This blog post will share free tools to help with your Nearpod presentations. We will cover the who, the what, the why, and how of enhancing any Nearpod presentation. However, you can use these tools for any presentation you are creating!

Why do visuals matter for presentations?

Nearpod is a powerful platform that supports educators and enterprises in creating high-quality visual presentations. You can create your presentation directly within Nearpod or drop in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote presentations. It allows for the integration of interactive experiences, which significantly enhances visual communication and presentations. When using Nearpod, educators can incorporate a variety of multimedia elements, such as video, audio, and interactive formative assessments, to engage participants. These tools help to highlight key messages and ensure that participants remain attentive and involved throughout the lesson.

To craft a great presentation with Nearpod, educators should pay attention to several important elements. By combining interactive professional development elements with Nearpod’s formative assessments, activities, and multimedia, educators can deliver presentations that convey information effectively while keeping participants engaged and actively participating. This holistic approach ensures that the key messages and material are truly retained, resulting in a more impactful and memorable learning experience.

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.

Why do visuals matter for presentations?

• They help us communicate. If you’ve ever traveled to a foreign country, a visual of an arrow easily tells you where you should go.
• They help us remember.
• They provide visual models. As a bilingual teacher, visuals were important for visual models. If I had a student that was a limited speaker, I could rely on visuals so they could better understand and retain the information

Take a look at this example below. Which one is easier to understand?

Visuals help learners make connections, provide engagement, tie ideas together, collaborate, and accommodate different learning styles for audience understanding.

What are the challenges we face when creating visual presentations?

• Time to make it look presentable
• Meeting learners needs
• Formatting
• Designing to fully communicate the lesson
• Structuring and lack of flexibility
• Creating something creative without any knowledge of designing/art.
• Making it purposeful but not distracting

For the most part, everyone knows how to use Powerpoint. Powerpoint offers very generic templates. They are colorful and great but they do not always do the job. Have you ever found yourself using a PowerPoint template and started creating a presentation but cannot find the clip art to put in the slide, or you can’t even find the image you are looking for? Or you put an image in, and it messes everything up! Before you know it, you get frustrated, and your PowerPoint turns into one big Word Document.

What’s worse than having a PowerPoint read to you? A PowerPoint without visuals. Visuals serve a purpose even during times you may not realize it.

3 Free design tools to create visual presentations examples

1. Canva

Canva provides you with free templates for every type of presentation, flyers, infographics, and more. You can upload your own images to use. It has over 1,000 free resources to incorporate as well. You do have to register for an account to use Canva. However, it is free. Some features may require an upgrade.

2. Flat Icon

Flat Icon provides you with free icons that provide a visual representation for multiple activities, functions, or topics. All you have to do is search for an image, download the file, and attribute the source.  Icons are available in black and white or in color.

3. Unsplash

Unsplash provides free high-resolution images on a variety of topics that can be used as background or in presentations. This is a great resource for conveying stories, cover images or background images. Attribution to the artist is not required but highly recommended.

Start using Nearpod to create presentations

In conclusion, free design tools have made it easier than ever to create all types of visual presentations. In addition, incorporating bullet points can help break down information into manageable chunks, making it easier for students to follow along. With tools like Canva, Flat Icon, and Unsplash, anyone can enhance their slides with templates, icons, and high-resolution images. By harnessing the power of visuals, you can effectively communicate your message, engage your audience, and leave a lasting impact.

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.

Victor Villegas

Victor taught 5th grade bilingual for three years and was an instructional technologist for two years. He currently works in Clinical Education as a Senior Learning Consultant for the largest hospital facility in North America. He is also a Nearpod PioNear.

The post 3 Free design tools to create visual presentations (with examples!) appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

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.

As an instructional coach, professional development leader, and conference presenter, I find that creating an engaging professional development session is similar to creating a stellar lesson in the classroom. 

• I need to know and explain why this content is being covered and how it’s helpful in teacher practice. 
• I need to ensure I am giving teachers the chance to learn and collaborate during professional development sessions actively. I want to consider how engaged my audience will be throughout the session and ensure that I thoughtfully use an interactive professional development experience for those attending.

I can accomplish this with active learning strategies and providing opportunities for collaboration by using handy tech tools such as Nearpod.

New to 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!

Make this summer count by participating in a professional development event like no other. 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 — just in time for back to school. Not only will educators gain invaluable knowledge, but they will also earn PD credits, adding value to their professional journey.

How to make interactive professional development activities for teachers

Importance and impact of PD for teachers

As educators, we have dedicated ourselves to a profession that encourages lifelong learning. Our ever-changing society is in constant flux. As more research on how students learn best, our instructional practices must change to rise to the standard of today’s challenges and be the most effective. The purpose of professional development is to continue building teachers’ capacity to increase student outcomes.  Professional development is an avenue to directly impact teacher skills, leading to improved classroom practices and positively impacting student outcomes (Yoon et al., 2007).

However, teachers and administrators across the nation have been working harder than ever. When educators are stretched thin, the last thing they want (or need) is bad professional development. Bad professional development can be ineffective, unhelpful, and downright boring. How do we, as building and district leaders, ensure that we serve teachers well? We can do this by integrating professional development that is engaging and effective. Ensuring that best professional development practices are used is the key to success.

Integrating active learning

Interactive professional development should integrate active learning. Lecture-based learning professional development has low engagement and leaves little room for innovation and reflection. Bates & Morgan (2018) explain that incorporating hands-on experiences into professional development can make learning a more meaningful experience. Active learning can also include watching a model lesson (Garet et al., 2001). Whether you’re leading an online course or boosting employee engagement in person, interactive professional development can be integrated in a multitude of ways. For example, teachers can participate in a model lesson with the materials used in a similar lesson for their classroom environment. This would allow teachers to experience and think about how they would incorporate this lesson or practice into their classrooms.

Want to introduce a new website or app for teachers to integrate into their practice? Great! Use it with them so they have an opportunity to explore the edtech platform and experience how it can support classroom management. Edtech tools, such as Nearpod, create fun, professional development activities for teachers, allowing them to see how they could integrate professional development in the classroom.

Using Nearpod’s activities, presenters can take a lecture-based presentation and turn it into a fun activity for a teacher workshop. Here are a few professional development ideas presenters can use:

Interactive activities

• Have teachers try a Time to Climb activity and watch them laugh and get competitive!
• Integrate checks using the Quiz or Poll feature throughout the presentation to gauge understanding of the content and professional development topics for teachers.
• Easily watch an example lesson using Interactive Video. It can be made interactive by adding stopping points throughout the video. These stopping points can have moments for teachers to reflect and ask questions about the lesson.

Opportunities for collaboration

Discussing classroom practices can be a personal matter requiring teachers to be vulnerable and trust their peers. Building team leaders should encourage community building through activities and discussion before instructional methods. Just like a classroom teacher would build relationships with and among the students in their class, administrators are tasked with building relationships with teachers and encouraging them to build community among themselves. A strong teaching community and school culture allow educators to be vulnerable and openly share their practices, reflections, wonderings, and concerns. Deep relationships provide the space to encourage teachers to dig in and work to change their instructional practices (Bates & Morgan, 2018).

Through professional development activities, we want to encourage collective efficacy within a staff. Giving teachers time to reflect, process, and collaborate throughout a professional development session is another way to integrate interactive professional development. Either in partners, small groups, teams, or as a whole group, have teachers share their reflections, connections, and questions for the betterment of the group. “Collaboration supports a togetherness mindset and develops collective knowledge that extends beyond individual, isolated experiences in the classroom” (Bates & Morgan, 2018).

Collaborate Board

A feature on Nearpod that works well for discussions is the Collaborate Board. Participants can type in their thoughts, add a GIF, or upload an image or video onto a virtual note and post it on the board for all to see. Participants can like and comment on the posts as well.

This tool can be used in many ways, such as by having participants process, reflect, and share their thoughts and providing time for everyone to read reflections. It can also be used for small groups to share what was discussed with the larger group. With collaboration boards, everyone is given a voice, which is ideal for team-building activities and practicing communication skills.

Hear advice from teachers just like you

Post-session reports for attendance

“When using Nearpod for a live PD session, Nearpod takes attendance! One of the big pros is that we eliminate paper and pen sign in sheets and we are able to monitor participants throughout the session to ensure 100% participation for full credit. Post-session reports are great to review to clarify or address any possible misconceptions, participants are learners after all!”

Crystal Fuentes

Hear from all attendees

“Nearpod creates an interactive element that a lot of PD sessions lack when the presenter just talks through their own information or shares slides on a screen behind them. With Nearpod, the presenter can immediately gauge the audience and customize the experience to that particular session.  It helps tailor the session to the people in attendance instead of your assumed audience so the audience feels heard and their questions get addressed quickly instead of at the very end.”

Brittanie Payne

“If you need a pulse on something during the session, you can throw in a poll with just A. B. C. D. on the fly without a definite question typed in advance. Just verbalize the question and answer options.” 

Robin McLean

Have a fun hook

“I add a Matching Pairs activity at the beginning so they have something to “play” while waiting to start.”

Rebecca Hunter

“I embed Google Maps so they can pin where they would travel if they didn’t have to be in PD. I also use Collaborate Board or Draw It for them to color a picture or add funny captions while waiting for the session to start.”

Tara Vanderveer

Keep attendees interested and engaged

“Nearpod is a great tool for teacher PD because it allows us to model good teaching practice while also keeping adults engaged and interacting with the material. Everyone has so many distractions, Nearpod is a tool that keeps the audience participating without the feeling of work. The different Nearpod activities allow us to slowly bring participants into the lessons with individual responses, then move to larger collaboration activities. All learners, including the adults need differentiation and opportunities to have a voice which can be done with Nearpod.”

Erin Lopez

My personal experience using Nearpod for teacher PD

I love using Nearpod in my teacher PD training because it is a way to keep teachers focused on the content with fun professional development activities for teachers. During the pandemic, I was a guest speaker on differentiated instruction in the classroom for a virtual professional development teacher prep class. I needed a way to ensure students were engaged even online. I decided to use Nearpod from afar, and it was a hit!

The Matching Pairs activity was used to help students know the different types of student plans they may encounter (IEPs, 504s, ALPs, etc.).  I used the Collaborate Board to have them share ideas about how to use accommodations in the classroom. The Quiz feature is excellent for checking for understanding and seeing if I need to go back and explain a topic that may have been confusing. I also used Open-Ended Questions to have students reflect throughout the presentation and give me feedback at the end. Even when we returned in person, I used Nearpod as a way to turn the ‘lecture-esque’ portions of training into a collaborative one that supports all learning styles. It is an invaluable tool I will continue using for training and professional development!

@thefantasticallyfourth @Nearpod streamlines everything on one platform! Check out #Nearpod for your lessons! #ad ♬ original sound – Shane Saeed

Education is constantly shifting and changing with new research and technology. Due to this, PD for teachers will never go out of style. However, we need to hold ourselves as presenters and trainers to the same high standard as we have our teachers: to be engaging. Nearpod is a fantastic tool that can be used to increase staff engagement and buy-in. Who knows, your modeling of Nearpod during professional development might encourage a teacher not only to take what they learned from your training and apply it in the classroom but also to integrate Nearpod!

New to 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.

Interested in reading more about this topic? Check out this blog post: 10 Ideas for redesigning a new teacher orientation

Shane Saeed

Shane is a Learning Coach for St. Vrain Valley School District. She partners with educators and administrators to integrate high-leverage practices into the classroom. She enjoys sharing her professional learning on Instagram (@fantasticallyfourth) and presenting nationally at teaching conferences.

The post How to make interactive professional development activities for teachers appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

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.

5 Summer professional development opportunities for teachers

1. Access impactful webinars, trainings, tutorials, and more

PD by the Pool webinars

Are you a teacher looking for innovative ways to enhance your summer school instruction and keep students actively engaged? Join us for PD by the Pool to dive into top-notch professional development sessions to enhance your Nearpod and Flocabulary skills in a fun, flexible way that fits perfectly with your summer 2024 plans.

Whether you’re a veteran Nearpod user or new to the platform, in these webinars, teachers learn best practices and strategies to effectively utilize Nearpod in your summer school instruction. Webinar attendees will receive a recording and certificate of attendance. If you can’t attend live, register for the webinar and you’ll recieve a recording!

Teacher trainings and resources

Nearpod’s Teacher Resources page allows you to explore all types of training and tutorials within a few clicks. Not only does Nearpod cater to all student learners, but we also try to cater to our fellow teachers and administrators to make their experience as seamless as possible. Here are some suggestions on how you can navigate these summer professional development for teachers and handy-dandy resources:

• If you like to watch sessions in real-time and follow along with a presenter, register for one of our live webinars. Scroll through our calendar and pick a topic, date, and time that works for your summer schedule. 
• Prefer to learn at your own pace? Watch our on-demand webinars and trainings. There’s a full library of recorded teacher professional development webinar sessions you can choose from. Sit back, grab a snack, and watch at your own leisure!
• Prefer a bite-sized tutorial style? Watch our getting started videos. There’s a huge list of how-to videos on our YouTube channel you can use to learn Nearpod in minutes.
• More of a reader? Bookmark this blog to read tips and guides from the Nearpod team and teachers. You can also sign up for our Teacher Newsletter to stay up to date on all things Nearpod.

Join us for Camp Engage: Back to School on July 25-27th, 2024!

If you are looking for some free virtual teacher professional development, then Camp Engage is the event for you! At Camp Engage, you can learn how to create Nearpod magic alongside thousands of educators around the world. Camp Engage helps you expand your Professional Learning Network (PLN) in happy hours, event community resources, and icebreaker activities throughout the entire event. Campers have the opportunity to earn a certificate of attendance with up to 15 PD credits for free.

Save your spot now for Camp Engage, a FREE virtual PD event designed to help you make the most of the upcoming school year and find creative ways to engage your students.

This unique opportunity allows educators to earn professional education credits while exploring cutting-edge teaching techniques and tools. Explore over 30 virtual and on-demand sessions led by renowned experts to gain insights to elevate your teaching practices.

2. Join our lively teacher communities

Learning a new skill as a teacher takes a village, and you don’t have to do it alone. Luckily, there’s nothing like a supportive and motivational teacher community to be a part of! We saw it when shifting to distance learning, and we’re still seeing it today. There are so many benefits to joining our communities, such as professional networking and peer connections, joining summer professional development for teachers, extra Nearpod support and resources, and opportunities to grow as an educator and a leader.

The educator community as a whole is impactful, inspiring, and packed with knowledge to share. The Nearpod community isn’t any different. Meet teachers from all around the globe who share the same love of student engagement. Join a community to gain exclusive resources, support for sharing Nearpod, and a network of educators transforming teaching with technology.

I love using Nearpod! Being a member of the Nearpod Certified Educator community has opened up such incredible opportunities of collaborating with other professionals who are just as excited about Nearpod. I’m constantly learning of so many new techniques and tools through my fellow Nearpod Certified Educators! Thank you Nearpod!

Sharon Low, Teacher, Florida, PioNear & NCE

Become a Nearpod Certified Educator (NCE)! NCEs are ed tech enthusiasts who love using Nearpod, want to connect with a global educator community, and receive special opportunities. NCEs are eligible for further PD with advanced badges available only to this community. Join Nearpod’s Communities!

Join Nearpod’s Educator Facebook Group! Brainstorm with other teachers how to seamlessly integrate Nearpod into your classroom. Regardless if you’re a beginner or an expert, join this group to plug into exciting resources and impactful conversations!

Follow us on our social media. We’re always sharing timely resources, tips, and even memes across our social media. Join our Twitter community to dive deep into all things Nearpod! Follow us on Instagram to view bite-sized instructional videos and tips.

nearpod

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Encourage more representation, share the stories, and elevate the voices of those who are doing the work. Swipe & save these tips for celebrating in your classroom! #teacherresources #lessonideas #instateach #iteachtoo #teachersofig #nearpod">

Teaching is the most important job in the wor Teaching is the most important job in the world, and YOU deserve to be celebrated every day. To show some love this #TeacherAppreciationWeek, we're giving away 50 prizes all week long! $100 & $50 Gift Cards Nearpod Gold Licenses Want to join in the fun and enter to win? Here's how: Tag a teacher in the comments to let them know Sign up officially at the link in our bio This giveaway runs until May 10th, 11:59 PM (EST).">

Happy #EarthDay! How are you and your students cel Emily Maude's 1st-grade class from @KCSD96 started their Earth Day celebrations with a Nearpod on what this day represents. Students drew pictures of how they can help the Earth and things they see around their community that are unhealthy for the planet. Then, they created a poster about how to help our earth for a daily review! via MissMaude1st on X. #lessonideas #tipsforteachers #teachersofig #instateach #teachercommunity #earthday">

Financial freedom is only available to those who l What does Financial Literacy mean to you? Help set your students up with healthy money habits by teaching about: Taxes Credit Cards Budgeting & more! Because personal finance is relevant at any age. ">

We're working on the Kenergy part. You've You've got this, teachers. #teachermemes #teacherhumor #teacherlife #oscarmemes #teacherememe #teachersofinstagram #studentmemes #igteachers #nearpod">

Find your one true love this Valentine’s. P.S. You're ours! Happy #ValentinesDay from the Nearpod team • • • #nearpod #teachersofig #teachersofinstagram #teachergram">

#BlackHistoryMonth and beyond is a time to celebra

Forget a dozen roses… we know another way t Forget a dozen roses… we know another way to your heart. Valentine’s Day is a great time to strengthen students' #SEL skills. Spread some love with our activities like a special Time to Climb theme, SEL lessons, printable valentines, & more! #teachersofig #teacherresources #teachersofinstagram">

Touchdown Trivia: Did you guess right? (Answers below) Channel your students' Super Bowl excitement into our new Current Events Lesson, Super Bowl: Advertisements & Pop Culture! Dive into the intersection of sports & pop culture through the impact of the Super Bowl on advertising and American culture. Get the lesson at the link in our bio! . . . . . . . ANSWER 1: $122 million ANSWER 2: increased by 53% #teachermemes #teacherresources #teachersofinstagram #superbowl #taylorswift">

Load More… Follow on Instagram

3. Familiarize yourself with the power of Nearpod

Our mission is to make teaching easier with the interactive tools, resources, and content teachers need, all in one place. You can make slides-based lessons interactive and gather data on student understanding at the same time. Use existing PowerPoints or Google Slides, or easily create your own slides on Nearpod. You have the ability to add formative assessment tools and activities within your lesson to guide teaching and improve student outcomes. 

If you’re delivering teacher professional development over the summer, use existing training slides and upload them onto a Nearpod lesson. Add interactive activities to get participation and feedback from your audience. Teachers will leave your session feeling inspired and reinvigorated!

Here’s what makes Nearpod great in a nutshell:

• Interactive slides: Teach with slides-based lessons and choose from 20+ interactive formative assessments and dynamic media features.
• Interactive video: Create active video learning experiences by including checks for student understanding.
• Gamification & activities: Keep students engaged while getting real-time insights into student understanding with gamified learning & activities.

To boost engagement, we recommend starting off with an interactive activity that you can implement in any classroom setting.

Increased engagement can lead to increased learning gains and greater student retention of learning material. Utilize Nearpod in the next school year to ensure your students remain engaged, focused, and eager to learn more. See for yourself Nearpod in action by testing it out during a teacher professional development session. This is a great way to practice using the tech tool while also sharing it with your teachers for professional development ideas!

With our growing selection of activities such as Drag & Drop, Draw It, Time to Climb, Matching Pairs, Collaborate Board, Quiz, Poll, Open-Ended Questions, and more, teachers have multiple options to meet specific needs of the diverse learners in their classrooms. You can learn quick ways to use these interactive activities in your classroom by clicking below.

4. Explore our lesson library or create your own lesson

Making a Nearpod lesson is simple! Gold, Platinum, and School or District users can integrate Nearpod activities & content directly within Google Slides with the free Nearpod add-on. Learn more about building your summer professional development for teachers and lessons in Google Slides. Teachers also have the option to create their own lessons from scratch within Nearpod. Our Slide Editor gives you the ability to add visually appealing slides. You can add images, GIFs, shapes, and audio all within your slide. Don’t forget you can always upload slides from your existing presentations as well! We recommend getting familiar with our Slide Editor for a seamless Nearpod experience. That way, you can keep all of your lessons and activities in one place as you head into the new school year! 

Additionally, you have access to standards-aligned quality lessons, videos, and quick activities for all grades and subjects. Lessons can be searched by standard and have clear, measurable learning objectives. Nearpod also allows for easy customization to fit the unique needs of your students. This is a great resource to use to assign summer learning assignments. Explore the lesson library and save lessons you’d like to use next year. If you’re interested in exploring your options, check out this tutorial to see how to filter through the library.

TIP: If you’re using the summertime to plan ahead for next year, create folders for easy access later on. You can drag lessons into folders and organize them by name and color-coding.

5. Transform your next conference or training presentation

Now that you know the basics of Nearpod and how to make a lesson, let’s see it in action! Summer is the perfect time to use Nearpod for PD training or during summer learning. Practice your Nearpod skills now, and then you’ll be ready to use them with your students in the new school year.

Here are some professional development ideas for teachers:

• Add a background onto a Draw It slide and have teachers draw their responses. You can view their progress in real-time and also project responses to discuss. This is great for when you split your audience into groups during your PD workshops.
• Utilize the Collaborate Board to spark further discussion. Collaborate Board is an interactive discussion board that allows participants to post text and images to a shared class board. This is an amazing feature to use to brainstorm and hear from all participants!
• Time to Climb is a MUST for your next presentation! In this gamified quiz, participants can compete to see who gets to the top of a mountain first by answering a series of questions both correctly and quickly to increase their own points to become one of the top three winners of the game. Reward the top teacher with a special prize to boost morale!

When presenting at a PD conference, you can use this tech tool to hold the room, eliminate multi-tab clicking, collect feedback, conduct brain breaks, and more! If you’re looking for these styles of training tips you can use for any summer professional development for teachers session, click below.

Use Nearpod for your summer professional development ideas

Summer is the perfect time for schools teacher professional development, offering a range of short-term opportunities for teachers to enhance their skills. With various professional development programs available, educators can meet program requirements while enjoying summer travel. These professional development opportunities provide rich learning experiences, helping teachers to improve their teaching and learning strategies.

Now, it’s time to put your Nearpod knowledge into action! Use this time during the summer to truly understand the power of Nearpod and the potential it has to keep your students engaged in the upcoming school years. Friendly reminder you have a community of teachers willing to help every step of the way! The Nearpod team is also always here to support you in any way we can.

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.

Carol Chinea

Carol Chinea is a Marketing Associate at Nearpod.

The post 5 Summer professional development opportunities for teachers 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.

Learning gaps are pitfalls that affect students making progress toward achieving their goals. When you say the word gap in conjunction with the word education, most likely people will cringe with worry about who doesn’t know or have access to what. More formally, learning gaps are discrepancies between a child’s performance and grade-level expectations denoting a lack of mastery. Learning gaps can be narrow or wide; children can have learning gaps in one particular subject area or across many areas. Some liken learning gaps to building blocks; you can picture how, if one of the foundational blocks is missing, the whole structure might be at risk. Often, learning gaps are described as “the way things are” versus “the way things should be.”

What are the different types of learning gaps?

Learning gaps can be defined in the five following ways:

1. Knowledge gap: A student does not know or hasn’t been exposed to particular background information, which prevents a true understanding of new content. 
2. Skills gap: A student lacks practice or mastery in a particular skill or skill set. In short, they don’t know how to apply the knowledge that they have.
3. Motivation gap: A student does not have the desire or motivation to learn. This lack of engagement may not necessarily indicate indifference, but rather could be attributed to other external factors.
4. Environmental gap: A student does not have access to a suitable and supportive learning environment. We saw many instances of this gap during COVID remote learning. 
5. Communication gap: A student lacks clear communication about particular knowledge and/or expectations. This gap may be language or culturally based, but sometimes may be due to a learning difference such as an auditory processing disorder.

Why are there student learning gaps in education?

Learning gaps can occur due to many reasons: poor instruction, lack of resources, absenteeism, moving between schools, or learning disabilities, to name a few. And sadly, learning gaps can snowball if not addressed immediately or effectively.

Achievement gaps speak to the inequities in education opportunities, while learning gaps refer to individuals’ lack of progress.

Post pandemic, there was much in the press about learning loss or unfinished learning, with McKinsey finding that K-12 students were an average of five months behind in math and four months behind in reading, and students of color were disproportionately affected. Couple the pandemic effects with the all-too-common achievement gaps, throw in increasing class sizes and the qualified teacher shortages, and we as a country are still trying to climb out of our own gaping hole.

How does Nearpod help shrink learning gaps?

Nearpod is a comprehensive solution for schools—it not only assists in identifying learning gaps through formative assessment tools but also provides access to standards-aligned lessons, activities, and real-time assessment data to help close such learning gaps. The Nearpod platform provides a cyclical process for educators and students to pick high-interest and top-quality content, engage in active learning strategies, and then reflect on timely performance data and feedback; rinse and repeat. Many other edtech tools might provide pieces of the pie, but Nearpod promises a robust solution of centralized content, transformative instruction, active learning experiences instruction, and real-time insights.

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 to identify and address learning gaps in education

1. Embrace a rigorous curriculum

Too often, students lose interest and motivation to learn because there is a disconnect with the real world, a disinterest in the topic at hand, an undiagnosed learning disability, or a disparity in developmental appropriateness. Curiosity and passion for lifelong learning can be stoked with a rigorous curriculum that offers variety, intrigue, and challenge. Curricula that support students’ 21st-century learning skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking will not only engage them but prepare them for future careers.

All students deserve to be engaged in materials that are immersive and relevant. Nearpod rises to that challenge by providing standards-aligned lessons in ways that promote authentic connections and applications to the real world. The multimedia-rich design optimizes the best of technology with features like the Virtual Reality (VR) Field Trips. With Nearpod’s interactive learning experiences, you can make learning much more participatory and engaging by adding such dynamic activities as Draw It, Drag and Drop, Collaborate Board, Time to Climb, and more.

Additionally, Nearpod’s 21st Century Readiness Program addresses vital topics such as digital citizenship, social and emotional learning, college and career readiness, and financial literacy, ensuring that students are equipped with the skills they need for success in today’s rapidly evolving world. 

2. Enhance your evidence-based instruction

To help close learning gaps, educators should lean on the lessons learned by their predecessors and rely on research-backed pedagogy. Often, decades’ worth of research with recommended methodology can help individualize and personalize instruction to best meet the needs of the individual. Schools can commit to providing quality professional development (PD) to reinforce those pedagogies that best support their mission and philosophical approach to education.

Nearpod was created for teachers by teachers. Back in 2012, the founders, Guido Kovalskys, Felipe Sommer, and Emiliano Abramzon, crafted the idea of Nearpod as part of a Stanford school design thinking fellowship. Steeped in the best educational practices and research, Nearpod promotes not only dissemination but also collaboration and active participation in learning. Nearpod has a suite of formative assessment strategies through its interactive features. As students interact, you can see the real-time data around usage and progress. These student reports are useful for identifying insights for the gap learning method. They can highlight not only students’ advances but also possible missteps and gaps in understanding.

3. Play your part in creating a data-driven school

You can be data rich yet insight poor. Teachers pull in a wealth of data on a daily basis through quantifiable assessments and qualitative observations. Teachers have their finger on the pulse of the classroom when it comes to progress monitoring, and they are consistently evaluating the group progress as well as the individual achievements.

Nearpod provides comprehensive student data reports for data-driven instruction. These real-time summaries provide snapshots of how well the students are or aren’t meeting expectations. You can take a quick glance at a group’s interaction within a lesson by activity type, as well as dive more into the depths of a single student’s every click. Marry these insights with what you’ve observed during the lesson, and schools can take a data-driven approach to extrapolating insights to guide their next steps in instruction, whether in the moment or when planning for the next day. You also can share these reports with the administrators to illustrate overall progress or share them with a student’s family to better underscore steps gained or traction lost.

4. Differentiate. Full stop.

Armed with such data, educators can then modify their instruction as needed to meet individual needs. On a daily basis, teachers often need to modify instruction by adding in extra supports or challenges. They personalize their instructional approach to promote student voice and choice to build a better sense of learner agency and purpose.

You can search by topic of interest and by state standard in Nearpod’s library of 22,000+ ready-to-teach lessons. You can pull students into small groups and share self-paced lessons for the collaborative group to tackle. These resources make learning engaging, challenging, and interactive to help deepen understanding. Differentiated instruction and personalization will help build lifelong learners.

Indeed, Nearpod’s impact on instruction is significant, with 75% of customers attesting to its effectiveness in differentiating instruction and 79% affirming its role in personalizing the learning experience.

5. Design your own lesson plans

Teachers are known for re-creating the wheel. They are renowned for being part scientists and part artists. Yet in a recent Gallup poll, only 47% of students reported being engaged in learning. Consider how your school’s approach to instructional design might address learning gaps and increase student engagement, and then work with your colleagues to weave in some best practices across the curriculum to meet your students’ needs: 

• How does the lesson connect to prior knowledge? 
• Is the instruction applicable to varied learning styles? 
• Are there multiple opportunities for group and individual practice? 
• What are the checks for understanding?
• What types of assessments do we require?

Nearpod not only provides a library of standards-based lessons from its internal team and well-respected partners like Common Sense, iCivics, Smithsonian, and many more, but it also provides authoring tools so that you can create your own lessons. Alternatively, you can start with one of Nearpod’s many lessons and then modify it based on your students’ needs. You can achieve 100% student participation and promote meaningful discussion by leveraging Nearpod’s interactive slide design, gamified activities like Time to Climb, high-order thinking features like Collaborate Board, and dynamic media like Nearpod 3D.

6. Connect home and school

Education is a team effort. It takes coordination across the district and school leadership with classroom teachers and staff and the students’ homes. No longer is learning limited to  8 a.m.-3 p.m. Advances in technology blur the lines between formal and informal learning, enabling learning to occur “on the go” and “just in time” with access to the right tools and internet connectivity. Supplemental learning tools are essential complementary elements of a robust learning program.

Nearpod promotes home-to-school connections in several ways. Teachers can share student reports with parents to better illustrate student needs on an ongoing basis instead of just at the end of a semester. Teachers can address learning gaps by providing feedback to students about their work through the Live Teacher Feedback feature. Also, you can assign Nearpod lessons to small groups or individual students via Student-Paced mode to encourage them to dive deeper and explore further topics of interest.

7. Take a MTSS approach

In addressing the whole child, most schools nowadays consider the student’s academic, social, and emotional needs. Many schools take a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) approach to proactively leverage data and instruction to optimize a student’s strengths. MTSS promotes three tiers of instruction to best support individuals.

Nearpod supports a MTSS approach in several ways, specifically for Tier 1 instruction. From universal instruction to targeted instruction to customized instruction, Nearpod’s vast library of content and robust feature set empowers educators and students alike to take control of the learning and make it as meaningful as possible. With such resources, Nearpod can promote inclusiveness, engagement, and effectiveness for all.

Additionally, Star Assessments now has a Nearpod connection that enables educators to seamlessly access a vast array of interactive and standards-aligned lessons that tailor instruction to students’ needs. This helps save time on planning, maintains student engagement, and provides real-time insights into student understanding.

Take the necessary steps to close students’ learning gaps

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school, teachers are masters of evaluation and maestros of instruction. Their hour-to-hour strategies help paint that comprehensive picture of individual and group progress toward state standards. When it comes to learning gaps, the key is to identify them early and put a plan of action into effect immediately. Collaboration will be your best tactic when trying to tackle the learning gap from all angles. All students deserve learning experiences that celebrate their growth, so that we talk about learning leaps instead of education gaps.

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.

Darri Stephens

Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer, passionate about creating quality content and programs for kids, families, and educators. With MAs in Education from both Harvard and Stanford, and work experience at best-in-class ed tech organizations including Wonder Workshop, Nickelodeon, and Common Sense Education, she is steeped in the design thinking process and committed to agile and iterative project management, which has resulted in multi-award-winning programs and products.

The post How to identify and address learning gaps in education appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

According to an ESSA Level II study, CAASPP scores for math achievement demonstrated significant improvements among students who utilized Nearpod compared to those who did not, across various grade levels:

• 8th graders exhibited higher scores: 2516 compared to 2486.
• 6th graders also showed improved scores: 2501 compared to 2483.
• Additionally, 6th graders with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) displayed enhanced scores: 2424 compared to 2393.

These findings highlight Nearpod’s positive impact on math academic outcomes across different student demographics, making it an ideal platform for a powerful supplemental math curriculum program.

Find the right supplemental resource for your instructional need

Full lesson experience

We know that half the battle in schools right now is finding top-quality resources for teaching and evaluating supplemental programs effectively. Resources need to be flexible enough for teachers to make their own, while still remaining rigorous, engaging, and differentiated to meet the needs of all students in their class. Nearpod Math allows teachers to support their instruction with a standards-based lesson, digitized in a ready-to-teach, problem-based format that keeps students at the forefront of instruction. These lessons provide warm-ups to get students thinking about the standard and topic of the day, then lead to exploration and practice through interactive activities and collaboration with classmates.

Always on the hunt for more

We also know that core instruction may not always be enough to meet the needs of all learners. Teachers likely need more for any given topic, and we’ve got them covered. Find opportunities to practice, reteach, and extend lessons, as well as videos and activities specifically aligned to the standard or topic within you’re working on. These supporting resources allow teachers to highlight a key concept by using a mini-lesson for small groups, showing a short video, or assigning additional practice opportunities in the form of a Time to Climb, Matching Pairs, Drag & Drop, Draw It, or one of our new virtual math manipulatives activities. All of these resources are conveniently organized in one place to help teachers maximize their limited time available to plan instruction.

Confidence-boosting math experiences engage every learner

The role model approach: Math is for me!

Too often, we find students unable to relate to the math classroom. Nearpod Math provides access to role models throughout the offering that look and think like typical math students across the nation. We built a character crew that grows and learns with the students across their K-8 math instruction journey. Through our Oh Now I Get It video series, these relatable characters demonstrate common misconceptions that may occur in the math classroom to clarify their understanding. These characters also walk students through relevant and authentic real-world connections through our Math in Action video series. We are excited for Sammy, Jaden, Willow, and all of their classmates to boost math experiences and engage every learner.

Building conceptual understanding

Our new virtual math manipulatives provide students with a scaffold to solve problems using Color Tiles, Base 10 Blocks, Algebra Tiles, and Fraction Tiles. Teachers are able to use our pre-made activities or make one on the spot to address a specific problem and drive conceptual understanding for students who may need additional support. Teachers can see the student solving in real-time, share student work in real-time, and allow individuals to model their thinking with the whole class. This helps peers become math role models for one another and demonstrate their understanding.

Reducing pressure and anxiety amplifies student voice

With the power of Nearpod, teachers truly have the ability to amplify student voice and hear from every student on every question. This reduces anxiety and allows students to practice without fear or judgment of being wrong. We intentionally integrated opportunities for student collaboration through interactive activities and discussions. With our Live to Student-Paced feature, teachers can release students to complete math activities at their own pace and monitor their progress in real-time. This removes the pressure that the class is waiting for “me” to finish while supporting the students who are able to move swiftly through more practice problems. Teachers decide what’s next because they know their students best.

Teachers drive the path

Flexibility is key when using supplemental resources. With Nearpod Math, teachers get access to high-quality resources that can be customized to meet their unique classroom needs. Not only can teachers edit, remove, or add to the existing Nearpod resources, but they also can create or upload their own to further support small groups, whole-class, reteaching, or enrichment opportunities!

Confident next steps after every turn 

Teaching math is complicated. Nearpod assists teachers in managing classroom behavior by facilitating engaging lessons while supporting teachers in addressing misconceptions before they start. Nearpod Math experiences are rich with real-time student insights, a live teacher dashboard, exclusive content, and on-the-fly instructional tools such as live annotation so teachers can intervene at the moment. Forget the days of teachers reviewing 150+ exit slips a day to adapt tomorrow’s instruction and start seeing where kids are so you can make adjustments in the moment.

Boost student confidence with Nearpod Math

Powered by Nearpod Premium Plus, Nearpod Math is available to schools and districts seeking to solve the “experience gap” found in other supplemental math programs. The program helps your teachers bring 21st-century skills to impact student learning each and every day.  Want to take a deeper look into the features that support boosting student confidence in math?

Pamela Villalba

Pamela Villalba is a Senior Curriculum Manager at Nearpod. She previously served as the Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction at a large urban school district in Central Florida where she led a team of content experts to support over 60 middle and high schools in the areas of professional development, school support, and curriculum within all core subjects. Pamela is currently in charge of supporting Nearpod in creating an innovative offering to support Math teachers across the nation.

The post 6 reasons your school’s math instruction needs Nearpod Math 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.

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.

What is the great debate around the Science of Reading?

Let’s start with the basics: what is literacy? Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen. Over the decades, schools have shifted to adopt new theories and philosophies. Phonics, whole language, or balanced literacy are all monikers for how educators can teach students how to read. The Science of Reading (or SOR) is not a program. It’s the culmination of decades of research supporting a return to a highly structured set of approaches rooted in decoding skills and language comprehension. It is grounded in efficacy-based research, deconstructing how and why particular models of instruction work.

Balanced Literacy Vs. Science of Reading

For years, balanced literacy sought to find a middle ground between the pendulum extremes of phonics-first and whole-language advocates. Teachers shared their toolbox of strategies with students, from decoding to “three-cueing” to leveled readers. Yet such programs have been hard to evaluate in terms of efficacy. SOR education practices shies away from the popular guided-reading approach touted by Lucy Calkins and Jan Richardson in favor of an explicit focus on decoding and language comprehension.

Research shows that reading, unlike talking, is not a natural process for children. It takes more intentional instruction to achieve desired results and goals. Proponents of the Balanced Literacy vs Science of Reading point to the recent decline in reading scores as evidence that the prevalent methods of reading instruction over the past decade have failed. The Science of Reading emphasizes the importance of mastering foundational skills through a structured literacy approach to ensure effective strategies for learning to read.

Why is the Science of Reading important right now?

It’s hard to argue that we’re not in a reading crisis. Reading skills have declined in districts and states nationwide to historic lows. The learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic widened reading and math achievement gaps. It spotlighted the increasing discrepancy for Black, Hispanic, and other students impacted by educational inequalities. EdWeek reported that student results from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showcased that a third of 4th and 8th graders can’t read at the “basic” achievement level, which is the lowest. 70% of teachers of those 4th-grade students reported using remedial measures a couple of times a week. According to the results, even top readers have made little progress over the past three years. This lack of growth and widening gaps have turned educators and parents’ attention to what can be done differently regarding the SOR.

This map shows students from grade 4 scoring below basic in reading, by state:

What is the Science of Reading?

Many states have now adopted a much more rigorous approach to reading. The SOR approach zeros in on developing five core skill sets for emergent and beginner readers: fluency, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension. It harkens back to 1986’s The Simple View of Reading research by Philip Gough and William Tunmer, which underscores the importance of two components: decoding and language comprehension. Think of it as an equation—reading comprehension is a product of decoding and language comprehension:

The algorithm’s simplicity belies the intricate and sophisticated sensemaking of letter sounds, words, and sentences. Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s 2021 Scarborough’s Rope Reading further details how the two intertwine, scaffolding skills and building toward automaticity.

With the SOR, instruction involves dedicated time and a systematic and intentional method of seeking out teachable moments for literacy across the curriculum. This evidence-based approach encourages educators to lean on what matters and what works. Turning research into practice, however, is not without time, effort, and money.

Here are the 10 components of the SOR:

• Print concepts
• Phonological awareness
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Spelling
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Oral language skills
• Reading comprehension skills
•  Background knowledge

To better understand Science of Reading strategies, look at this downloadable to refresh your understanding of key concepts and terms. Remember, there is no specific curriculum or program, so you’ll want to work with your school community to determine how to fold in these demonstrated methods.

How are states implementing the SOR?

States are falling victim to the age-old problem of education stumbling over change management. Many are pushing this newer school of thought with little explanation. Such harried rollouts breed confusion, suspicion, and defensiveness. Teachers are told to change their “best” practices and beliefs without time to make connections to the new methodologies. Timelines, incentives, and compensation are not being offered equitably. This push-and-pull pits educators against one another, and against change in general.

Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, and Mississippi have passed laws requiring a SOR approach. Others are going in with intensive training and Science of Reading professional development, overwhelming an already taxed and deflated teacher population. North Carolina is spending $54 million on a two-year training (LETRS) for all K-5 teachers. A common refrain is, “When you know better, you do better.” Many other states, such as Utah and Virginia, are leveraging ESSER funds to adopt such practices via instruction and training. However, the integration and implementation nationwide are uneven at best.

What are the benefits of the Science of Reading?

Time will tell; the benefits are to be seen. On the positive side, such a common and structured approach based on research should be easier to track and see results. According to a study by Amplify, many students in 43 states are seeing an uptick in the number of students on track to read at grade level by the end of the year.

The Science of Reading curriculum takes a scaffolded approach, promotes reading across the curriculum, and supports English language learners. While school leaders need to think systematically around benchmark assessments, resource allocation, and professional development, they also need to remember that teaching is both a science and an art.

Edtech implementation

Nearpod

According to an ESSA Level II study, 5th and 8th-grade students who used Nearpod had higher ELA achievement compared to similar students in their grade level who did not use it. This makes it an ideal tool when implementing SOR strategies. To explore some related Nearpod Science of Reading activities and lessons, visit the Nearpod library and search by standard. You can zero in on the English Language Arts (ELA) strands of Conventions of Standard English, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, Knowledge of Language, Phonics, Word Recognition, Fluency, Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, or Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity to start. Consider duplicating a lesson and making modifications to meet the reading needs of your students. 

You can also create your own lesson or activity to target any of the 10 components of SOR instruction. Interactive activities such as Drag and Drop, Matching Pairs, Draw It, Immersive Reader, and audio responses can be used to teach your students fluency, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension.

Here are some examples of lessons teachers can use:

Early Elementary Lessons (K-2)

• CVC Words (K-1): In this lesson on CVC words, students will learn to idenifty the beginning, middle and ending sounds of CVC words.
• Nonfiction Text Features (1-2): In this lesson on nonfiction text features, students will learn about features that help readers make sense of what they are reading.
• Retelling Key Details (1-2): In this lesson on retelling key details, students learn to identify and retell key details in a fiction story.

Grades 3-5

• Parts of Speech (3): In this lesson on parts of speech, students will identify nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives.
• Complex Sentences (3-4): In this lesson on complex sentences, the students will review simple and compound sentences and learn about complex sentences.
• Eight Parts of Speech (5-6): In this lesson on the eight parts of speech, students will define, identify, and use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and articles.

Grade 8-12

• Summarizing Texts (6-8): In this lesson on summarizing texts, students how to write a summary by identifying the main idea and key details.
• Annotation and Close Reading Strategies (11-12): In this English lesson, students learn annotation and close reading strategies. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to explain tips and tricks for effective close reading, and will practice annotating excerpts.
• The Paragraph: Concrete Details & Textual Evidence (9-10): In this lesson, students will explore the components of a good paragraph. They will learn to identify appropriate concrete details and practice using them with common transitions to strengthen an argument in a logical way.

Flocabulary

Flocabulary accelerates student learning by building academic vocabulary and comprehension through rigorous and authentically engaging instructional experiences. These K-12 standard-aligned video-based lessons and activities leverage the power of hip-hop, storytelling, and emotional connections to cultivate literacy across the curriculum.

Academic vocabulary is a leading indicator of student comprehension. Flocabulary strategically uses hip-hop as the foundational medium to teach vocabulary and provide the necessary in-context word exposure. While it starts in the video, Flocabulary infuses aspects of hip-hop throughout the lesson sequence. For example, students unlock components of a hip-hop beat while completing the Vocab Game and are tasked with writing a rhyme of their own in Lyric Lab.

The Art & Science of Reading

While we continue to research and seek improved methods for teaching SOR reading strategies — and all subjects—we also need to remember that educators are tasked with molding lifelong learners. In part, when it comes to literacy instruction, they need to promote a love of reading, extol the beauty of wordplay, and develop an appreciation for storytelling in children. We know that one size does not fit all in education. So we need to rely on quantitative and qualitative data and make time for continuous feedback and reflection inside and outside the classrooms to create skilled readers and masterful literacy educators.

Nearpod believes teaching is the most important job in the world. That’s why we’ve created a platform to help teachers engage every student. Nearpod offers 22,000+ rigorous lessons, videos, and activities used by 75% of school districts in the United States alone. If you’re ready to unlock the full instructional power of Nearpod at your school or district, we’re ready to talk!

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.

Darri Stephens

Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer, passionate about creating quality content and programs for kids, families, and educators. With MAs in Education from both Harvard and Stanford, and work experience at best-in-class ed tech organizations including Wonder Workshop, Nickelodeon, and Common Sense Education, she is steeped in the design thinking process and committed to agile and iterative project management, which has resulted in multi-award-winning programs and products.

The post How to decode the Science of Reading appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

In the United States, we will be celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week this year from Monday, May 6 to Friday, May 10. There is still time to plan ahead for some ways to surprise and recognize your child’s teachers. Use these Teacher Appreciation Week ideas and thoughts gifts to show gratitude to your educators!

While teachers deserve a spotlight and standing ovation throughout the entire school year, we at Nearpod and Flocabulary make sure to applaud our dedicated educators each and every year during Teacher Appreciation Week.

What is the origin of Teacher Appreciation Week?

Did you know that it was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who, in 1953, convinced the 81st Congress to declare a National Teachers Day? Some say the idea stemmed from a Wisconsin or Arkansas educator who wrote letters to the First Lady asking for this day of celebration.

The teachers are, of course, among the most important people in our nation. Day in and day out they are at work preparing the future citizens of the U.S. … I have always felt that we did not give an honorable enough place in our communities to the teachers. Next to parents they are the most important people in our communities. It is quite impossible to give teachers monetary compensation alone that will repay for their devotion to the job and the love that must go to each and every child. But I think we could compensate a little more adequately the teachers in our communities if we were conscious of their importance.

Eleanor Roosevelt, 1/14/53

It wasn’t until 1980, however, that Congress appointed March 7th as Teacher Day. Five years later, the holiday expanded to a Teacher Appreciation Week, the first full week of May, with the Tuesday of that week earmarked as Teacher Day. To find out whether and how your school recognizes the week, reach out to your school or district leaders. Regardless of the collective effort, there are many ways for your family to give an extra nod of thanks to your child’s teacher this May with a Teacher Appreciation Week gift or message.

What are some U.S. Teacher Appreciation Week deals?

Teacher Appreciation Week seems to be gaining more mainstream traction, with many companies offering special deals, whether they be discounts on products or free meals, during the first full week in May. The National PTA often lists special offers and opportunities on its website. And social media influencers have helped spread the good word through the hashtag #ThankATeacher and on sites like Things I Bought and Liked to shine a spotlight on teachers’ wish lists at certain times of the year.

There are several clever ways to thank a teacher each year. Many of the ideas below are born out of what efforts my school, families, and kids gave as Teacher Appreciation Week gift ideas. Not all of my schools celebrated, but those that did came up with some creative and thoughtful tokens of gratitude that I’d like to share.

10 Unique Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas for Gifts and Celebrating

1. Share public staff shoutouts to show your appreciation

I always say that teachers are the ultimate givers of gold stars, so they in turn appreciate such tokens of recognition. Public displays of thanks not only provide moments of celebration but also create a forum for sharing a variety of touching stories! Work with your school leadership team to decide how and where to showcase such shoutouts. For instance, you could have kids and families use sidewalk chalk to write on the walkways outside each classroom.

Perhaps you can decorate a classroom door (within fire code guidelines, of course). You may want to designate classroom or communal bulletin boards to share SUR-PRAISE by having everyone post a sticky handwritten note with their accolades. If your school creates and shares newsletters through email or using tech tools like Nearpod, add a teacher spotlight section!

2. Work together to coordinate lunches and treats

These gift ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week may take a bit of coordination (go, room parents!), but often schools can take a collaborative approach to thanking teachers. Consider how you might be able to scheme to deliver lunch for a whole grade-level team one day. Then, teachers are encouraged to not only take time out to eat (not always a daily occurrence!) but also enjoy a bit of relaxed downtime with one another. If your school has a staff room, set up a breakfast bar, a dessert spread, or an afternoon charcuterie board to energize all staff with a savory bite or two. Grab a library cart and a takeout container from your local coffee shop and deliver a piping hot cup of caffeine a la carte to each classroom just before school starts. Or drop off a simple care package at the end of the day with some chips, dip, and a favorite beverage to say thanks for a job well done.

3. Take on some daily duties

We know teachers wear many hats throughout the school day. For a Teacher Appreciation Week idea, work with your school’s office manager to find out which roles parents might be able to volunteer for, to help free up your teacher’s time. You might be able to step in for the traffic circle, recess duty, P.E. class, or lunchroom duty. You could volunteer to come in and teach a passion project, whether that be an art lesson, a creative writing activity, or something related to your profession. Sometimes, giving the teacher a bit of time to sit back and catch up on work or simply observe their students’ interactions is more helpful than you’d realize!

4. Collect classroom supplies

On average, classroom teachers spend over $700 a year on classroom resources and materials. Use this week to restock classroom supplies, even if it’s toward the end of the school year. Teachers regularly run out of Clorox wipes, pencils, whiteboard markers, glue sticks, or sticky notes. Plan ahead and ask your teacher for a wish list. The items might be everyday goods like Kleenex, or perhaps they need a piece of equipment you all could chip in for (every year, I yearned for a handheld vacuum!). For any materials or asks that are outside of your classroom’s budget, assist your classroom teacher in submitting a Donors Choose request to help support classroom needs or projects.

5. Curate educator benefits and deals

It is easy to forget that local and national companies offer educators exclusive discounts or freebies all year long. Do a bit of sleuthing and see what advantages you can shortlist for them. Perhaps you can ask some local community stores and restaurants what they can do for your teachers as Teacher Appreciation Week ideas. Most teachers can share an ID card, a school-based email, or an ID.me teacher profile as proof that they are a classroom teacher or member of the school’s staff.

6. Make a donation

Teachers tend to be the giving sort, so speak their love language by making a donation in their name. Maybe you could donate a favorite book with a customized bookplate to the school or local library. You could donate pet supplies to a local shelter for the animal lover. Or perhaps you could volunteer your family’s time to a cause near and dear to their heart like feeding the homeless or cleaning up a community park or beach.

7. Give a gift card

A teacher’s passion does not come from a high salary incentive, so sometimes the small token of a gift card can go a long way. The gift card doesn’t have to be of huge monetary value; a $10 card toward coffee or a bookstore is meaningful. We know teachers rely heavily on the ease of Amazon and Target. Or you might want to get creative—one of my favorites was a gift card to the car wash as thanks for a “sparkling year!”

8. Consider a gift that keeps on giving like subscriptions

Another gift suggestion for Teacher Appreciation Week is to give your teacher a subscription that they can enjoy month over month. It could be a subscription that benefits the whole classroom like Highlights Magazine or the New York Times. It could be a subscription that the teacher might personally enjoy, like a favorite magazine, Audible, or streaming video service. Or it could be an annual membership to Barnes & Noble or Costco, where educators can get exclusive discounts and offers all year long. You could also find a classroom tool that teachers rely on (like Nearpod, wink, wink) and gift them an annual subscription or upgrade their membership to more premium access (like Nearpod Gold or Nearpod Platinum).

9. Remember, pictures say a thousand words!

As Teacher Appreciation Week falls at the end of the school year, it is the perfect time to memorialize the 180+ days in an informal yearbook. You may want to send out an email asking families to contribute photos they may have from the classroom or from school events. You can curate these into a digital slideshow (Smilebox), print them for an old-school photo album, or have them bound into a hardcover book (Mixbook). If you don’t feel like you have enough photos, volunteer to take the teacher’s photos and have them documented into a printed version on their behalf. Also, many online companies offer products that can include notes of gratitude and drawings to create a multimedia scrapbook.

10. And don’t forget, it’s the little things …

While not necessarily a novel idea, one day of the week, my students would bring in a flower or two to create a classroom bouquet. While I silently thanked all the gardens from which many were picked on the way to school, it was fun to see who chose which type of flower, and the result was a long-lasting classroom flower arrangement that brightened my desk.

Similarly, many such Teacher Appreciation Week ideas from students do not take much time or money. Create a coupon template and have each child create a “Good for one ______” coupon for their teachers. They will end up with a printed coupon book chock full of hugs, cleaning, or treats to redeem in the future. And who doesn’t like a video Teacher Appreciation Week message with a shining face sharing some sweet sentiments? It’s often the thought that counts most!

Start using these Teacher Appreciation Week 2024 gift ideas

“Thank you” are two powerful words, and they don’t need to be saved until May or the end of the school year. It is meaningful for us all to recognize just how impactful and important teachers are in a child’s daily life. Think back—I’m sure you can remember your favorite teachers and can probably articulate quite easily why each is so memorable as inspiration for a teacher appreciation gift. Take those five days in May to show just how much your teacher means to your family. As most teachers will say, “Show, don’t tell!” Remember, even the smallest gestures go a long way!

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.

Darri Stephens

Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer, passionate about creating quality content and programs for kids, families, and educators. With MAs in Education from both Harvard and Stanford, and work experience at best-in-class ed tech organizations including Wonder Workshop, Nickelodeon, and Common Sense Education, she is steeped in the design thinking process and committed to agile and iterative project management, which has resulted in multi-award-winning programs and products.

The post 10 Thoughtful Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas and Gifts appeared first on Nearpod Blog.