Nearpod Review Revisited

In the spring, I was asked by a member of our administration to review a new app called Nearpod, so my wife and I sat down one evening to play with the new toy. You can read that review here if you're interested in what I had to say. I didn't necessarily give them a bad review, but I wasn't enthusiastic about it either.

Since I published that post, two things happened.
1. It has become my most read post ever, and not by a little bit either. It has more than double the hits my #2 post has.
2. I've noticed that other bloggers and Tweeters are using Nearpod, making me realize I've missed something.

I don't like this.  I don't want to be known as the guy who doesn't like something, especially when other people use it and like it.  Are people using my post to avoid Nearpod?

I made it a goal at the end of this summer to sit in on a Nearpod webinar and find what I'm missing. It turns out that I just never found the time to get around to it.  School and family keep this guy busy, and I just never got to a webinar.

That leads to me last week when Edward Zelarayan from Nearpod contacted me and offered to do a live, one-on-one talk with me about Nearpod and its newest version. I've written about this in the past, but I love the personal interaction with app developers! Many of them are willing to bend over backwards to get their apps in classrooms. Edward was no exception.  I appreciate him taking an hour out of his schedule, days before a major update, to get me up to speed.

For those of you not familiar with Nearpod, here is the basic concept...

• The teacher has a presentation loaded on his or her iPad. The students connect to that presentation with a PIN number.
• The teacher and the students work through the presentation together.  The key is that the student has the presentation in their hands rather than have to see it on a screen.
• As you progress through the presentation, teachers have craftily inserted questions, polls, or drawing slides to gauge student understanding and involvement.  These answers go directly to the teacher iPad, which can be shared with the class if desired and downloaded to the teacher's computer for viewing later.

I reviewed Nearpod Version 1.  Nearpod Version 3 is about to be released, and I got a glimpse of what's out there, and I am excited to see the changes.  Since my personal views on Version 1 are in the public, let's look at what I like about Version 3.

1. More lesson options! At the time of my review, there were very few lessons in the teacher library to use. That has changed.  There are plenty of choices now.  
2. Lesson creation is easy.  Seriously, while doing our chat, Edward made one up in a matter of minutes. Sure, he's the expert, but it really was drag and click. I realize it would take me longer to make my first lesson or two, but the process was relatively easy.
3. Internet! It will be possible to put a website within a slide so students can browse within that site, and only that site. Students will have the capability to find some information, rather than have all the information in the lesson given to them. They also will be denied the ability to check email or play Poptropica.  
4. If a student hops off the presentation for some reason (to play Blockwick?) the teacher knows.  
5. I got a very eBook feel when I was involved in my Nearpod experience. I know it's more of a presentation software than a book software, but as we know lines get blurred in today's technology.  

All of us in education know that we all have different styles, philosophies, and methods. Feel free to name the ends of the continuum using the labels you want to use, but I look at it two ways.  One type of teacher brings information to the table to tell students what they need to know.  The side of the continuum has teachers who help students find information so they can report on what they are learning.  I lean most heavily into the latter category.  I rarely use presentation software, so Nearpod is not for me.  (However, while typing this review, I thought of a couple of lessons where it would be a good idea.  Direct instruction can be good at times.) 

What I wrote about in the past, and I'll reiterate here, is that Nearpod would be great for an educator who unpacks the information for the students. Here's why...

1. It's as easy to use as PowerPoint, maybe more so.   I also think it's more interactive than PowerPoint. While asking questions is possible using PowerPoint, Nearpod makes it a natural part of the lesson flow.
2. Nearpod gives you immediate and accurate feedback from each student.  A teacher knows whether each and every student understands the content of the lesson.  
3. Nearpod gives even the most shy student a chance to interact with the teacher.
4. There are many teachers out there who have been handed iPads by their school and have no idea how to start using them.  This is a great way to get the feet wet.  
5. You can teach students remotely.  I have no idea where Edward was sitting when we had our chat, but we certainly weren't in the same room, much less the same state.  However, we were Nearpodding the whole time.  It is entirely possible that one teacher could be working with students in multiple locations at the same time. 
6. Customer support.  Let me say it again.  Edward was so eager that I know all about Nearpod that he did a one-to-one chat with me days before a major update.  If he's willing to do that for me, he's willing to do anything to help you.

Here are two things I'm going to start working on after publishing this post.

1. I am the Tech Lead at my school, which means that part of my job is to help other teachers learn how to use technology effectively.  I'm going to work on creating a professional development to introduce Nearpod to some of my colleagues who are fearful of their iPads.
2. I am going to start working on Nearpod presentations for my students.  Here are some topics that came to mind: order of operations, reliability of a web site, founding of the 13 colonies.

How can you use Nearpod in your class?  Share your Nearpod stories in the comment box.  I'm interested in learning more!

PS As I sat and pondered this between typing and publishing (in church. Shh! Don't tell the pastor!) I also thought about the possibility of students creating Nearpod presentations.  Is it possible? I don't know, but that would open up huge possibilities for me.  I'll have to look into that.