Nearpod is an amazing tech tool that teachers can now use in their classroom. Nearpod is basically PowerPoint, but on steroids. Nearpod allows teachers to be able to throw questions in between the presentation slides. Students can also draw their answers on the slide. The most fascinating aspect of Nearpod, in my opinion, is that teachers can take their students on virtual reality field trips. Teachers can search the site for a variety of locations, and students can then view that location in a 360 degree view. Accessing the presentation is simple for students. All they have to do is go to the website and enter the code that is shown on the teacher's screen in order to access the presentation. Students can follow along throughout the presentation and participate when necessary. A cool aspect of Nearpod is that teachers can see what slides the students are on. This allows the teacher to make sure that the class is staying together and that all students are participating. For teachers, creating a Nearpod presentation is easy. Teachers can either pick from a selection of pre-made presentations created by other teachers or they can create their own. When creating your own presentation, the website allows you to pick from three different types of slides (content, web content, and activity), and from there, you can pick different options for that type of slide. I would use Nearpod in my future classroom when I am teaching my students history/geography, math, and sciences. Nearpod offers science simulations that can be very helpful when getting students to understand new topics. The virtual reality field trips will also help lessons come to life for my students. What I enjoyed most about creating a Nearpod presentation was being able to look through all the different locations where you could visit. I looked through the options for such a long time just "visiting" places that I want to visit in the future. In my Foundation of Teaching class, we are discussing poverty and how it affects the classroom. For most of the students in low-income school districts, they will never be able to visit some of the places that Nearpod offers for their virtual reality field trips. Nearpod will allow these students to "visit" places that they will, more than likely, never be able to visit for themselves. Nearpod presentations fit under the Danielson Framework of component 3c: Engaging Students in Learning because it brings students into the lesson through interactive material. The specific element that the website fits under is instructional materials and resources. This elements focuses on helping students deeper their learning using different materials. Nearpod allows students to deepen their learning through materials that allow them to interact with 3D images and locations. This helps them to understand topics more in depth.
Here is my Nearpod presentation...
The presentation that I created takes the students on a virtual tour of Washington, D.C. After each landmark, fun facts and information are given about each of the different sights. The objective is that after viewing this presentation, the students will be able to know the history behind each of the landmarks at an 80% accuracy rate. The standards behind this presentation are "identifying national symbols"(5.1.1.F) and "identify American landmarks and their significance" (8.3.1.B).
Citations: Danielson Group » The Framework. (2017). Danielsongroup.org. Retrieved 9 November 2017, from http://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/ Lincoln Memorial Facts. (2017). Softschools.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from http://www.softschools.com/facts/us_national_landmarks/lincoln_memorial_facts/2136/ Nearpod. (2017). Np1.nearpod.com. Retrieved 9 November 2017, from https://np1.nearpod.com/presentation.php?doEdit=1&id=36657248&&&isEdit=1 SAS. (2017). Search Standards. [online] Available at: https://www.pdesas.org/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017]. United States Capitol | building, Washington, District of Columbia, United States. (2017). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Capitol Washington, DC Fun Facts for Kids. (2016). Washington.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from https://washington.org/DC-information/washington-dc-quick-facts-kids 40 Washington Monument Facts: US History for Kids ***. (2017). American-historama.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from http://www.american-historama.org/1881-1913-maturation-era/washington-monument.htm