Nearpod

Multimedia interactive lesson creation, sharing, assessing tool with teacher analytics

Overview

Nearpod, a free app available for iOS and Android, offers teachers an easy-to-use tool for creating interactive lesson plans, which students can then upload to their own device.

Designed with 1:1 or BYOD classrooms in mind, Nearpod allows teachers to create digital lesson plans, share it with students during class, and track individual progress. Lessons are comprised of teacher-created slides that can include text, video, images, websites, questions, quizzes, polls, and assignments. Students are able to follow the lesson on their own devices at their own pace or teachers can lead a synchronized session where students can follow the lesson in real-time.

Nearpod provides a few sample lesson plans that teachers can choose from or they can choose to create their own as well as videos and interactive sessions to help teachers use and navigate the product. Additionally, Nearpod has data analytics embedded into the presentations, which allows teachers to address individual problems on assignments and assess students in real time. Reports can be accessed for both an individual student and the class as a whole. The platform can also incorporate HTML5 web games or apps, like Vmath or ALEKS, facilitating transitions from lesson plan to online learning games.

In 2013, Nearpod was one of six products to receive an award from the National School Board for innovative work.