For my Teacher As Designer challenge, I used Nearpod. When I researched the Nearpod Accessibility Statement, I learned that nearpod works with several organizations, including the Information Technology Industry Council and the General Services Administration, to ensure compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Some of the features that make nearpods accessible are its pairing with immersive reader, it offers captions on embedded videos, multiple ways for student engagement, and other in-lesson supports. I was also able to embed audio easily into my presentation. I chose to use nearpod for it’s multiple modalities. I wanted to create a presentation that my students could engage in multiple ways. I also liked how nearpod projected the screen onto student devices as well as the screen in the front of my room.
The two new tools I used in this project were Nearpod and PollEverywhere. I was very pleased with using nearpod. It took me a few minutes to get used to the format, but once I did I found it very easy to use. I loved the various types of slides I could use in the presentation, and that nearpod allowed students to either type their responses or record their voices. I have several students that struggle with typing and am always looking for presentation software that gives them another option. PollEverywhere was very easy to use as well. I liked that they had an option that students could click a picture rather than type. Again, giving my struggling typers another option to engage in the presentation. I am excited to try out these tools during the school year.
Some strategies that I used to incorporate the POUR guidelines was to embed audio into my nearpod slides. That way students could both read and listen to the directions. I also tried to offer students multiple ways to engage in the discussion including typing, recording audio, clicking on a picture, and a word wall. In this lesson, I would also be with the students guiding them and offering any one-on-one support that was needed. Students would primarily be using a Chromebook, which does not follow the robust area of POUR as well. However, within my presentation, there is a variety of tools being used.
This lesson would be the opening lesson of my Engineering Design Cycle unit. At this point, students have already learned what an engineer is, but are now applying the engineering mindset to their learning. After this lesson, students would begin to use the Engineering Design Cycle every lesson and build various solutions to the problems I present. For example, I have had students design solutions to nursery rhymes, and build boats, bridges, and other creations. One goal of mine this year is to have more flipped classroom lessons, that way the students can guide their learning and I can walk around the classroom and offer more one-on-one support to students as needed.
On the technology matrix, I list my lesson as a constructive adoption. Students are building real-world knowledge about the engineering design cycle, but I am still limiting technology options because it is a first-quarter lesson and students are still adjusting to school technology procedures and Chromebook use. On the SAMR model, I would rank this lesson as a modification. I love how it is able to flip my classroom and allow students to collaborate and learn at their own pace, but it is not quite at the redefinition stage yet.
Here is my nearpod about the Engineer Design Cycle! Enjoy!
Hi Emily!! This post is great!!!! One thing that really stuck out to me was that you would like to have more flipped classroom lessons! I think this is a great idea, this something that the curriculum that I utilize called CASE for agriculture really emphasizes!! I would love to hear some more of the ways that you would plan to do that!
I didn’t realize that you could use nearpod like this! I have never created my own lesson on nearpod, I’ve always found one to use. You had mentioned you wanted to have more of a flipped classroom next year. I think that using nearpod like this would be a great way to implement it especially with your audio embedded. According to Roehline and Bredow, who conduducted 317 studies on flipped pedagogies, it was found that flipped learning had the most positive impact on foundational learning. Also compared to lecture style learning it was superior in fostering “all intra-/interpersonal outcomes examined, including enhancing students’ interpersonal skills, improving their engagement with the content, and developing their metacognitive abilities like time management and learning strategies” (Rowhling & Bredow, 2021). The research is out there that proves the benefits of a flipped classroom. It not only helps students better learn the content, but it improve other related skills that are essential as a learner. It’s always important to keep in mind the weaknesses and limitations. One being your student’s access to technology including devices and internet at home. Making the content accessible is one thing, but ensuring equity access to technology is another important aspect of this type of instruction. Another weakness that I discovered is that planning these lessons is more time-consuming since you have to create and record everything to push out. Just some information to think about! I included the article I explored below.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/flipped-learning-what-is-it-and-when-is-it-effective/
I used Peardeck for this lesson-very similar to Nearpod and found it to be equally as great for engaging students and making lessons accessible. I liked how you pointed out some students having issues with typing and found a way to make to accessible for your students. Peckdeck has a partnership with Level Access that “The platform, moreover, goes beyond minimum compliance guidelines by making an assistive technology application available to customers who have trouble typing, gesturing, moving a mouse, or reading. The application is free to download, and it incorporates tools such as mouse and keyboard replacements, voice recognition, speech enablement, hands-free/touch-free navigation, and more.” I think this is something you may be able to look into for your classroom and those students as well!. See more about Peardeck’s accessibility here- https://www.peardeck.com/policies/website-accessibility-statement
Hi Emily! I agree with you about Nearpod. I think that it is a very effective tool, but I also struggled a bit in the beginning with the formatting. I like that I can engage more with my students during presentations. I will definitely be experimenting with it this coming school year! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Emily,
Your Nearpod looks great and gave me the inspiration to try using it again. For some reason, it causes me a high level of frustration.
I was wondering if Nearpod has a way to add Alt Text to graphics and pictures. I noticed on some of your slides, that you had a graphic but there was no Alt Text for them. This blog post does a great job explaining the importance of Alt. Text.
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/image-alt-text#:~:text=Also%20called%20alt%20tags%20and,crawl%20and%20rank%20your%20website.
Heather