Nearpod – Differentiation and AFL in the digital age…

Often, in classrooms, we are aiming to engage all learners but struggle to meet the needs of many because of time constants, larger class sizes and heavy subject content. I believe Nearpod can aid with this and I am here to tell you how…

Firstly I was introduced to this at a staff CPD session by another staff member so am in debt to him for introducing me to this amazing resource.

The idea of Nearpod is to allow Ipad users to access a PPT on their ipad screens so that they can follow along or move through lessons at their own pace and can aid many problems faced by AEN pupils, make the lesson engaging and help gain real time class feedback! It is a web based site and can be found at https://app.nearpod.com/home or as an app on Ipads and Android devices.

In this post I am going to show you what Nearpod can do rather than do specific instructions on how…it’s pretty easy to work out once you get into it 🙂

Benefits –

  1. Allows pupils to see the PPT you have on screen on their Ipads on their desks, this means those who struggle to see the screen or make the movement from screen to paper a lot easier. Good for many AEN pupils!
  2. You can get real time feedback in a number of ways including polls, quizes, questions (open and closed ended) and drawings. Fab for looking at the key buzzword at the moment….progression!
  3. You can add content allowing pupils to move through at their own pace e.g. videos. Then you can ask questions about these things.
  4. You can save money by uploading worksheets, PDFs and linking to web pages which mean you can save those precious printing credits and it’s free (unless you upgrade to the premium version)!
  5. You don’t have to make new PPTs! I really think this is such a big selling point. It’s as simple as drag and drop old PPTs from previous lessons and adding in a few slides to make it interactive…it’s not like Prezi where you have to relearn a who new presentations style.

Examples of what it can do –

Drag and drop previous PPTs – making it easy to upload and save content –

You can also upload items on Nearpod to add to your PPTs –

                 

              

You put it on the screen, give the pupils the code on safari or the app and the pupil goes through the PPT with you on their own screen , as you click through their Ipad does the same-

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You can add in loads of interactive items that allow you to see real time feedback, track progress, share good ideas.

         

Open ended questions that they type answer and it appears on screen with their name – good answers can be shared to all –

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Add a stimulus and see what the answers are from different pupils –

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Have quizzes with as many questions as you like with real time feedback. Quizzes are named and percentages given. This allows you to focus on certain students and plan progression accordingly.

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Issues –

  • It doesn’t take into account slide transactions – if you have PPTs where something pops up after a click these won’t work so you may have to change this or have things over lapping on slides.
  • Student paced mode is premium priced so you’ll have to pay for this.
  • You can’t convert image slides to draw it…you’ll have to do this by copying image and making a new slide…unless you upgrade.

I haven’t included all features as this is just an intro but if you like to include many pupils and like the idea of real time feedback….give it a go!