Nearpod

Participation Assessment Behaviorism Cognitivism

Nearpod is a formative assessment and learning tool that allows educators to teach their students in a variety of modes, such as live participation, student-paced, and front-of-class teaching. With Nearpod, teachers have the opportunity to create their own lessons for their students or they can select from the more than 15,500 pre-created standards-aligned lessons. Educators can track students' learning through formative assessments and dynamic media, with the ability to adjust lessons on the fly, and offer support to students based on real-time performance data. Nearpod is a great interactive presentation tool that allows students to engage in several types of activities (e.g., drag-and-drop, multiple choice) during a synchronous or asynchronous presentation.

Educators have the option to choose among a variety of pricing plans, depending on what best fits their classroom's needs. Nearpod is currently used in 75% of districts across the United States, and is always taking in feedback from their user community to better their platform (Daniel Green, Vice President of Product Management). One of the main benefits to Nearpod is it provides educators with post-session reports after students complete a Nearpod session, which allows them to track the progress of their students and provide immediate feedback or identify areas that need to be retaught. Through Draw It, Polls, Drag & Drop, Open-Ended Questions, VR Field Trips, PhET Simulations, and more, students gain a deeper understanding of the topic, and are far more engaged in their learning.

Screenshot of Nearpod sample lessons page — Nearpod Library: Visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza

Tool Snapshot

Price	Silver: FreeGold: $159/year; Platinum: $397/year; Premium Plus: Custom
Type of learning	Behaviorism Cognitivism
Ease of Use	★★★★✩
Privacy	★★★★✩
Accessibility	★★★★★
Class Size	40/70/90/250
Login Required	Teachers need a login. Students can join a presentation via a code rather than logging in.
ISTE Standards for Students	Empowered Learner
COPPA/FERPA Compliant	COPPA/FERPA/CCPA/ SOPPA/GDPR/LGDP compliant.

Price

This tool has 4 different pricing plans that vary according to the type of plan you are looking for. The free plan (Silver) has minimal features (100MB of storage, only one active session, no co-teaching, no student accounts, and only allows 40 students to join). The Gold plan, which is $159 per year, includes some additional features and increases the number of students to 70. Platinum, which is $397 per year, has the same features as Gold but increases storage and the number of students to 90. Lastly, there is Premium Plus in which the price varies based on the district. This plan allows for unlimited storage, 250 students per lesson, adds many additional features, and is designed specifically for schools and districts. Because Nearpod has a variety of plans, which can get high in price, this creates a gap for districts that don’t provide their educators with the appropriate funding for teaching tools.

Type of Learning

Because Nearpod includes guided learning, immediate feedback, and question, and answer, it supports behavioral learning. Nearpod also supports cognitive learning as students have the opportunity to self-explore the lessons provided by their teachers as well as gives the students the flexibility to organize the information in a way that works best for them.

This image is a white slide from Nearpod’s website that says, “these generalizations are examples of implicit bias. Implicit bias refers to unconscious attitudes and beliefs that influence our thoughts and actions.” This image is an example of one of the many features on Nearpod. — Example self-guided presentation on Nearpod

This image is a pink chart from Nearpod’s lesson template slides. The top section of the chart is labeled with the number 3, and the question asked is, “what are three things you learned today?” Below are three boxes for students to write their responses. The second section of the chart is labeled with the number 2, and the question asked is, “what are two things you are going to continue to work on?” Below are two boxes for students to write their responses. The bottom section of the chart is labeled with the number 2, and the question asked is, “what is one question you still have?” Below is one box for students to write their responses in. — Example post-lesson assessment on Nearpod

Ease of Use

We gave Nearpod 4 stars instead of 5 for ease of use because of the amount of time it may take for users to learn how to use the tool - both students and teachers. There are many different tools and activities teachers must familiarize themselves with prior to using this tool in a classroom, but once familiar, the opportunities for teaching with Nearpod are close to endless. Nearpod also has tutorials and videos so that students and teachers can learn how to navigate the website and learn about all its features prior to usage.

Privacy

Nearpod complies with both COPPA and FERPA, as well as laws specific to states such as CCPA and Nevada SB 220. Nearpod also “complies with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the US Department of Commerce and the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information from European Union, and the United Kingdom to the United States” (Nearpod Privacy Policy, GDPR, 2021, para. ?). The reason we give Nearpod 4 stars instead of five is that the information Nearpod collects changes based on how you’re accessing the Nearpod, (either website and/or app), as well as if you have a personal account, or are accessing the Nearpod as a student, via a student account. For student accounts specifically, their first name, last name, email address, the name of the Institution that the student belongs to, reference account number, and an optional profile photo are collected.

Accessibility

We give Nearpod 4.5/5 stars for accessibility. The tool is very simple to navigate when doing the no-mouse challenge. Nearpod also uses Immersive Reader “to provide text-to-speech, translation, contrast, and additional text accessibility features within a lesson. Immersive Reader is compatible with many of Nearpod’s content & activity features, however, Immersive Reader does not read text on images. This feature is available on both the web and iOS app versions of Nearpod” (Nearpod Accessibility Statement). And, while most of the features can integrate with screen readers, Nearpod cannot read questions or answers for Memory Test, Fill-in-the-Blank, or Time to Climb activities. A big plus is that all of Nearpod’s videos offer closed captioning, including uploaded Youtube videos. Lastly, another benefit of Nearpod is that it offers 12 different media types, so there is something for everyone. Nearpod aligns with the Universal Design for Learning, as the 12 media types allow for Multiple Means of Engagement for students, it is compatible with Immersive Reader which allows for Multiple Means of Representation, and lastly, because Nearpod has so many different forms of assessment, there are Multiple Means for Action and Expression.

Class Size

As stated in the pricing, class size varies based on the plan purchased. The free plan allows for 40 participants, for $159 you can have up to 70 students, for $397 you are allowed 90, and for the suggested school/district plan, up to 250 students can join a class.

Login

Once the teachers have created an account, just by going to www.nearpod.com students are able to enter a room code for the specific lesson created by their teacher. Students are not required to give their email or full name to use Nearpod. Teachers must log in using their school email and password, or through any of four third-party apps: Google, Office 365, Clever, or ClassLink.

ISTE Standards

Nearpod fits into the Empowered Learner ISTE Standard because students leverage the tools Nearpod provides them with in order to demonstrate their learning of critical content. Students are provided with a whole host of tools through Nearpod such as Drag & Drop, Draw It, Open-Ended Question, Quiz, Poll, Collaborate Board, Fill in the Blanks, Matching Pairs, and Time to Climb (Nearpod Formative Assessment).

Top 3 Things to Know About Nearpod Video

Video Transcript

Nearpod & the SAMR Model

Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.

Here is an example of how Nearpod might fit within the SAMR model, in the context of replacing a traditional presentation in the classroom with a PowerPoint:

Substitution: Instead of presenting a traditional PowerPoint at the front of the class, teachers import presentations into Nearpod and present them using the Live Lesson feature.
Augmentation: Teachers include polls and discussion questions interspersed throughout presentations that students can reply to in real-time and view the results to further the discussion and see the thoughts of their peers. Students can see the slides on their own devices and follow along at their own pace
Modification: Instead of traditional exit tickets and understanding checks, teachers can implement a Nearpod game such as “Time to Climb” so that students can compete in a fun and interactive way to demonstrate their understanding of the day’s lesson. This will help students to be more engaged and also improve interactions among peers, instead of each student sitting in silence taking a multiple-choice quiz.
Redefinition: Instead of teaching the same presentation to the entire class, teachers can use Nearpod to create individual, interactive lessons for small groups of students that can be navigated at the students’ own pace, both in school and at home. Teachers can check in by viewing answers to embedded questions and polls, and a blend of slides, videos, links to readings, and virtual forums can be used.

Far too often, technology is used as a direct substitute for other low-tech tools (e.g., pencil and paper). While substitution has some benefits (e.g., students develop their technology skills and knowledge), we encourage you to think about how you might use Nearpod to modify or redefine learning.

Learning Activities

Math

The teacher can conduct a lesson in graphing exponential functions using Nearpod as a presentation tool. The teacher might start by opening with a poll to gauge how much background knowledge students have: do they know a lot, a little, or nothing about graphing exponential functions? Based on this, the teacher will know whether students will be able to work entirely independently, with a little bit of support, or with a lot of support. Then, the teacher can present the lesson on graphing. Afterward, they can instruct students to watch a video on the topic embedded in the presentation. Allowing students to watch it individually instead of as a class provides students with more comfort because they can go at their own pace, turn on closed captioning if they need it, and pause or rewind to strengthen their understanding. Students will then work in groups to practice graphing, and the lesson will end with the same poll that it started with so the teacher can see how much each student improved over the course of the lesson.

Science

The teacher can use Nearpod to create a science research report workshop. Link resources in the presentation that help students learn how to structure citations and their research reports as a whole. Embed an activity where students are given an article, its author, its year of publishing, and the journal it was published in, and have them submit a citation using this information so that the teacher can see if they understand how to correctly structure one. Link web pages and videos on potential topics for the students to write their research reports about. Afterward, archive the lesson so that students can revisit it at any time and refresh their understanding.

English/Language Arts

Teachers can use Nearpod to create an online discussion forum with students across multiple classes and even schools about a book that they have read, i.e. Catcher in the Rye. Give both class time and homework time for students to engage in open discussion with their peers so they can expand their horizons past one classroom.

Other

Entrance and exit tickets.
Linked videos that students can watch at their own pace/in their own time.
Discussion forums.
Games.
Polls and surveys.

This image has a small white text box at the top that states, “there are multiple different types of sources besides books to use as a citation. Think of a few types and list them here.” Below the text box is a cork board background where the responses are collected. Below the cork board there is a chat box in which you implement your answers. There is also a small gray button to add a gif. — Example multiple choice quiz in Nearpod

This image is a white multiple choice question from Nearpod’s lesson template slides. At the top, the image states, “Example: Fence around the White House.” In the upper left corner there is a small image of the white house with the fence in front. There are three words vertically stacked on top of each other below this, with a circle to the left of each word to click. The first word is option A, and it says “area”. The second word is option B and it says “perimeter.” The third word is option C and it says “both.” Below all the option choices, there is the phrase “select one or more answers.” — Example "share your thoughts" screen on Nearpod

Resources

How to Use Nearpod

For Teachers

Go to https://nearpod.com.
Click “Sign Up for FREE” and select “Teacher.”
Register for an account.
Create a lesson.

Import PowerPoint or Google Slides, or create a presentation from scratch.
Include any polls, discussion questions, or quizzes desired.
Give access code to class.

For Students

Go to https://nearpod.com.
Enter the join code provided by the teacher in the box that says “STUDENTS Join a Lesson.”
Participate in a guided lesson.

Red background with the word “students” written in white. Below “students” is the phrase that says “join a lesson.” Below that button is a space to type in a code that says “enter code”

Research

Burton, R. (2019). A review of Nearpod - an interactive tool for student engagement. Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 6(2), 95-97. https://journals.sfu.ca/jalt/index.php/jalt/index

Civelek, M., Karatepe, C. (2021). The impact of student-paced pragmatics instruction through Nearpod on EFL learners’ request performance. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 12(6), 67-78. http://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/alls/article/view/7106

Sanmugam, M., Selvarajoo, A., Ramayah, B., Lee, K. (2019). The use of Nearpod is an interactive learning method. 2019 International Technology, Education and Development Conference Proceedings, 8908-8915. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anurita-Selvarajoo/publication/332285774_USE_OF_NEARPOD_AS_INTERACTIVE_LEARNING_METHOD/links/5e78e5e392851c309137c71e/USE-OF-NEARPOD-AS-INTERACTIVE-LEARNING-METHOD.pdf

Buttrey, K. (2021). Inclusion, engagement, and Nearpod: Providing a digital alternative to traditional instruction. The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children, 8(1). https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/ktej/vol8/iss1/2/

Authors

This page was created by Clare Simpson and Hannah Walz.

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/onlinetools/nearpod.