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This blog was written by Author and Speaker Monica Burns<\/a> and originally posted on her blog ClassTechTips.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nearpod<\/a> is a favorite tool that I used in my classroom as a one-to-one iPad teacher and now use all the time in my professional development workshops. I love how Nearpod<\/a> makes any lesson interactive and engaging while giving teachers actionable formative assessment data. Since Nearpod<\/a> is an absolute favorite so I thought I\u2019d take a moment to highlight the ways it has transformed my teaching \u2013 both as a classroom teacher and now as a workshop facilitator. I hope you\u2019ll gather some ideas and inspiration to take back to your own learning environment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I first started using Nearpod<\/a> in my one-to-one iPad classroom, I was able to update my old routine. <\/b>Forget PowerPoint presentations with a couple discussion questions. I could now make sure my students weren\u2019t staring at the big screen squinting to see a primary source document or text exemplar. Now I could push content out to the hands of every student. Nearpod lets you upload a slide deck and embed interactive activities. This means I could recycle an old PowerPoint presentation while updating a lesson with more hands-on activities and time for partner discussions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nearpod<\/a> helped me keep everyone on the same page<\/b>. As I swiped across my teacher screen my students were taken to a new piece of content all at the same time. This means I didn\u2019t have to worry if everyone could see the projection screen in my classroom or if everyone had a sharpened pencil. Instead, I could push content out to every device and give students a space to draw on their screen or answer a quick question. This made mini-lessons and small group instruction more efficient, giving students more time for collaboration with their peers and independent practice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Getting instant feedback on a lesson<\/b> is more than scanning the room to see the look on your students faced. As a classroom teacher, the Poll feature in Nearpod<\/a> let me take a pulse check of students \u2014 and the same is true when running professional development sessions with teachers. Instead of asking for a thumbs up or thumbs down during a lesson, the Poll feature in Nearpod<\/a> lets me get a read of the room and make decisions for the next steps in a lesson.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The real-time data collection <\/b>in Nearpod<\/a> changed the way I thought about formative assessment data collection. Of course I love how easy it is to embed multiple choice questions in Nearpod but by far one of my favorite features is Draw It. When students draw a picture to show what they know<\/i> you get a deeper idea of student understanding than the results of a multiple choice test. Working with teachers this school year, we were able to add a coordinate plane to the Draw It tool in Nearpod<\/a> so students could plot points on a grid. Instantly the classroom teacher could tell who needed extra help, or whether or not the class could benefit from additional examples or more time to practice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The wow factor<\/b> of Nearpod<\/a> comes from more than their amazing virtual reality<\/i> lessons. Of course it\u2019s pretty exciting to see learners of any age stand up and spin around as they hold a tablet or smartphone and virtually dive in a coral reef. The wow factor I\u2019m talking about happens when I\u2019m working with teachers \u2013 the ah-ha moment when they too see how Nearpod<\/a> can totally the transform the way they\u2019ve taught a lesson in the past. From supporting English Language Learners with visuals to embedding quick checks in a mini-lesson, the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n5 Ways Nearpod Transformed My Teaching<\/h2>\n