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NEARPOD IN THE CLASSROOM

How to Use Nearpod in the Classroom

Khesli Johnson

CUIN 6320

April 28, 2021

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How to Use Nearpod in the Classroom

As the years go by, technology usage has increased. Students who were born into the

digital world are referred to as digital natives (Prensky, 2001). Digital natives continue to gain

access to the latest technology. Technology tools and applications have been added to the

classroom more now than ever. Now that online learning has become more prevalent, it is

important for educators to stay informed of the latest tools. One such technology tool is Nearpod,

a web-based application that facilitates learning through the use of interactive lessons and

activities. Nearpod can be used with all ages, from early childhood to higher education. It is

available on multiple platforms and through the Apple Store, Windows Store, Google Play, and

Chrome Web Store. Through the use of this app, teachers are able to create presentations to share

with student’s individual devices, for self-pacing. This paper will explore how Nearpod can be

used and is being implemented in the classroom and the advantages/disadvantages of Nearpod

usage.

Nearpod Utilization in Classrooms

Educators use Nearpod to create interactive presentations that can be used in conjunction

with slides, quizzes, polls, and videos. Teachers are able to assess student learning in real-time

(Delacruz, 2014). There are three ways teachers can use Nearpod, live participation, student-

paced, or in front of the class. Through live participation, students launch the app on their own

devices, while the teacher remains the controller of the slides and presentation (Schwab, 2013;

Delacruz, 2014). When a student-paced approach is used, students are able to move and progress

as they are able to. When teachers use Nearpod in front of the class, no individual devices are

necessary. Teachers can project the lesson, while students engage in a whole group or even

smaller group setting.

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Within the classroom, Nearpod has been used in multiple settings. Dunbar (2016) shared

her experience of using the app in her music classroom, stating that the students enjoyed having

the presentation in front of them, while she enjoyed the ability to control the pace. Delacruz

(2014) relays the usage of Nearpod during guided reading instruction in a fourth-grade

classroom. Findings showed that the students found this type of instruction to be beneficial and

motivating. They were able to transfer their knowledge learned with the teacher into an

independent setting.

Before using Nearpod, the teachers need to create an account that is used to house their

presentations. After utilizing the free presentation library or creating their own, a student code

will be given. Teachers give the code or hyperlink generated to students and they will be taken to

the presentation for their usage.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages include being able to access a library of free or paid presentations that are

available and ready for use. Mattar (2018; as cited in Hakami, 2020) asserts that one major

advantage of using Nearpod is to support active learning in the classroom. There are different

ways to engage students in the lessons, such as videos, draw it activities, polls, and many more.

Nearpod is seen as one of the apps that would increase interactivities and collaboration in the

classroom (Dong, Kavun, Senteney, &Ott, 2018; as cited in Hakami, 2020). In addition, Nearpod

can enhance students’ learning experience and satisfaction because it gives them more

opportunities to engage and interact in learning activities (Jing &Yue, 2016: as cited in Hakami,

2020). Due to the way Nearpod is changing the way lessons are delivered, it has been called “the

PowerPoint on steroids” (Emerson, 2013: as cited in Delacruz, 2014).

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The student pacing feature is one that allows both students and teachers flexibility to

engage in synchronous and asynchronous learning. The three options given above, live

participation, student-paced, or in front of the class, affords teachers the opportunity to choose a

method that best fits their students. While some students may move quickly, others may need

more time to process and review information.

Nearpod also reports student usage and engagement with the presentations, which allows

teachers to analyze and monitor progress. Delacruz (2014) states that the teacher who used

Nearpod for guided reading recommended its usage “because of its user-friendliness, ability to

engage students, and monitor their progress.” Monitoring and analyzing data are a big

component in education. Nearpod takes this in mind by allowing real-time progress monitoring

and allows for easy feedback. The session reports feature gives teachers the opportunity to

review all of the data collected during a Nearpod lesson. This is useful for teachers to adjust

instruction as necessary. The report gives summaries of each activity within the presentation

such as results from quizzes, open-ended questions, matching activities, and polls, as well as

individual student responses. They can be easily downloaded for later reference.

When a presentation is ready for student usage, teachers have the option to share the code

or share through email, link, embedding, and integration through Google Classroom, Microsoft

Teams, or Remind. This makes it easier to incorporate into the classroom, especially in the era of

online learning.

One disadvantage while using this app is that the storage on the silver (or free) version of

the app is limited to 100 MB for presentations, reports, and activities. This restricts the number

of presentations educators can use. There is also a limit to 40 students per session using the silver

version. There are other options such as the gold and platinum versions, but they can be pricy.
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Nearpod was launched in 2012. Despite its new popularity, not much research has been

conducted on its mode of learning for younger (K-5 learners). There have been reports on how

teachers responded to using it and even how it is helpful in higher education, but little to none

regarding how elementary students repost to using the app.

Conclusion

Nearpod is a Web 2.0 technology tool that can be accessed directly on the Web or

through smartphone app stores. There is a limited free version, along with three paid versions

with more capabilities. Within the classroom, Nearpod can be used to create interactive

presentations for students to engage in live participation, student pacing, or in front of the class.

Capabilities include polling, open-ended questions, multiple-choice options, matching pictures,

draw-it activities, and more. Nearpod has been used in a variety of settings, from a music

classroom to guided reading instruction. There are a great number of advantages including a free

presentation library of pre-planned presentations, session reports, and easy sharing capabilities.

Disadvantages include the limitations in capabilities on the free version and the limited research

that has been conducted on elementary students.

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References

Dunbar, L. (2016). Embedding Technology and Assessment Into the Music Classroom With

Nearpod. General Music Today, 29(3), 33–37.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371315624734

Davis, N., Gough, M., & Taylor, L. (2019). Online teaching: advantages, obstacles and tools for

getting it right. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 19(3), 256–263.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2019.1612313

Delacruz, S. (2014). Using Nearpod in elementary guided reading groups. TechTrends, 58(5),

62–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-014-0787-9

Hakami, M. (2020). Using Nearpod as a Tool to Promote Active Learning in Higher Education

in a BYOD Learning Environment. Journal of Education and Learning, 9(1), 119–126.

McClean, S., & Crowe, W. (2017). Making room for interactivity: using the cloud-based

audience response system Nearpod to enhance engagement in lectures. FEMS

microbiology letters, 364(6), 1-7.

Mattei, M., & Ennis, E. (2014). Continuous, Real-Time Assessment of Every Student’s Progress

in the Flipped Higher Education Classroom Using Nearpod. The Journal of Learning in

Higher Education, 10(1), 1–7.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On The Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
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