Connect Through Tech- Nearpod

Katherine Wells, Amer Khalil & Giovanni Peña

California State University, Fresno

CI 100
 Phase 1- Inspiration

Statement of Purpose

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that there are challenges to distance

learning in Special Education. It is very important to address this problem. Some students with

special needs can feel secluded from other children. The purpose of our project is to create a tool

around the free presentation application, Nearpod. This tool is geared toward educators in

elementary schools who have students with disabilities in their classrooms. As educators, our

goal is to educate students with special needs and remove the barriers of COVID-19. We can

help the students transition to distant learning by providing them classroom instruction utilizing

tools like Nearpod. Constant communication with the parents, guardians and families can be a

great way to help students with special needs manage distance learning. Having a strong line of

communication with the parents or guardians is key in building strong bonds with an educator.

We recognize that in order to achieve this, we must reach out to local educators and conduct

research in order to provide the best resource available.

A positive aspect of the free online lesson presentation tool, Nearpod, is that it can be

remotely utilized by the teacher. Nearpod has the ability to allow an educator to control the

screen of a student whether the student is in the classroom or at home. The student just needs to

be logged into the Nearpod website with a key provided by the teacher. The teacher can always

monitor what slide or activity that the student is on. They can map out lessons by creating

informational slides and then checking for understanding by utilizing some of the built-in

activities. Overall, this allows a teacher to deliver instructions in various different ways, which is

of great benefit to students with disabilities.

 Due to distance learning, some students may feel like they are not receiving the same

amount of attention as their other peers. This might cause the student and their parents to limit

themselves in their interactions with the lesson; breeding frustration in parents and educators

alike. Another thing that may be both a positive or a negative, would be the resources that come,

or dont come along with Nearpod. There may be some instances where a particular need might

not be met by using Nearpod and thus a teacher may need to improvise a solution utilizing the

tool. This can result in having to spend unnecessary time planning that could be spent teaching.

There may be a learning curve to utilizing a program like Nearpod, not only for the student, but

for the teacher as well. It is vital that there is access to various resources such as high speed

internet for teachers/students and tablets or laptops. Financial constraints on schools may hinder

the possibility of compiling these resources.

Ultimately, the impact that we would like to have through our tool would be for all

students with disabilities to have a smooth and successful transition to distant learning

environments. By creating a great resource around Nearpod, we would like to see educators from

elementary schools utilizing the tools we provide to create an effective lesson presentation. We

believe that Nearpod gives power to educators to create multiple forms of instruction and

engagement. Students with special needs need to be respected and thus they deserve to have their

individual needs met by the educational system during this pandemic.

 Literature Review

Since Covid-19 is new to us all, and something we are still getting used to, this problem

has not been addressed in the past. The article, “Special Education Resources forTeachers to Use

During Distance Learning” by Heather Nelson provides solutions and resources for teachers to

use during this unknown time. All of the resources provided have technology involved, including

apps, websites and other softwares.

The article, “New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn from Home” by Nora

Fleming provides solutions and strategies for teachers and parents to

use for distance learning. This article does not involve technology, but rather tips and strategies

to help special education students learn from home.

The article, “Distance Learning and Special Education During Covid-19” by Tiffany

Livingston shares the story of a real special education teacher and her everyday experience of

teaching through a screen. This article does not involve technology, but rather a special

education teacher sharing her thoughts and feelings, and how this has affected her students.

The “Nearpod” website explains how to use the website, while you can also explore a

variety of different lessons. This website does involve technology, and interactive technology

where students can get involved, as well. We chose to do our project using Nearpod because of

the endless features and possibilities it provides.

 Project description

The intended audience of our project is elementary school teachers in Fresno and Tulare

County. The subject we would like to focus on is science; more specifically plant biology. The

topic we would like to present is based on biodiversity and humans. Due to the COVID-19

pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to provide the same types of learning

environments and opportunities for students with disabilities. Our goal is to supplement the lack

of in-person classroom time with distance learning delivered via the internet. Nearpod allows for

the integration of slides, spoken instruction and hands-on activities, in and outside of the

classroom. We would like our audience to have the necessary knowledge and resources to

complete effective lesson presentations for students with disabilities.

As teachers, we can use a nearpod to present a lesson. We are able to take control of our

own presentation as well as control the screen of each student. This gives a teacher the ability to

slow down for students. For students who may be hard of hearing, the need for visual aids/cues

allow them to be able to follow and comprehend the lesson being taught. With nearpod, there is

the ability to provide visual representation of biomes, and the plants and animals associated with

the area. We can begin by displaying an image of a particular biome. As we begin to teach, the

main points and with large labels can begin to appear as we dictate our presentation. Children

with dyslexia may have difficulty reading some of the instructions on the slides, but vocalizing

and narrating what the instructions are can help them comprehend instructions.

There can be a slide show, complete with labels for the different animals and plant

species. We can provide written explicit instructions on a slide that allows the student to follow

along and move onto the next slide or activity. Nearpod allows students to participate in

activities. There will be a slide in which students must answer an open ended question through
the interactive nearpod presentation. An example of this could be, “List 3 things that you can

find in the environment around your neighborhood.” We can modify this as well by allowing

students who have ADHD the ability to draw 3 things instead of writing them. Nearpod allows

for activities such as drawing. The student can then begin to list their answers by drawing them.

Drawing is a great way to stimulate the brain and allows a student to focus. At the same time,

this allows the student to immerse themselves in the lesson. With nearpod we can also view the

answers in private as educators in order to assess what works for students and identify the areas

of needs.

Questions/Concerns

Some of the questions that may arise may be due with the availability of the tools needed

in order to accommodate the parents of the students. Equipment such as laptops for the students

and the appropriate materials for the teachers may be an issue. As a teacher, we want to ensure

that we can maximize the tool that we are using in an affordable way. Also, parents of students

may have difficulty in operating computer devices. They may also be limited in the availability

of their internet access. There are a wide variety of disabilities, with so much different needs, it

can be difficult to cater to all the students in class.

About You

Amer: My personal connection with this project would be that it connects with me

because I have a niece that is in the middle of distance special education learning. And I can see

the struggle she goes through on a daily basis. She does struggle from all the digital learning and

researching on how to possibly make the transition smoother is great and hopefully I can put

what I researched, to the test.

 Katherine: I thought learning about special education and distance learning would be a

great topic to focus on, not necessarily because I want to become a special education teacher, but

because I believe special education students should be included in the mainstream classroom. As

a future educator, I will most likely have special education students in my classroom, and I need

to know how to meet all of my students’ needs.

Giovanni: Special education is a subject near to my heart. My brother was diagnosed with

ADHD at a young age. Unfortunately, there were many times where I felt as though he was

excluded from learning based on the methods being used to teach. Nevertheless, I believe that

there are ways to teach all students, regardless of their needs. I hope that using projects and

programs such as Nearpod, can facilitate the educational process for children with special needs.

Setting

The setting of our project would take place with the teacher in their classroom and the

students are distance learning from home. Although this isn’t the ideal set up, this is

unfortunately the way classrooms are set up right now. We are trying to figure out the best

way for covid-19 to interfere with students’ learning as little as possible and allowing

students to reach their full potential, despite what’s currently going on.
 References

Fleming, N. (2020, March 27). New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn From Home.

Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-strategies-speci

al-education-kids-learn-home

Livingston, T. (2020, September 08). Distance learning and special education during

COVID-19. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.smartbrief.com/original/20

20/09/distance-learning-and-special-education-during-covid-19

Nelson, H. (2020). Special Education Resources for Teachers to Use During Distance

Learning. Retrieved September 25, 2020 from https://www.apu.edu/articles/special-educati

on-resources-to-use-during-distance-learning/

Using Nearpod for Response to Intervention. (2018, November 07). Retrieved September 25,

2020, from https://nearpod.com/blog/rti-response-to-intervention/

 Phase 2 Ideation

The intended audience of our survey is elementary school teachers who work with

students through distance learning. We recognize the difficulties surrounding education and more

specifically the education of students with special needs. Teachers require resources and tools

that allow them to supplement the absence of in person instruction. In order to achieve this, we

sent out a presentation of the tool nearpod. We then asked the teachers to answer a survey

regarding distance learning, special education and nearpod.

The surveys were conducted with teachers from Kings Canyon Unified School District,

Dinuba Unified School District, and Cutler-Orosi Unified School District. The presentation was

sent in video form through email to the participants. They viewed the presentation and answered

the survey questions at their leisure and discretion.

Each of the teachers had the opportunity to view our video demonstration of nearpod.

The presentation included the introduction of our TLP project as well as various activities done

throughout the nearpod application. The first activity was a matching game that included parts of

a plant. The second activity was a message board where teachers, students, and parents can

participate in discussions and get instant feedback from students. The last activity was a game

that had students draw a line from a label such as “pedals” to the picture of a pedal and so on and

so forth.

Location/Setting of Survey:

The Location of the survey was conducted virtually and distributed as an email

attachment to the people that are participating in the survey. We made the surveys on separate

google docs and attached them into email, then later sent out. The survey was done and answered
by school educators, it was constructed to get feedback from educators on what they think about

distant learning and their experience with it.

 TLP SURVEY OF K-8 EDUCATORS
TLP Group 6: Using Tech to Teach SPED

Name: Vanessa

Grade taught: 4th

School: Sheridan Elementary

Date: 10/31/20

1. Were you open to distance learning before covid? What about after covid?

Distance Learning never crossed my mind before covid. It’s hard for me to teach from home due

to not having a quiet space to work. Once I started teaching remotely but in my classroom (so I

was alone in my classroom on Zoom) I started to get the hang of it. I felt like I was becoming a

better teacher because I was learning more about different computer programs and I was

becoming more creative with assignments. I am open to distance learning now that I’ve been

through it. However, a lot of kids in the area that I teach need to be in a safe environment so I

want them back at school. Distance learning definitely has its positives and negatives.

2. Have you ever used/are you familiar with Nearpod?

I’ve never used Nearpod but I did have a student teacher in my class this year who used it a

couple of times to teach a lesson.

3. What are your thoughts on distance learning and special education?

I have mixed thoughts when it comes to special education and distance learning. Children are

diagnosed with a variety of learning disabilities so just because distance learning doesn't work for

one child doesn’t mean it won’t work for all. I have two students with a disability this year. One

performed better at home than she would in the classroom because she was more comfortable

and confident to join discussions. On the other hand, my other student received way too much

support from her mom and I knew the work was being done for her.

4. What is something that you think most educators don’t know about special education?
 Most educators with a multiple subject credential did not receive schooling on how to diagnose

and or work with a child who has a disability. There is a whole separate credential for those

teachers. Yet, students with disabilities are placed in a mainstream classroom where the teacher

is expected to know how to deal with the behavior or disability when he/she doesn’t because they

were never taught.

5. Do you find it difficult to use computer software in order to teach?

I do not find it difficult to use computer software to teach but I do find it to be time consuming.

6. What are some things that keep special needs students engaged in a classroom?

It depends on their disability. I’ve worked with kids who are autistic and I have learned that, as the

teacher, you just have to let go of being in control and let them do their thing at their pace and to

always be patient.

7. What are some barriers that you face as an educator when it comes to access to technology?

Some “high quality” programs are not free and if the district or school site won’t pay for it then we

can’t use it. I work at a school site that has a chromebook for every child so that hasn’t been a

problem.

8. What are some common misconceptions about teaching students with special needs?

I think one misconception is that it’s assumed that a student with a disability will do better in a

regular classroom instead of being separated. Which I don’t believe to always be true. There are

students with severe special needs. The rest of the class can lose out on instruction time because

all of the teacher’s focus and energy can be put on the one child who has a disability and can’t sit

still or can’t control his/her behavior and runs out of the classroom at any moment.

9. From 1 (Easy) to 10 (extremely Difficult) how hard do you think it would be to use a nearpod for a

lesson that needs modifications and adaptations?

I don’t think it would be difficult at all. So I guess I’d say a 1.

10. Do you think that nearpod activities can keep a child with special needs engaged?

Yes, as long as the teacher designed an engaging lesson.

11. What makes you excited about a nearpod lesson

It’s something new to use with the kids.

12. Do you feel like online education is hindering students from their academics?

It depends on the student. If the student is already academically low then yes they are going to

struggle with online learning.

13. What concerns do you have about distant learning?

Concerns: Academically low students are struggling to keep up, poor internet connection, unsafe

environment, kids are being left at home alone, parents in the area have very little tech

knowledge, students are not being held accountable for turning in their work, depression and

suicide numbers are on the rise and teachers are being given more work.

14. Are there electronic devices open for the use of students at home?

Yes : )

15. What sort of challenges do you or your student face as it relates to distance learning? Everything

listed in number 13.

-On a scale of 1-10, how difficult has this been for your students' engagement? Most of

my students were engaged while they were on Zoom so I’d say a 3.

The Good The Bad

The teacher believes that the ease of use as well as
the different activities available in nearpod could
benefit a child with special needs. This can be of a
benefit when it comes to learning the application
as well as putting it to use in a classroom situation.
The teacher was not familiar with Nearpod. This
may present a learning curve for the teacher as well
as the students that could be addressed. Although
some students with special needs may benefit from
distance learning and nearpod; this tool is not a
“one-size-fits-all,” solution. On occasion parents
may hinder learning by assisting their student who
has special needs that need to be met.

The Unexpected What’s Next?

The teacher was concerned by the amount of time We will look into ways that we can explore which
it took to develop an online lesson and execute it. types of special needs would most benefit from
They also had concerns with the fact that some of nearpod distance instruction. In doing so, we can
the students with special needs had parents helping narrow down our focus on our TLP.
them too much during class. Another thing that
was unexpected was the fact that they were
concerned because they feel that the best
applications could cost money.
Name: Leandra

Grade taught: 8th

School: El Monte Middle School

Date: 10/31/20

1. Were you open to distance learning before covid? What about after covid? The thought of distance

learning didn’t even cross my mind before covid, online school seemed difficult for both the teacher

and students. After covid hit, we had no choice, I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure my

students received the best education as possible

2. Have you ever used/are you familiar with Nearpod? Yes, Nearpod is one of my favorite platforms!

3. What are your thoughts on distance learning and special education? I know students in special education

are struggling but I think teachers are doing their best at accommodating their student’s needs.

Luckily there are plenty of online platforms that support that.

4. What is something that you think most educators don’t know about special education? I think that during

this time of distance learning some educators may not know how to accommodate their students’

needs.

5. Do you find it difficult to use computer software in order to teach a child with special needs? Personally, it

has not been difficult. I think it works out well because students can watch instructional videos and

work on assignments at their own pace. Many of these platforms also give students the option to

record their answer, draw, use photos, etc.

6. What are some things that keep special needs students engaged in a classroom? Establishing a positive

relationship between students and teachers is most important. If a student with special needs feel

welcomed by their teacher they will want to work. Also, giving students options on how they can

complete their work for example, record their voice or draw.

7. What are some barriers that you face as an educator when it comes to access to technology? I think the

only barrier I personally face is that there are a lot of awesome online platforms that cost money and

would have to be personally purchased.

8. What are some common misconceptions about teaching students with special needs? That students are

not capable of working in the classroom. This is 100% not true, but unfortunately, some teachers are

stuck with this mindset.

9. From 1 (Easy) to 10 (extremely Difficult), based on our presentation, how hard do you think it would be to

use a nearpod for a lesson that needs modifications and adaptations? 1-I think Nearpod is such a great

option for modifications!

10. Based on our presentation, do you think that nearpod activities can keep a child with special needs

engaged? Yes!

11. What makes you excited about a nearpod? I love all of the different features, the format makes it look

like a fun game!

12. Do you feel like online education is hindering students from their academics? Yes and no, I think we are

fortunate that technology has advanced and we have many options on how to teach content to our

students. But students need to be able to collaborate and have academic conversations with their

peers.

13. Based on our presentation, what concerns do you have about nearpod? None, as previously mentioned,

Nearpod is a great resource!

14. What sort of challenges do you or your special education student/s or other special needs students in

general, face as it relates to distance learning? I think some students learn better in-person. Also, some

students might not have a positive environment at home so that can be a challenge while they are

trying to learn from home.

-On a scale of 1-10, how difficult has this been for your students' engagement? 5 i’d say it is split.

Some are learning successfully and some are definitely having a difficult time learning.

The Good The Bad

The teacher is familiar with Nearpod and is The teacher mentioned that there is difficulty in
actively using the application in their classroom. teaching online. There are some students who are
They find the software to be easy and they enjoy doing well in their distance class, but unfortunately
the many features that Nearpod offers. They also there are some who are not.
like that the students can work at their own pace
and use multiple methods such as drawing, to
answer questions related to the lesson. This makes
it a great tool to tailor each lesson for a student
with special needs.

The Unexpected What’s Next?

I was surprised to find out that the teacher was This feedback goes a long way into discovering
well versed with Nearpod. They seemed excited what works best for students with special needs as
and happy to share their positive view on the it relates to nearpod.
application.
Name: Kamal

Grade taught: 4th grade

School: Wilson Elementary Dinuba Unified

Date: 11-1-2020

1. Were you open to distance learning before covid? What about after covid?

a. Before covid pandemic, I thought distance learning had its place for online schools and charter

schools. Usually parents don’t send their kids to public school for distance-learning.

2. Have you ever used/are you familiar with Nearpod?

a. I have use near pod in my class before in the past. Although it does have a limitation, it’s a

wonderful tool for engagement and provides multiple modalities to students.

3. What are your thoughts on distance learning and special education?

a. I think special education has been one of the sectors that has been hit very hard due to distance

learning. It is very difficult to provide the needs for those students without in person instruction.

Specifically it is hard to maintain attention of the student for long or intermediate spurts of time.

They really need in time learning to provide just in time assistance and scaffolding.

4. What is something that you think most educators don’t know about special education?

a. I think most teachers don’t understand the time outside of instructions that special education

teachers must spend. There is great care and effort spent in planning for each individual students

needs and ways of learning, and there is a tremendous amount of paperwork involved.

5. Do you find it difficult to use computer software in order to teach a child with special needs?

a. It is difficult using technology to teach a special needs student. Often times they do not know how

to use the technology and need assistance from a parent. Also, it is very difficult to maintain their

attention because there can be distractions at home with no solutions.

6. What are some things that keep special needs students engaged in a classroom?

a. To keep special needs students engaged in my classroom I try to keep them involved in the lesson

ask them to express their point of using their own words allowing them to instead of type in the
 chat box to physically share out by a meeting. In addition I make sure that they get plenty of

breaks so that they do not tire out and feel overwhelmed.

7. What are some barriers that you face as an educator when it comes to access to technology?

a. The biggest barrier I have face with technology is that not all students are adept at using

technology. This has caused the peace to be slowed down and time to be Learning how to use a

technology instead of learning the standard.

8. From 1 (Easy) to 10 (extremely Difficult), based on our presentation, how hard do you think it would be to

use a nearpod for a lesson that needs modifications and adaptations?

a. I would say at four.

9. Based on our presentation, do you think that nearpod activities can keep a child with special needs

engaged?

a. I think that it effectively allows for multiple modalities and multiple representations especially

with drawing and dragging. It would be an effective way to have special needs students become

more engaged in a distance learning lesson.

10. What makes you excited about a nearpod?

a. What gets me excited about near pod is it the students are actively engaged in the lesson

answering questions and playing interactive games.

11. Do you feel like online education is hindering students from their academics?

a. I do feel that it hinder students from their academics. I find myself just skimming off the top of the

standards not able to go in depth. It also limits the amount of Quality practice in collaboration

that the students need to add them in their comprehension.

12. Based on our presentation, what concerns do you have about nearpod?

a. The number one concern that I have with near pod is the quality of Internet that my students have.

I have roughly 25% of my students facing issues when I’m sharing my screen. As a whole, the

Internet bandwidth may not be able to take it.

13. What sort of challenges do you or your special education student/s or other special needs students in

general, face as it relates to distance learning?

a. I think everybody’s biggest challenge is time and communication.

14. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult has this been for your students' engagement?

● If 10 is the most difficult I would definitely say 8

The Good The Bad

The Teacher really likes the aspect of us using
nearpod to present a lesson although he did state
that Nearpod does have its limitations but is really
a valuable resource to use. Another positive that
we took away from this is the teacher's experience
with the tool nearpod.
Some areas the teacher isn't really sure about are
the limitations of nearpod. The teacher also
mentions that distant learning has had a big impact
on learning in the classroom especially for those
who benefit from doing class in person. He states
that grabbing the attention of the student is really
hard over screen time and they are less likely to
follow along rather than being in person.

The Unexpected What’s Next?

As far as unexpected I would say the difficulty
sections really surprised me on how difficult the
teacher saw it as, I can see how it might be a little
hard to maneuver especially for someone that isn't
really experienced with it as much.
Taking all this information into action I feel like we
need to look into the tool a little bit and really have
the people that are going to take part in using the
tool know and understand how it works.
Name: Jamila

Grade taught: 6th

School: Grandview Elementary

Date: 10-28-20

1. Were you open to distance learning before covid? What about after covid?

Before COVID, I never really thought of the idea of distance learning. The closest thing that may resemble it is

home studies or alternative education. I would rather have my daughter in school where she can learn social skills.

After COVID, I definitely jumped on board very quickly. I wanted to keep my daughter and my family safe. We both

struggled at first, but finally have a routine in place.

2. Have you ever used/are you familiar with Nearpod?

Yes, I used nearpod when I was a classroom teacher and now I help teachers implement it as a coach.

3. What are your thoughts on distance learning and special education?

From my interactions with teachers and students, I hear a lot of the struggle with meeting the needs of our special

education students. They are struggling to focus on a screen and desperately need in person instruction where they

can develop social skills. Special education teachers are also struggling to teach foundational skills when students

are not in person to see how to say letters and sounds. In the classroom, the teacher can show them how to set up

their mouths when speaking certain letters or words.

4. What is something that you think most educators don’t know about special education?

Coming as a new teacher, each student with special needs is going to be different. They Are each going to have

different accommodations and strategies to be taught. If you succeed in your endeavor to become a teacher, the

hope is somewhere along the way you developed the understanding that all students are learning differently-no

matter their academic abilities.

5. Do you find it difficult to use computer software in order to teach a child with special needs?

No, I am very comfortable with computers/technology.

6. What are some things that keep special needs students engaged in a classroom?

This depends on the needs of the students

Where some students need to be up and moving all the time, others need a quiet space where they can think and

process at their own pace.

7. What are some barriers that you face as an educator when it comes to access to technology?

Some barriers that we face as educators when its comes to access to technology would be the funding needed to

receive and sustain technology.

8. What are some common misconceptions about teaching students with special needs?

I feel like some common misconceptions about teaching students with special needs would be that they cannot do

grade level activities. Or they aren't capable of doing other stuff that other children can do.

9. From 1 (Easy) to 10 (extremely Difficult), based on our presentation, how hard do you think it would be to

use a nearpod for a lesson that needs modifications and adaptations?

Based on the video that I've seen it seems pretty easy to use a nearpod within your lesson.

10. Based on our presentation, do you think that nearpod activities can keep a child with special needs

engaged?

I definitely think it can keep all students of all learning types engaged as it allows for constant student interactions.

With nearpod the educators aren't talking most of the time so nearpod allows for students to have a major point of

interactions within the lesson.

11. What makes you excited about a nearpod?

Student Interaction-The last thing we need is for teachers to talk for over an hour with little to none student

interaction.

12. Do you feel like online education is hindering students from their academics?

I think we are still learning what works and what doesn’t. It is too soon to tell. Teachers are doing everything they

can to create a virtual learning environment that promotes student learning.

13. Based on our presentation, what concerns do you have about nearpod?

Since the students are tight with the teachers there really isn't a guarantee the students will respond without directly

calling them out in the classroom in front of their peers. Another concern that I was thinking about would be the

drawing aspect with the nearpod lesson. If a student's laptop isn't touch screen then they are going to have a

difficult time drawing and mapping out activities.

 14. What sort of challenges do you or your special education student/s or other special needs students in

general, face as it relates to distance learning?

a. The fact that students are not right in front of us makes it extremely difficult to help and assess

student needs. The biggest problem we are facing is gathering raw data on our students. Our focus

for the year is formative assessment to drive instruction. This way the data we collect drives our

instruction and allows us to plan forward. The only problem is, it is difficult to get authentic data

because parents are assisting their children. Reading levels, writing abilities, and math skills are

inflated and do not tell us where the student is at nor what they need. As you can imagine, if we

don't have real data on what these kids can do, then planning lessons becomes much more

difficult.

15. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult has this been for your students' engagement?

10 being the most difficult, I would say that has to be one of the biggest concerns during distance

learning. It is so hard to engage and keep that engagement for the rest of the lesson. Simply

reading out loud is boring to many students. Where in the classroom, they would love it when a

teacher read a story to the class. However, on zoom the appeal is lost.

The Good The Bad

The good thing that we found with this interview
was that the teacher was very comfortable and
familiar with using NearPod. After the teacher
watched the video based on their feedback they
stated it would be pretty easy to use near Pod in a
lesson especially in distant learning.
Some concerns the teacher did have was the student
interaction past when it came to distant learning.
She brought up the case of keeping students
engaged and we totally agree with her that why we
feel using nearpod as a tool will help keeps students
engaged and invested

The Unexpected What’s Next?

Some are things we didn't really think about when
it came down to the use of technology during
distant learning with the students is the finding.
The teacher explained in the survey some schools
financially aren't going to be able to provide
laptops and technology for every student so that's
something we need to take a look at.
I feel like as a group we need to take the
information and the feedback that we gathered from
this teacher and implement it or fix some things
within our project and take into consideration some
key components.
 What’s Next?

Our survey responses revealed that about 50% of the teachers that were interviewed were

aware of Nearpod as a teaching tool/resource. Based on the responses, we will go forth and find

the best method of instructions based on 1 or 2 specific special needs. An example of this may be

to focus on students with autism, and tailor our TLP lesson toward the needs of that student. The

feedback also revealed that there are mixed feelings toward distance learning, mainly in the fact

that not every student benefits from that type of instruction. We will take this data and create

workshops that allow us to go over some of the concerns relating to the fact that not all students

benefit from distance learning. From this, we can gain a better understanding of the types of

tools, visuals. Activities and plug-ins that we can utilize to improve the teacher/user experience.

Our goal is to create a website that can house Nearpod and resources that can be used alongside

Nearpod (googleslides, ADA website, CA standards etc.) in order to allow the teacher to create

the most effective presentation. Utilizing the feedback we gained, we will implement the ideas

into our final tool.

 User Map Experience

Ideal User: Samantha Smith

Age: 42

Profession: Elementary School Special Education Teacher

Characteristics: Ms. Smith has been a special education teacher for 14 years. She loves her
career and her favorite part of teaching is when students finally grasp a concept. She is not very
savvy when it comes to technology.

Transitioning from in the Classroom to Virtual Learning

 Ever since, COVID-19 hit, Ms. Smith’s whole classroom dynamic changed. Her routine

went from seeing her students smiling faces, in-person, five days a week for eight hours a day,

to seeing her students through a screen for two hours a day. Ms. Smith has still never

completely adjusted to this new way of teaching. She gets through her lessons, but she’s not

sure if students are actually understanding the material.

Distance Learning Experience

The transition from face-to-face to online learning has not only been difficult for Ms.

Smith, but for her students as well. Ms. Smith did not make her lessons engaging or interactive.

Her students were confused and would lose focus after the lessons because she would just

lecture the whole class session. She tried her best and put her all into each and every lesson,

but she just didn’t know how to make virtual lessons engaging and interactive. She asked a co-

teacher for some advice and he recommended nearpod!

 How nearpod Works

With a nearpod, you can make every lesson interactive. Students can join collaborative,

and engaging activities, like virtual reality, simulations, and gamified quizzes. As the teacher,

you’ll always know where your students are with nearpod’s formative assessments - including

polls, open-ended questions, “draw its” and much more. You have the option to start from

scratch, or get started with something you already have. You can upload resources like

PowerPoints, Google Slides, and videos, and then add formative assessments within seconds.

You can even add questions directly into videos to make them interactive.

There are three different teaching modes you can choose from once you’re ready to

launch your lesson - Live Participation, Student-Paced, or Front of Class. In Live Participation

mode, you control the pace and students participate on their devices, either in person or

remotely with web conferencing. In Student-Paced mode, students move through and

participate on their own. WIth Front of Class mode, you can use nearpod without student

devices and facilitate collaborative discussions.

Ms. Smith’s Experience Using nearpod

 Ms. Smith decided to give Nearpod a try. She began by using a lesson she already had.

She uploaded additional resources like a PowerPoint and videos from YouTube into nearpod.

She also added formative assessments and questions directly into videos to make them

interactive. After creating her lesson, Ms. Smith was so proud of her lesson and couldn’t wait to

teach her students.

Ms. Smith’s Overall Thoughts on nearpod

The next day arrived, and she finally got to teach her lesson using a nearpod. The

students loved the videos and gamified quizzes and they had so much fun that they didn’t even

notice the formative assessments. The lesson was a success. Ms. Smith was so pleased that

the students were engaged the entire time and understood the lesson. Not only was Ms. Smith
happy with how her lesson turned out, but her students were too. They asked if they could use

the nearpod again tomorrow. Ms. Smith finally found the tool she was looking for to make her

lessons engaging and interactive.

 Phase 3 Implementation

We would like teachers to think about incorporating Nearpod with their lesson and to

consider our newly developed Weebly website in order to provide all the necessary resources for

their nearpod presentations. We believe the features and advantages Nearpod has not only

benefits teachers but as well as schools looking to implement new ways of instruction, without

having to budget for the cost of the application and website.

Some indications of early success would be the short term is the overall performance of

the students in grasping the information being taught. Another indicator of early success would

be if the engagement an increase of student engagement during presentations conducted via

distance learning utilizing the Nearpod. Observing wide usage of our Connect Through Tech

weebly page, would be a strong indicator of the possibility of long-term usage by teachers.

This can also be considered an external measure of success. This would be greatly supported by

having teachers contacting our website for further instructions and resources. We would like to

see school administrators become interested in using the Connect Through Tech website and

Nearpod. Another external measure would be the feedback from the parents on the success rate

from our tool. Seeing the reactions from the success of our product would be encouraging to add

to the resume of the tool itself.

Roadmap: Below you will see the dates that our group regularly meets and deadlines. The days
and times may vary depending on what our schedule looks like that week, but we always make
sure each person is available and everyone is satisfied with the day and time. During our group
meetings, we discuss each of our duties for the week, like what we need to complete and when.
We also come up with new ideas we may have and different ways we can implement them into
our project. We usually meet for about an hour or two each week to debrief. The deadlines are a
combination of the ones on the syllabus and also personal ones we set for our group.

NOV 2020
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Class Complete
Workshop 1 -
Giovanni
Workshop 2 - Amer

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Complete Class Group
Workshop Meeting
3&4-
Katherine
Workshop
5-
Giovanni

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Class Group Meeting

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
 Collect all Complete Phase 3 Group
surveys Meeting

29 30

DEC 2020
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 5
Phase 3 Due Group Meeting Group Meeting

6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Group TLP
Meeting Presentation

TLP Peer
Feedback for
Phase 3 due

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26
 27 28 29 30 31

Barriers
The potential issues/barriers depend on the individual students’ needs. Teaching to the

"average" works for some students, some of the time, but it is rarely enough to support every

learner all of the time. Instruction is focused on each individual student's needs and interests

within the classroom. Although it can be difficult to do, differentiated teaching is crucial to

remember because it can help improve both student participation and achievement. Since school

is being taught virtually and distance learning is still currently being implemented, students will

have to use their own computer or device from home. There is a diverse set of learners in every

classroom because every child is different. Our project focuses on meeting the needs of students

with disabilities during this unknown time of distance learning. There are countless types of

disabilities and each student is different, therefore there is a big diversity among the learners’

skill levels.
TLP Group 6 Lesson Plans (Connect Through Tech)
Workshop 1

Time required: 10 Minutes

Target Audience: Teachers

Objective: Participants will learn how to find and sign up for Nearpod.

Overview of Lesson: Teachers will participate in Workshop 1 newsletter in order to learn the
process of finding and signing up for Nearpod.

Materials needed: Computer, smartphone or laptop to access the internet. Email to access the
link to the workshop.

Procedures:
● Teachers will be sent a link to workshop 1.
● Teachers will visit the link and begin by reading the top.
● Teachers will begin the workshop by following the instructions as they work down the
newsletter.
● It is encouraged that teachers practice by creating a Nearpod if they haven’t.
● Finally, teachers will answer questions at the end of the workshop.

Assessment
1) How difficult does Nearpod sign up look? 1(easy)-5(difficult)

2) Did this workshop help you with signing up for Nearpod? yes/no? Or already had one.

3) Based on this workshop, do you believe other educators would be interested in our TLP
project and the solutions it provides? Yes/No?

Results:
Question 3 Results were 100% yes.

Workshop 2

Time required: 15 Minutes

Target Audience: Teachers

Objective: Participants will learn how some of the design features can benefit instruction for a
student with special needs utilizing nearpod.

Overview of Lesson: Teachers will participate in Workshop 2 newsletter, in order to learn the
design benefits of nearpod; how the different templates, visuals and other features can help in
distance learning for a child with special needs.

Materials needed: Computer, smartphone or laptop to access the internet. Email to access the
link to the workshop.

Procedures:
● Teachers will be sent a link to workshop 2.
● Teachers will visit the link and begin by reading the top.
● Teachers will begin the workshop by following the instructions as they work down the
newsletter.
● It is encouraged that teachers practice by creating a sample Nearpod lesson.
● Finally, teachers will answer questions at the end of the workshop.

Assessment
1) Do you think the different designs can be inclusive to a student with special needs? Yes, no
or don’t know.

2) Do you think the design features will engage a student with special needs during online
lessons?
Yes/No
3) Before this workshop, how familiar were you with the design features of Nearpod? Very,
somewhat, or not at all?

Workshop 3

Time required: 15 Minutes

Target Audience: Teachers

Objective: Participants will be able to create different activities in a Nearpod lesson.

Overview of Lesson: Teachers will have the opportunity to learn about the various different
interactive tools that are available to teach a lesson to a student or students with special needs.
Teachers will also have the opportunity to learn about the external tools that work in conjunction
with Nearpod. (PowerPoint, GoogleSlides, videos etc.)

Materials needed: Computer, smartphone or laptop to access the internet. Email to access the
link to the workshop.

Procedures:
● Teachers will be sent a link to workshop 3.
 ● Teachers will visit the link and begin by reading the top.
● Teachers will begin the workshop by following the instructions as they work down the
newsletter.
● The workshop will have information on the integration of activities and also integration of
programs such as google slides and powerpoint.
● It is encouraged that teachers practice by creating a Nearpod if they haven’t.
● Finally, teachers will answer questions at the end of the workshop.

Assessment

1) Do you believe that these activities are easy or difficult for a child with special needs?
Easy or Hard?

2) Which activity do you see yourself using? Pick from the workshop.

3) Do you see these types of activities and external tools, such as google slides and
powerpoint, as beneficial for a student with special needs? Yes, No, Maybe, I don’t
know?

Results:
Workshop 4

Time required: 15 Minutes

Target Audience: Teachers

Objective: Participants will be able to learn about the benefits of online learning in supporting
and assessing students with special needs.

Overview of Lesson: This informational session will serve to provide teachers with insight on
providing support and formative assessments for students with special needs.

Materials needed: Computer, smartphone or laptop to access the internet. Email to access the
link to the workshop.

Procedures:
● Teachers will be sent a link to workshop 4.
● Teachers will visit the link and begin by reading the top.
● Teachers will begin the workshop by following the instructions as they work down the
newsletter.
● The workshop will have information on the support for students and how to assess
students utilizing nearpod and the activities applied to the lessons created by teachers.
● Finally, teachers will answer questions at the end of the workshop.

Assessment

1) Do you believe that there is enough support in our TLP for teachers?

2) Do you think that Nearpod and its activities are difficult for a student with special needs
to navigate? Yes, No, Maybe?

3) Do you see these types of activities and external tools, such as google slides and
powerpoint, as beneficial for a student with special needs? Yes, No, Maybe, I don’t
know?

Results:

For Question 1: The consensus was that it was dependent on the student and their individual
needs. Support can have a broad definition in the context of a lesson.
Workshop 5

Time required: 10 Minutes

Target Audience: Teachers

Objective: Conclude the series of workshops.

Overview of Lesson: Provide a comprehensive overview of the TLP project.

Materials needed: Computer, smartphone or laptop to access the internet. Email to access the
link to the workshop.

Procedures:
● Teachers will be sent a link to workshop 5.
● Teachers will visit the link and begin by reading the top.
● Teachers will begin the workshop by following the instructions as they work down the
newsletter.
● The workshop will have information on what the teachers learned about in the 4 previous
workshops.
● Finally, teachers will answer questions at the end of the workshop.

Assessment

1) After these workshops, would you say you are more comfortable with our Connect
Through Tech TLP solution including using Nearpod as the centerpiece?

2) What was one thing that these workshops revealed to you about nearpod? User
friendliness? The price? The ability to adapt and modify? The external tools? The
internal tools? Please pick 1.
3) Did these training/workshops provide solutions to the unknown problems created by
COVID and distance learning? Yes, No. Maybe?
Results:
 Barriers

Some potential barriers resulting from our data collection point more toward the overall

need for Nearpod in the classroom. Overall, we are pleased with the need for a tool like Nearpod

and the Connect Through Tech website. More hands on learning is also required to truly master

Nearpod as a teaching tool. There is also the chance that a student may feel hesitant toward using

an application such as Nearpod due to the learning curve that the product might present.

Educators also face the risk of not having permission from school administrators to utilize

Connect Through Tech or Nearpod.

How to place the instruction to address all their needs?

Nearpod has the ability to conform and bend to create the ideal lesson presentations for

students with special needs. There are a wide variety of templates and presentation creation tools.

This allows teachers to address all of their students' individual and unique special needs. Connect

Through Tech is a strong tool that will continue to grow and provide educators with a reliable

source to create the ideal lessons for their students with special needs.