Nearpod: Interactive Presenations

When it comes to presentation apps, Nearpod is in a class of its own. Anyone with an iPad, computer, or Android device can log in to your interactive presentation.

The creator of the presentation can control participants screen as long as they are logged in to the app. Participants can take poles, quizzes, view slides, view videos, and even draw responses. The creator has the option of sharing an individuals responses with the other participants.

This is an excellent app for classroom lessons, conference calls, and leading professional developments. One great feature of the app is that it shows you how many people are logged in to your presentation. This allows teachers to be aware of how many students are on the correct screen.

A few notes about the app:

• The free version limits you to small presentations and allows 30 participants to view a presentation at once. Upgrading to the full version allows larger presentations, more participants, and unlocks a few extra features.
• Presentations have to be created on a computer but can be delivered using a tablet.
• Slides can be created in PowerPoint, saved as a PDF, and then uploaded to Nearpod. Nearpod will convert the PDF into slides in the necessary format.
• The full version of the app has a homework feature where students go through presentations at their own pace. Teachers receive reports of each student's assignment. 
• To create a Nearpod account, go to www.nearpod.com.

PBL Resources through the Buck Institute

Recently I attended a Project Based Learning workshop through the Buck Institute for Education. The presenters did an excellent job of walking attendees through how to create a PBL lesson for your classroom.

Their website, www.bie.org, has some excellent resources for all subject areas. There is a Project Search section designed to help teachers find PBL projects. Search results indicate what subject the project is for and what Common Core standard the project reaches.

The Tools section of the BIE website is also very helpful. It contains rubrics, project design information, group contracts for students, and articles related to Project Based Learning. There are resources available for all grade levels.

Consider following them on Twitter as well: @biepbl 

Lab Posters

Dear Science Teacher,

Are you tired of looking at the same lab report in the same format year after year? Wouldn't it be great if students could give the same information in a more appealing way?

When I consider all of the conferences I have attended where research is being presented, it is never presented in the form of a lab report. It is presented as a lab poster. Isn't it just as important for students to know how to create a lab poster as it is for them to write a lab report?

The lab posters I have had my students create have all of the same information that I would expect a lab report to have. Students are presenting the same information, but in a format that they find much less intimidating. Students also enjoy being able to add pictures from their experiment and showcase their creative side. I have found that at any given time there are close to thirty cameras in my classroom. I allow students to use their phones to take pictures of experiments. It makes my day when I hear parents and other students talking about the photos they saw from an experiment in my classroom.

The lab posters below were all created using PowerPoint. There are many sites available where templates can be downloaded for research posters. The one I use is www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html. Once a template is downloaded, students can personalize it with different fonts and colors. 

 

QR Codes in the Classroom

The QR Code for this blog.

Quick Response (QR) Codes can be a powerful tool to use in your classroom. Any mobile device with a camera can be used to scan the code by downloading a QR Code Reader.

QR Codes can be used to direct people to a website or to send a short message. There are countless websites available to generate QR Codes. The one I use most frequently is www.qrstuff.com. This site allows you to change the color of your code and even embed a picture into the code.

These can be used to turn a normal lesson into something that feels more like a game to our tech savvy students. I have found that even when technology is not available through my school, I can still use QR Codes because most of my students have smart phones. Here are a few ways I have integrated QR Codes in my classroom:

Use the projector to send students to a website.

Enlarging a QR Code and putting it on a projector is the fastest way to get all of your students to the correct website. Most QR Code generators offer you the option of shortening a URL. This removes clutter from the code and makes it easier to scan from a distance. 

Put questions around the room.

QR Codes can be used to save text as well as websites. Rather than putting questions on a worksheet, put them around the room in the form of QR Codes. This gives students the opportunity to move around while still getting the practice they need.


Set up a scavenger hunt.

Use QR codes to lead students in a scavenger hunt around your classroom. At each location, place a QR Code with a link to a website of where to get information about a topic. Place a second QR Code with a clue to lead them to the next location.


Save hints for an activity.

Give students the option of scanning a QR Code when they get stuck in an activity. The code could contain a hint for how to proceed. This works best when you limit the number of hints they may use.


Have students create a webquest.

Give students a list of objectives and have them put together resources about that objective. They can create a QR Code for each of their resources. Students could swap codes or put together a class set to be used as a review.

Your turn.

How are you using QR Codes in your classroom? Reply with a comment to share.