nearpod: An Interactive Education for Learners of All Ages

By Christa Luzynski

Educators can sign up at https://nearpod.com/

Introducing Nearpod

Created with both teachers and students in mind, Nearpod is a digital platform offering interactive lessons for students. Users have access to collaborative activities that incorporate virtual reality, simulations, and gamified quizzes (N.). Educators can incorporate existing material, such as PowerPoint presentations, Google Slides, videos, and even YouTube links; they can also pull from an existing library of provided content and lessons. Accessibility is key with Nearpod. Once instructors have selected their content, they are able to add media and assessments to the uploaded material. With user experience in mind, educators can elevate video content into the virtual realm by creating interactive media, adding questions to the videos.

Nearpod’s website offers potential users their four steps on making every lesson interactive:

1. Get started with what you already have.

2. Give every student a chance to show what they know.

3. Create lessons students love.

4. Know where your students are every step of the way. (Nearpod)

Gamification

The gamification of the educational realm “has been recognized to impact cognitive development, motivation, and decision making” (Papa, pg. 203). Nearpod is a prime example of the benefits of gamified learning. Game-based learning enhances learner engagement through intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; it can simultaneously offer rewards and incentives for successful completion of tasks, as well as the satisfaction of filling a learning gap unique to the individual (Reiser and Dempsey, 2021). When looking at the universal benefits of this type of learning, consideration needs to be given to not only physical user experience. Resources like Nearpod incorporate not only game principles, but game psychology as well; this can aid in triggering a sense of achievement within the learner (Papa). Reiser and Dempsey state, “motivation to learn is promoted when learners anticipate and experience satisfying outcomes to a learning task” (Reiser and Dempsey, pg. 80). Studies have also found a positive relationship between virtual reality and student immersion. For example, data from the ScienceSpace project revealed that, when compared with 2D representation, learners were motivated to perform better with immersive 3D representations (Pathan, Rajendram, and Murthy). Another study was conducted looking at the use of Nearpod in higher education. Educators at the University of Central Florida utilized the software to assist with ESOL students. They were able to quickly identify gaps and adjust the curriculum accordingly. One result from the study found, “students see Nearpod as ‘gamification’, while teachers appreciate data for where to target teaching” (T.N. Team). Gamification in this regard is mutually beneficial for both educators and learners.

Shared Control

With a digital educational tool like Nearpod, control is not held simply by the learner or the educator; “it is a participatory and communal process that engages multiple users in rich and productive interactions” (Geisler, pg. 60). Nearpod demonstrates this principle with three available teaching modes: Live Participation, Student-Paced, and Front of Class. With the Life Participation mode, the educator controls the pace of instruction, and the students participate, whether virtually or in a physical classroom. This level of control is more like that of a traditional classroom environment. In Student-Paced mode, the individual learners dictate their own pace and experience as they move through the content. This mode is great for volitional motivation in students. Reiser and Dempsey state, “a central concept related to building confidence in mastering learning tasks is that of control” (Reiser and Dempsey, pg. 81). By empowering the students to take control of their own learning, educators are sharing control with students and providing motivation for engagement. The final mode is Front of Class. Here, Nearpod can be used without student devices “and facilitate collaborative discussions” (N.). Students can collaborate with their teachers and fellow students in the classroom or online. This collaboration and control sharing is vital to a well-rounded educational experience, and gamified learning like Nearpod, is a great resource to enable those environments. “Educators agree that gaming enhances the ability of learners to gain a new perspective through active engagements in collaborative decision making to solve problems” (Papa, pg. 203).

Usability and Accessibility

Virtual reality as an educational tool has proven to benefit students in the areas of “conceptual understanding, problem-solving, and spatial ability” (Pathan, Rajendram, and Murthy). Because of these benefits, there is an inherent importance in designing for usability, as well as accessibility for educators. Geisler suggests, “designing for usability encourages designers to create materials that allow users to build upon prior experiences and knowledge to learn, adapt, and assimilate new processes, applications, and interfaces more quickly” (Geisler, pg. 27). Nearpod has been created with this principle in mind, offering a library of existing content that is customizable for the user experience, but also allowing educators to upload their own, familiar content. Assessments have a calculated and straight-forward approach for documenting learner achievement for instructors; reports are available immediately, helping to drive future instruction. In their study on VR-based learning environments, Pathan, Rajendram, and Murthy discuss the accessibility and affordability of virtual reality with the advent of the headset and mobile options. Nearpod is no exception; with a tiered pricing structure, programs are available to educators at varying price points.

Resources

Geisler, Cheryl. (2014). Designing for User Engagement on the Web: 10 Basic Principles. Routledge.

N. (2021, June 15). What Is Nearpod? [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/444560128

Nearpod: Make every lesson interactive. (2021). Nearpod. https://nearpod.com/

Papa, R. (2016). Media Rich Instruction: Connecting Curriculum To All Learners (Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2014 ed.). Springer.

Pathan, R., Rajendram, R., & Murthy, S. (2020). Mechanism to capture learner’s interaction in VR-based learning environment: design and application. Smart Learning Environments. Published.

Reiser, R. & Dempsey, J. (2021). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Team, T. N. (2021, March 16). Nearpod is a bridge in the multicultural ESL classroom. Nearpod Blog. https://nearpod.com/blog/nearpod-is-a-bridge-in-the-multicultural-esl-classroom/