Nearpod is a presentation distribution web & iPad app. Teachers use the web app to create interactive presentations that they can then control with their iPads. Students use the free iPad or iPod app to watch and participate in the presentation.
To add media to your Nearpod presentation, import images or PDFs. Then, add interactive slides. Here are the options:
The poll option looks like this:
Unlike Socrative, with Nearpod teachers do have the option to add images to the presentation. This is helpful - especially for math and science classes.
The Q&A option is like a mini-quiz. I wish there was an option here for free response. A lot of times I have an open ended question for my students or an exit ticket. This option would be well-suited for a free response question. **see comments below**
The Quiz is similar to the Q&A section but allows for many multiple choice questions to be asked at once.
The video option is where teachers can upload videos that are no more than 3 minutes long and sized under 10 GB. Videos must also be mp4 format, which is not a problem if you use a youtube downloader, but can be difficult if you need to convert video files you already have in storage. I found it easiest to redownload in the format I needed (most of my video files are .flv for Smart Notebook compatibility). When the teacher starts a video slide, all students see and hear the video on their own devices.
The Draw It option is an interesting interactive. Students are given a blank page or a background image to draw with a limited palette.
The bottom slider allows teachers to preview all the slides in the presentation, and jump to any slide at any time. Tap "Share" to push an individual slide to the student display.
When switching to an interactive slide, like a Quiz, the teacher sees the results in real time, listed by student name (students login at the beginning of the presentation). At the top of the result page, a pie chart shows the overall distribution of correct answers. Individual answers and overall results can be shared with the class (tap share at the top). For example, on a Draw It slide, if a student does a particularly interesting drawing that you want to share with the class, tap the drawing and share it. The name of the student is not shared with the class.
If you look at the slide above, you will notice on my presentation that no students are logged in. This is indicated by the number next in the top left corner next to the shadow profile. You will also notice that this is a fraction. Once all your students have logged in, if one student leaves the presentation that top number decreases by one and turns red. This feature allows you to see if a student is off-task. If you click the number, you will see which student has left the presentation.
After the presentation is over, email yourself the results of all assessments by clicking the bar graph in the top fixed bar. Your assessment results can also be accessed on the Nearpod website.
Right now, Nearpod is free for teachers to create up to 10 presentations at a time. I still have not received information on how much it costs to upgrade to an unlimited amount of presentations. I would like this option so I can prepare presentations ahead of time. Nearpod also has a library of presentations already created that teachers can immediately use - these do not count against your 10 presentation limit.
Positives:
- Interactive
- Slick Display
- Real-time polling and quizzing
- Drawing feature
Things to work on:
- Free response feature **see comments** - there is a way to do this
- Randomize quiz questions and answers to help avoid cheating
- Share Nearpod presentations with other teachers
Overall, I'm impressed with this product and I'm looking forward to using it! If you have any questions, I suggest signing up for Nearpod's beginner webinar.
Hi, my name is Soledad from the Nearpod Team. Thanks for the review, we are happy to hear you liked Nearpod! I would like to clarify some of your doubts :)
ReplyDelete-"I wish there was an option here for free response." There is! :) In the Q&A, go to the Question Settings button and select "This question requires participants to type in the answer.", then close. Afterwards, click on the Answer Settings button and select "This is a manual entry answer." then close, and save: you're done!
-"...but can be difficult if you need to convert video files you already
have in storage" Thanks for the tip, this will be coming shortly
-"Randomize quiz questions and answers to help avoid cheating" Thanks for your observation, we're considering this for our roadmap
-"Share Nearpod presentations with other teachers" This feature will be coming in the very near future.
Thank you once again and I hope my comments have helped :)
In case you have any other questions, my Twitter is: @SoleNearpod
Soledad, thanks for your comment. I'm glad to learn there is a free response option. I just tried it out and it does work. I will be putting this to use in my presentations right away!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Looks as if it's been invented by someone who knows almost nothing about teaching or classroom management.
ReplyDeleteSuggest they cash in quickly while there's still a tablet fad going around and before people start to say, 'OK, well cool, now what's it actually /useful/ for apart from surfing the net? And who's going to pay to replace it in 2-3 years when it's outdated technology?'