First classes using NearPod
Yesterday was my first experience using NearPod. I did the usual activities for the first meeting (review syllabus, ask students to imagine what they would like to learn by the end of the course, and trying a process called a Seeing Drawing), but instead of my usual Keynote intro to Visual Thinking presentation, we grabbed iPads, and went through my first NPP (NearPod presentation).
It seemed like the students enjoyed the interactivity. I’ve really started to hate any passive activity in the classroom. Sometimes we watch a film if it provides essential information efficiently, but mostly I want students to be making stuff, talking to each other, exploring on their own.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
- Students enjoyed the novelty of using iPads this way, and everyone likes responding to questions which ask them to express feelings / thoughts about the topic under discussion.
- It was quiet. I didn’t need to speak to summarize student comments. I just hit the “share” button, and everyone could seeing the comments and sketches.
- I adjusted what I had to say based on student feedback, and it was much more efficient to read through a list of student comments, than to go around the room checking in with each person. Even in a class of 14, that always drags.
- We had a variety of activities, and in this first NearPod experience, students were surprised to suddenly be browsing the LACMA website, or have a video pop up in which Christo and Jeanne-Claude hugged after the completion of their Valley Curtain project.
- The image quality was much better than that produced by my classroom activity.
- I think it’s obvious that this level of activity is more engaging than the typical PowerPoint lecture.
- Students loved seeing the instant summary of their responses in a pie chart.
Exploring Educational Technology 
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