, I quickly realized that I would have to modify my approach for almost every single lesson in order to fulfill my commitment to personalized learning. Oh, how I wish I had had a platform like Nearpod, where I could search for quality content and then make it my own. Like a cook in a kitchen, I realized that every year I would add a pinch of this and a dash of that to make it the best year possible for each individual student. So, while you may be tempted to reinvent the wheel, do lean on what is already available and just add your own personalized touch. Iteration is the name of the game, and your classroom will flourish with such TLC!

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post 6 Ideas for planning and editing your Nearpod lesson appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Camp Engage: Back to School is returning July 25-27! Each session is crafted to provide immediate classroom impact, so you can apply what you learn at Camp Engage right from the start— just in time for back to school. Register by clicking below!

As schools shifted to virtual environments, many educators turned to Nearpod to support their classroom needs. Armed with new tools, educators sought out PD resources for best practices to maximize engagement, flexibility, and instruction. Nearpod heard these calls, and Camp Engage was born.

What is Camp Engage?

At Camp Engage, you can learn how to create Nearpod magic alongside thousands of educators around the world. There is a wide range of topics for teachers and administrators with nearly 30-50 sessions per event. Beginner and advanced users will walk away with a better understanding of the different ways Nearpod can help with differentiation and streamlining instruction in the classroom. Meanwhile, admins can gain useful tips and tricks on how to implement Nearpod in their schools or districts.

Camp Engage helps you expand your Professional Learning Network (PLN) in happy hours, event community resources, and icebreaker activities throughout the entire event. That’s not all! Campers have the opportunity to earn a certificate of attendance with up to 15 PD credits for FREE. Don’t take it just from us. Listen to what past campers have said about this Nearpod PD event:

“Finally, a PD you WANT to attend! This week was full of energy, inspiration, and ideas on how to keep our students engaged across the curriculum! With a variety of tools to implement embedded into one program, it’s very user-friendly and our students will love Nearpod!”  

– Angela Rabon, South Carolina

“It was just what the PD doctor ordered, no pain involved”

– Latisha King, Tennessee

“Camp Engage is full of various camp and activities which takes you back to your childhood days – full of fun and excitement” 

– Nidhi Khurana, India

“It was the best week that I spent on learning something new to help my students engage.”

– Katherine Quick, Florida

Here are some things you can look forward to when you attend Camp Engage!

Camp Engage: Virtual Professional Development for Teachers

Live trainings and workshops that will help you hone your Nearpod skills

Camp Engage is a Virtual Professional Development event for teachers and admin to bring their Nearpod use to the next level. Past sessions have covered implementing Nearpod in your school/district to hybrid learning to create fun review games for your students. There is something for everyone!

“If you want Pro-Tips for Nearpod, this is the place to be! “

– Cheryl Hullihen, New Jersey

“You will be amazed at how much is available to teachers and students on Nearpod!”

– Janine Anderson, Illinois

 “It was one of the most inspiring teacher training I have ever had.”

– Jannel Smith, Bahamas

“It is an experience you MUST go through as you will never find it anywhere else. It has covered all the areas you might think of and conducted by real experts in the field of using technology in facilitating the teaching/learning process.”

– Mohamed Al Mo’omen Sadawi

“The sessions are just the right amount of time to learn something that can be implemented easily. The camp is easy to navigate and the presenters are amazing.”

– Kristen Staub, New Jersey

Sneak peaks of Nearpod’s latest product updates

This Virtual Professional Development experience will help you refresh what you already know about Nearpod while showcasing what’s coming in the future. At Nearpod, we’re always launching new features and enhancing the product based on your feedback. By attending  Camp Engage, you have the opportunity to be one of the first teachers to try these new updates during our sessions.

Opportunities to connect and share ideas with educators all over the world 

Are you looking to build your PLN? Camp Engage is the place for you! Camp Engage is not only a Virtual Professional Development opportunity, but it is also a community. There are thousands of campers at every Nearpod PD event, representing 150+ countries. Sessions are specifically targeted so you can learn about the Nearpod magic alongside a group of like-minded educators. 

Camp Engage has something for K-12 teachers, higher ed, and admin no matter where you are in the world. Come connect with educators through session Zoom chats, the campsite, icebreakers, happy hours, and more!

See above the number of countries represented during a live Camp Engage session. We have campers who wake up before the sun rises just so they can connect with other Nearpod teachers!

“An awesome experience, just like being in a real camp!  For an isolated nation, it was great to meet people from around the world.  Definitely Recommend.” 

– Bryanna O’Regan, New Zealand

Happy Hours

If Camp Engage is going to be anything like actual camping, then it surely needs to be fun. Energize your Virtual Professional Development by attending Camp Engage social hours! Join members of the Nearpod community in fun activities and icebreakers that are led by fellow campers, using Nearpod or Flocabulary in creative ways. You might even walk away with new ideas to replicate for other teachers or students! 

“I met several people from other countries in one of my sessions as part of our breakout room activity. It was great to share and connect.”

– Lorena Martinez, Texas

Demo Slam

We believe that the best learning experience for educators is when the learning is facilitated BY educators. Additionally, we see Camp Engage as the perfect opportunity to shine the spotlight on the innovative members of the community. During the Camp Engage Demo Slam, select educators present how they’ve used Nearpod or Flocabulary in creative ways – all under three minutes! Campers are invited to vote for their favorites, and a winner is crowned at the Closing Ceremony!

Connect tab

We encourage campers to connect with others via our “Connect” portion of the campsite. We’ve learned of many collaborations that have taken place because of connections made during camp. You can search campers by job title, organization and country.

With dozens of sessions, you won’t want to miss this Virtual Professional Development opportunity. What are you waiting for? Come camping with Nearpod at #CampEngage! 

Keep reading to see our Camp Engage FAQ.

Camp Engage FAQ

What is Camp Engage?

Camp Engage is a free event that meets teachers’ needs for professional development credits. Teachers are looking for new ideas, resources, and content to support their teaching.

Why should I attend Camp Engage? 

When teachers attend Camp Engage, they feel like they’re a part of a community, not being sold a product. The sessions are designed to support their needs, so they walk away not just knowing how to use Nearpod/Flocabulary, but also with creative ideas they can bring back to their classrooms.

When did it start? 

Camp Engage started at the beginning of the pandemic as a PD opportunity for teachers just starting to use Nearpod. With educators all over the world looking for more ways to enhance their instruction and connect with others, Camp Engage has turned into a yearly event. 

When does it happen? 

Camp Engage happens several times a year – around February, July, and November. You can follow Camp related announcements on our social media accounts @Nearpod and through our

newsletters. 

Does Camp Engage cost money? 

Camp Engage is a FREE PD event that we’re providing to you.

How do I register for this Nearpod PD event? 

Camp Engage registration will open a few weeks before each event. Make sure you’re following @Nearpod social channels to learn when registration opens. To see if there’s an upcoming Camp Engage, you can also head here: nearpod.com/camp-engage

How do I earn PD credits? 

Teachers can earn up to 15 hours of PD instructional hours. Certificates will be sent after camp concludes and will take on-demand views into account. Note: we provide certificates with total hours but can’t guarantee that specific districts will accept them officially per varying district requirements.
If you have any other questions, please reach out to campengage@nearpod.com.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Camp Engage: Virtual Professional Development for Teachers appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

An introduction to Nearpod lessons

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Join us for Camp Engage: Back to School!

Join us for Camp Engage on July 25-27th! This FREE virtual professional development event is designed to provide educators with engaging, high-quality learning experiences, led by experts in the field. Our sessions are crafted to offer practical insights and strategies, ensuring immediate impact in the classroom.

Whether you’re new to Nearpod, a seasoned expert, or interested in learning, everyone is welcome to join!

What you need to know before creating a Nearpod lesson

As you begin creating lessons for students, it is important to understand Nearpod’s features. Interactive slides are broken down into three major categories:

Creation media

Slides, Sways, and Slideshows hold the essential content to guide your learners through the interactive lesson. The most common content media educators use is slides.

Dynamic media

Incorporate 3D objects, Simulations, and VR Field Trips to breathe life into your content, fostering a deeper understanding.

Interactive activities

Engage your students with captivating activities like Time to Climb, Draw It, Open-Ended Questions, and Collaborate Boards, which capture the pivotal moments of learning.

How to create a lesson on Nearpod

Our Lesson Builder features a user-friendly design familiar to those who have experience with tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Step 1: Launch the Lesson Builder

Click on “Create” and select “Lesson” to launch the Lesson Builder.

Step 2: Choose your slides

Select “Slides” from the Activity Selector. The Slide Editor offers a variety of pre-designed templates and layout features, enabling you to curate content slides for your lessons. Unleash your creative style in text boxes, leveraging rich-text capabilities and the Nearpod Equation Editor. Layer images, GIFs, and even your own audio directly onto slides. Create your content even faster using the new quick add slide button!

Step 3: Incorporate interactive media and activities

Click “Add New” to continue adding Dynamic Media and Activities, to finish building your interactive lesson.

Include activities from the Nearpod lesson library to customize your lesson using the Activity Bank. With thousands of pre-made Time to Climb quizzes and Matching Pairs, Drag and Drop, and Draw It activities, teachers can easily customize any lesson in Nearpod with standards-aligned activities.

Step 4: Input lesson details to stay organized

Click on “Lesson Details” to give your lesson a title, provide a description for the lesson, and tag the lesson with relevant grade levels and subjects. This metadata enhances searchability, making it easier to find and share your lessons.

Step 5: Launch and observe the magic

Launch your lesson in either Live Participation or Student-Paced modes and see the impact of Nearpod in action!

Tips for creating your own Nearpod lesson

As you design interactive lessons for students, here are some tips to get you started!

Tip #1: Use the lesson library for inspiration

It can be difficult knowing where to start when building lessons for your students. Nearpod’s curriculum team comprises former educators who design lessons around the latest research into active learning strategies, such as the 5 E’s Model and Guided Inquiry. Filter the Nearpod Library by grade level, subject, or state standards to discover new ways to approach your content. You can even copy and paste library resource content directly into your lessons!

Tip #2: Use what you already have

We know you already have amazing resources in other formats. Use the Upload Slides feature to quickly upload your PowerPoints and Google Slides into Nearpod, transforming them from static presentations to lessons for your students. You can even use worksheets for Draw It or Drag and Drop activities. Learn more about how to convert your existing presentations into a Nearpod lesson.

Tip #3: Enhance your Google Slides with the Nearpod Add-On

If you prefer to “Nearpodize” your existing Google Slides while working within the familiar Slides tool set, Gold, Platinum, and School or District users can integrate Nearpod activities and dynamic media content directly with the Nearpod add-on! With the Nearpod Slides add-on, your embedded hyperlinks stay active, and Microsoft Immersive Reader will be able to read all the text on your Slides to support all learners. Learn more about integrating your Nearpod lessons in Google Slides.

Already have access to a free Nearpod account? Click below to upgrade to Gold!

Tip #4: Organize ALL of your digital resources in one space

As we incorporate technology into our classrooms, it is easy to lose students to an array of open tabs. Direct students to specific websites, district curricular resources, or collaborative learning experiences with Google or Microsoft tools quickly and easily, using Nearpod’s Web Content feature. Using Web Content, all of those links can be easily integrated directly into your interactive lessons, ensuring you and your students are always on the same page. Learn more about enhancing your lessons with Web Content.

Tip #5: Combine dynamic media and activities

When creating lessons, it is important to remember all of the magic you have available to you in Nearpod. VR Field Trips, PhET Simulations, and 3D objects help the learning come to life. But did you know that you can easily pair that dynamic media content with one of Nearpod’s activities to truly make student thinking visible?

• Combine several VR Field Trips for a compare and contrast interactive classroom activity. Students can explore the various locations and then use a Collaborate Board to discuss or even debate their findings with their peers.
• Add a blank Draw It after a Simulation for students to upload their discoveries. First, they experience the simulation and then take a screenshot of their work. They can upload their image and then annotate right on top of it to explain what they have uncovered. 
• Create a Drag & Drop activity to label the parts of a cell using a screenshot of a 3D object. Students can explore the cell in their browser and then demonstrate their understanding by correctly labeling the various parts they have seen.

Start creating lessons on Nearpod

Whether you are using pre-made lessons from the Nearpod Library, enhancing your own materials, or even working directly in Google Slides, Nearpod makes it easy to create lessons for your students’ learning needs.

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post How to create interactive lessons for students with Nearpod appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Nearpod helps educators make any lesson interactive, whether in the classroom or virtual. The concept is simple. A teacher can create interactive presentations that can contain Quizzes, Polls, Videos, Collaborate Boards, and more. You can access thousands of premade K-12 standards-aligned lessons or upload your existing lessons and make them interactive using Nearpod in the classroom. Nearpod makes teaching easier with the interactive tools, resources, and content teachers need, all in one place. You can sign up for a free account today and learn 5 ways to use a free Nearpod account.

The students can access a teacher’s Live Participation presentation through a code, and the teacher then moves the class through the lesson and lets students interact with the media as they go. Teachers can also opt for Student-Paced mode, where the student controls the flow of the lesson. This mode is perfect for remote learning, hybrid learning, sub days, homework assignments, or independent work. The app is web-based and works on any device with an internet connection.

New to Nearpod? Sign up for free below to create your own interactive lessons and access engaging standards-aligned resources!

Join us for Camp Engage: Back to School!

Camp Engage, which is July 25-27th, is a FREE virtual professional development event packed with interactive, expert-led sessions focused on topics you care about, and innovative strategies to support your instruction.

Each session is crafted to provide immediate classroom impact, so you can apply what you learn at Camp Engage right from the start— just in time for back to school. Whether you’re new to Nearpod, a seasoned expert, or interested in learning, everyone is welcome to join!

10 ways to use Nearpod in the classroom

Below are just ten simple ways you can utilize this multiple-solutions-in-one tool:

1. Simple presentation delivery

At its most simple, you can use Nearpod as a substitute for other presentation tools. Instead of running a Powerpoint or Google Slides, you can utilize Nearpod and make the lesson more interactive. You can even ‘drag and drop’ your existing Google Slides, PDFs, and PowerPoints into the app for it to instantly create a Nearpod presentation. Then you can select from countless interactive activities and formative assessments. The presentations will be beamed to each student’s device in the classroom. You also do not have to rely on students being able to see the board.

2. Personalized provision and differentiation

Following on from the idea of using Nearpod as a simple presentation tool, you could isolate the use of the app to one student or a small group. It could be that you are beaming extra teaching provisions to particular pupils during a starter. This could be the missing link that provides more support for a child with visual impairments. It could provide that extra bit of help for a low attainer in your class. You can also duplicate the lesson and modify to deliver differentiated content to your students. You can edit these lessons with personalized formative assessment activities, collect feedback, and inclusive accessibility.

3. Distributing student resources

Using the app to distribute resources is another simple way of using it in the classroom. You can fill your presentation with images or worksheets and ask the students to use the Students Notes feature to save the presentation to their drive to access the information later when studying for an exam or completing homework. 

4. Live formative assessment

The app can become even more useful if you insert one of Nearpod’s many formative assessment activities into your presentation. As a teacher, you can create customized Quizzes, Polls, Open-ended Questions, Matching Pairs, Draw It activities, and more. Use these tools to view their responses and check for students’ understanding in real-time. The teacher can instantly gain insights into the classes’ overall understanding and make adjustments on the fly.

5. Interactive gamification and activities

One simple way to implement Nearpod into your daily instruction is to have students do an interactive activity. Add interest and excitement into everyday learning with Drag & Drop, Draw It, Time to Climb, Matching Pairs, and Collaborate Board. To review a unit use the gamified multiple-choice quiz, Time to Climb. With Collaborate Board, teachers can host classroom discussions with students using an interactive board to share ideas in real-time.

6. Self-assessment

It is common practice in Primary and Secondary schools for students to assess themselves and evaluate their own confidence levels. This is usually achieved through a traffic light system that children are encouraged to draw in their workbooks. Red indicates a poor confidence level, amber indicates a fair understanding and green indicates a very good understanding of any given learning topic.

Nearpod contains the option of inserting a ‘Poll’. In this situation, students’ opinions are questioned. This makes the ‘Polling’ tool a perfect feature to use when ‘traffic lighting’ in the classroom. The information is then saved in the aforementioned reports!

7. Modeling

The app also has a feature called ‘Draw It’ that can be built into your presentations. This beams an interactive whiteboard to the students’ devices. The teacher’s device will display all of the students’ ‘drawings’ and the teacher can then ‘share’ individual whiteboards with the entire class. Hitting share will cause the chosen ‘drawing’ to appear on every device. This enables teachers to share good work and model good progressions.

8. Open-ended tasks

Nearpod in the classroom allows for creative flexibility. The ‘Open-Ended Questions’ feature allows the teacher to pose a question or set up a scenario for the students to respond to. With this tool, you can facilitate creative writing tasks. As a result, the advantage of using something like Nearpod for this kind of activity is that the ‘Open-Ended’ answers are then automatically logged in the reports.

9. Setting homework

All of the above examples revolve around the idea of using Nearpod in a Live session, but students can also engage on their own time. You can provide a Student-Paced code and they can access the Nearpod lesson at home, or anywhere with an internet connection.

10. Sharing and using pre-made resources

One way of using Nearpod involves almost no work at all. Once you log on, tap on the ‘Nearpod Library’ button on the left side and it will take you to a library of pre-made Nearpod lessons. You can find interactive presentations on almost anything for K-12 made by reliable subject experts. Near down your search by using the filters on the left side, typing into the search for, or browsing around our featured content. You can search by lesson type, standards, subjects, grade levels, and keywords.

Get started using Nearpod

The customizable nature of the app means that it can be applied to any age range and teaching context. It saves you time with real-time formative assessment and session reports and helps build a connected culture in and outside of the classroom.

New to Nearpod? Sign up for free below to create your own interactive lessons and access engaging standards-aligned resources!

Interested in downloading a PDF version of this resource? Download to access at any time and share with colleagues!

Download PDF

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post 10 ways to use Nearpod in the classroom appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Nearpod’s lesson library is the perfect solution for those teachers who feel nervous about learning new tech but are excited to see the benefits of our interactive lesson platform. Here are three quick tips to get started using Nearpod’s pre-made standards-aligned K-12 content.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for a free Nearpod account below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

3 tips for using Nearpod’s lesson library

1. Use a pre-made lesson from the lesson library

Nearpod’s growing lesson library includes 22,000+ K-12 standards-aligned lessons that provide teachers with the additional content they need to fill in curriculum gaps and make lessons interactive.

Teachers no longer need to search for supplemental content and find ways to make worksheets and downloadable files more engaging. With Nearpod, teachers get all the benefits of pre-made standards-aligned content, built right into an interactive platform. Nearpod has interactive activities for students to show what they know and engaging media embedded right into lessons.

One of the best ways to jump into using Nearpod is to experience it for yourself first, and a pre-made lesson is a great way to save time creating a lesson on your own. Focus on finding standards-aligned content through our standards filters which include standard or state, subject, grade, and strand. You can also filter and search lessons by keywords, sources, and partners. When you’re ready, launch the lesson and watch how it impacts student engagement in your classroom. During the lesson, you can also get real-time insights into student morning.

After your lesson, head to your reports to find post-session reports you can share with other colleagues via email, or download as PDF and CSV files for your grading and records. Through these reports, teachers can print and share data on how the entire class did on a lesson, or create reports on individual students.

2. Customize an existing lesson

We know teachers love to take their supplemental content to the next level. When you’re feeling ready to create some content of your own in Nearpod, an easy way to save time is to customize a pre-made lesson with your own resources or with interactive activities like Draw It, Matching Pairs, Time to Climb, and more.

Find a pre-made lesson you love and customize it in three different ways:

• After you’ve found a lesson you’re interested in using, go through the slides and activities and cull them to focus on just what you need for your classroom and students. For example, you can change the wording of formative assessment questions or math problems to be a perfect fit for what you need from your content resources in the classroom.
• After you’ve perfected your lesson to present the content exactly how you want, you can add in existing PowerPoints, PDFs, or other resources you love into a lesson.
• Finally, teachers can add quick checks for understanding using Nearpod’s activity banks. These standards-aligned activities are the perfect way to customize a lesson. Nearpod’s activity banks help create engaging and interactive lessons while saving time.

3. Create your own lesson and keep it in your library for the future

Many teachers have developed content resources to support their lessons. Use the pre-made content on Nearpod’s lesson library as a guide to create your own. Don’t recreate the wheel and use what you already have as inspiration. Teachers can upload the resources they already have into Nearpod to create interactive lessons and then organize them into folders for future use.

Whether you have worksheets you’d like to digitize, PowerPoints you’d like to make interactive, videos, PDFs, slides, or web content from other online resources, Nearpod can combine them into one engaging and interactive learning experience.

When you combine the resources you already have with Nearpod’s interactive formative assessment types and engaging media, you turbocharge your content.

Start exploring Nearpod’s lessons

Discover a plethora of free quality lessons and teaching resources available for educators to utilize and enhance their classroom experience. Whether you’re new to Nearpod or looking to enhance your lessons, these three tips provide a quick start to leveraging its interactive platform effectively. Join the Nearpod community today to access a wealth of standards-aligned content and transform your classroom experience.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for a free Nearpod account below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post 3 Tips for using Nearpod’s lesson library appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for a free Nearpod account below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

4 Ways to increase student participation

1. Rich media in interactive lessons

Experiences like labs, discussions, and even field trips open up the door for hands-on, minds-on learning. These engaging experiences are often students’ favorite part of a unit and drive participation even after the activity is over. With Nearpod, you can move from passive to active learning by adding Virtual Reality (VR) Field Trips, Interactive Videos, and simulations to drive connections and encourage participation through exploration while embedding questions that spark critical thinking and creativity. 

VR field trips

Our 350,000 VR field trips bring the world into the classroom, and now they are bringing the world into the homes of students. Our immersive VR experiences can be used on any device with or without VR goggles.

Simulations

Simulations can also be part of making those real-world connections. They interest students and enrich the learning process. Simulations allow students opportunities for exploration and hands-on, minds-on learning. With Nearpod’s integrations with PhET, you can easily embed math and science simulations into any lesson!

2. Formative assessment activities

Checking for understanding throughout your lesson not only keeps students focused but also gives teachers real-time insights into student learning. When classrooms aren’t physically together, it’s even more important for students to be able to show what they know and for teachers to get a pulse on what their students have learned. On the other hand, during regular in-person learning, not all students raise their hands. Nearpod provides the opportunity to hear from all students.

Formative assessment is a hallmark feature of Nearpod and student participation. You can choose from a variety of question types that give students multiple ways to demonstrate learning (and have fun!). Examples include Poll, Time to Climb, Draw It, and more. These activities are engaging for your students and provide you with reliable data on their level of understanding.

Add Nearpod’s formative assessment features to any point of your lesson or video for pre-determined checks for understanding, and hear from every student for every activity!

3. Fostering classroom community

Class community is an important part of increasing participation and student motivation. With Nearpod, you can build classroom routines and foster class community, even from a distance.

Gamification

One way to create a class community is through routines that bring joy (and sometimes even a little competition) to your classroom. Try using our Time to Climb quiz game as a way to assess students’ prior knowledge or as a summative assessment at the end of the week. This can be built in a moment of structure that the whole class will look forward to, and the competition and excitement will engage your students, no matter where they are. You can create your own or use our premade Time to Climb quizzes from our Lesson Library.

Collaborate Boards

Our interactive virtual discussion board, the Collaborate Board, is a great way to encourage student interaction. Students contribute responses by posting them to the prompt on a message board. Responses can be text, images, or both, meaning that student participation can happen at anytime, and you can hide student names for anonymity. Collaborate Boards are great for:

• Priming class discussion
• Brainstorming ideas
• Reflecting on a skill or concept
• Sharing experiences
• Quick SEL check-ins

You can also add any of your favorite collaboration tools to your Nearpod lesson with a weblink.

Flocabulary

Another routine way to build community for class participation is by incorporating Flocabulary hip-hop videos to reflect student interest and identity during instruction. Flocabulary is a great way to introduce a new topic and teach vocabulary. You can leverage the supporting activities, like Vocab Cards, to reinforce what students have learned and provide opportunities to express creativity. At the end of a unit, students could use Lyric Lab to write their own rap about the topic they’ve learned. Flocabulary videos can be added inside Nearpod lessons or used on their own. 

4. Interacting via video

Interactive Video

The interactivity teachers and students value in Nearpod slides-based lessons is now available for videos! Video instruction is such a powerful tool for teachers. However, video on its own can be passive; students sit and watch rather than interact with the information.

In the classroom, you’d pause and ask questions at key moments during a video. With Nearpod, you can pre-determine these checks for understanding, even during asynchronous instruction, and every student has the opportunity to respond on their device.

Upload a video of yourself teaching, find the perfect video on YouTube, or check out our library of over 1,000+ videos with questions already built in!

Nearpod with Flip

Nearpod now has integrated with Flip, taking video-based conversations to a new level. Flip is like a discussion board that uses video rather than text. You can use it for:

• Book reports
• Reflections
• Teacher-student conferencing
• Class debates

Students can also record themselves answering your questions. Then, you might have their classmates like and share the videos. Using Nearpod with Flipgrid can help students feel more connected with each other.

By embedding Flipgrid into your Nearpod lesson, students have a seamless experience. Easily include Flipgrid after a media source to capture student reactions and add in other question types. Students access, all with one link!

Putting it all together

Ensuring student participation and interest is even more of a challenge than ever. With these four ways to increase student participation, your students (and you!) will be eager to log in for the next lesson.

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for a free Nearpod account below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post 4 Ways to increase student participation appeared first on Nearpod Blog.