Nearpod

   Nearpod is an application/program a teacher can use in today's technology centered classroom.  For a teacher wanting a paperless classroom Nearpod may be the way to go.  There are four basic operations that teachers can use Nearpod to teach and evaluate their students.

·        Create presentations that can be delivered to a whole class or students individually

·        Have student interaction during lesson in real time

·        Students can submit responses in real time or at a later date

·        Immediate assessment on student responses.

   Nearpod works similar to a PowerPoint presentation in that the presenter creates slides to share with the audience or in other words the class.  Videos, pictures and text are typical modes for relaying information.  What is different about Nearpod is that slides can be created in which students can interact with the presentation.  Questions, surveys, etc. can be linked into the presentation and students can use their personal devices or school computers to respond.  The presentation can also be set up to grade responses in real time so the teacher can assess comprehension.  The immediate feedback is great for teachers to be sure that students are understanding the content presented.  Students also stay more engaged in the lesson if they can interact and get immediate feedback.  

   Another advantage of Nearpod is that it can be made available to students who may not be in the classroom at the time of the lesson.  Whether students are out sick, home-bound, or take a class through distance learning Nearpod can be accessed from anywhere that has internet connection after the student has be given the code for the particular lesson.  As a teacher I would expect this to be a great tool for student make up work without have to reteach the whole lesson in person.  Also with the embedded assessment it would be much easier to keep up to date with make-up grades.  

   Not only can a teacher create their own lessons but Nearpod also has some prepared lessons that can be purchased and used by teachers.  Below are just some of the Nearpod lessons that relate to Culinary Arts/Chemistry of Foods that I could use in my classroom:

https://nearpod.com/s/science/9th-grade/proteins-L1552812

https://nearpod.com/s/science/10th-grade/gas-properties-L30057694

https://nearpod.com/s/science/10th-grade/having-a-ball-with-chemistry-L30202240