Nearpod

 

 

 

Nearpod is an interactive app that works with smart phones in the classroom setting. Nearpod is an application that allows teachers to create their own presentation and interact with smartphones. This engages students in classroom because it is something new and different. Students can use their phones and download the Nearpod application. Within the application students can type in the presentation number given by the teacher. Once all the students have succeeded in this, they can continue on with the lesson plan.

In to the right, it includes "My Library", that includes all the saved and created presentations within nearpod. The "Explore" option allows you to look at pre-made presentations. In the pre-made presentations there options are new, top paid, top free, featured and team picks. Join allows you to join a session that is already happening.

When connecting to a session, the student would have to download the application(for apple products) or going to a website for android users. Once the application is downloaded, students can pick "join a session" and type in the code given from the teacher. After this, the students would type their name and the presentation would begin. In creating a presentation, there are features that allows students to interact. 

When creating a slide for the presentation there are three options.

Adding content includes slides, video, audio, slideshow, PDF viewer, and a live twitter stream. Within the slides, you can add images and audio to it along with text. For the video, audio, slideshow, and the PDF viewer, you can upload a file, or use dropbox, box, youtube, google images, or google drive. Having a live twitter stream can allow teachers to connect the presentation to their twitter account.
Adding web content allows a url to be pasted into the presentation.
Adding an activity includes an open ended question, polls, quizzes, draw it, and matching pairs. An open ended question is a slide  includes a question that would appear at the end of the presentation. Having a poll in the slide allows to have a question with multiple answers and a percent of what was chose. When having a poll, you can see the students names with what student chose what, and the percentage of what was voted. Quizzes are similar, but students cannot see what other students put or the percentage of what was answered.  The draw it feature allows students to draw on the slide like a canvas, and image can be uploaded to this slide that students can draw on. The matching pairs lets teachers create 6, 8, or 12 pairs that match with each other. In the matching pairs, you can include images on the pairs as well.

The results of a poll, quiz, or whatever else was added can tell teacher who answered, voted, etc. The quiz portion could potentially take quizzes to a new level because it tells the grade of the student after it is completed. The only downfall is that the quiz can only be multiple choice. The students cannot see their grades they got, or what others received as a grade.

Having nearpod in a classroom would connect students to the teacher by using their everyday used technology. All the interactive features keeps the students interested along with learning.