Tech Challenge #8: Nearpod

 I try not to have too many lessons in which students are just taking notes, but sometimes at the beginning of a long unit, notes are necessary! Note-taking days are hard on everyone. I lose my voice from reciting powerpoint slides 6 times a day. Students strain their eyes to read the board. Some kids get bored having to wait on the slow writers who have trouble reading the board and simultaneously writing. It's just awful!  Nearpod has solved many of these problems for me! Nearpod is my newest favorite teaching tool for days that students have to take tedious notes.

Today's Tech Tool: A classroom Set of Ipads & a Computer with internet access

The Goal: Give students  chunks of important new information without boring them to death and losing my mind.




The Preparation:
1. First you, as the teacher, must select a powerpoint that you have ready-made. Open this file up and save the slides in PDF format by going to File>Save As and selecting PDF from the File Type. This will save eac of your slides as an individual image.
2. You must then go to www.nearpod.com to create an account in an internet browser. (The iPads will come later!)
3.  From there, you can create a new Nearpod Presentation and upload his or her favorite powerpoint.
4. You will see each of your slides appear individually. You can also embed special slides such as videos, quizzes, polls, etc to spice up your presentation. Nearpod has a draw feature that lets you upload an image that you want to students to each diagram during the presentation.
5. You then publish your finished Nearpod Presentation

The Lesson: I used a Nearpod to help my students plan out their very first persuasive essays. I broke down each part of the essay into it's own slide. I had students fill out a brainstorming foldable with an example essay during the notes. We went over persuasive writing vocabulary like types of appeals and logical fallacies as well as the names of the various parts of the essay. I used the quiz feature to test my students memory on the vocab terms. We then used the poll feature to decide which argument and evidence the students thought was the most effective. I also used the draw feature so my students could point to the area of an essay that the hook, claim/thesis, and counterargument, would most likely appear.

Now once you are ready to present:
1. Switch to your Ipad and make sure you've downloaded the Nearpod App on your iPad and your class set of iPads.
2. Open Nearpod and log in as a teacher. Select your presentation from the library.
3. Give the access code to your students. They will also open Nearpod and simply type in the access code.
4. From your iPad you control which slide appears on the students iPads.
5. You may now begin presenting your lesson at your own pace, but the students have a front-row seat to the action.
6. Once you've finished a portion of your information, you can have students tap an answer to a quiz or a poll. You have instant access to a pie-chart showing how many of your students understand the material.


Pros:
1. Students with glasses and visual impairments have a stress-free note-taking experience.
2. Less complaints about someone's head being in the way.
3. Since the method of delivery is flashy, students don't mind writing as much.
4. Formative Assessment is easy to integrate with the note-taking process.
Cons:
1. An ipad for every student or small groups is necessary.
2. There is a learning curve with the Nearpod website. Make sure you set aside a few days to work on your presentation and test it out to work out the kinks.

What is one of your powerpoint lessons you think would transform into a great Nearpod Presentation?