Nearpod is one of my favorite teaching tools! As a professional development facilitator it has become one of my go-to tools for leading a discussion, modeling best practices and engaging teachers. If you’re a regular follower of my blog you’ve probably seen me highlight eight ways Nearpod can be used to check for understanding in the classroom.
In a faculty meeting or professional development setting, Nearpod can be used to engage an audience, model best practices and make it easy to share resources with a group. If you haven’t used Nearpod before, it’s a super popular interactive presentation tool. You can create slides or upload a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation and add interactive activities to a presentation.
You can sign up for a free Nearpod account by clicking here.
This list includes five reasons why I think Nearpod is a fantastic tool to use when leading a workshop, professional development session, or staff meeting. If you have another reason why Nearpod is a favorite, add it to the comments section below.
6 Reasons to Lead Your Next Faculty Meeting with Nearpod
BYOD-Friendly
Nearpod works on any device connected to the Internet and has dedicated mobile apps too. This means teachers sitting at one table room can access a Nearpod presentation in different ways. Someone might be on their iPhone, another on a Samsung tablet, and a third on their Chromebook. No matter what device they have, teachers at the faculty meeting will be able to access Nearpod.
Engaging
With Nearpod, the content on the projection screen is easily visible on the personal device in your hand. Attendees in a staff meeting can have a better view of content. They can participate in an activity like a poll. Teachers can also explore content on the web pushed out to their device but the person leading the meeting.
Model Formative Assessment
One of the things I love about Nearpod is how it can help teachers check for understanding. That’s one of the reasons I featured it in my book #FormativeTech and this free poster. When leading a staff meeting you can show how an open-ended question can determine concerns your teachers have about a new initiative. You might also show off how the Draw it feature is a great way to give students different options on how to respond to a prompt.
Introduce an Instructional Tool
Staff meetings are a great way to show off how an instructional tool works in a learning context. Although you might need to explain a new building procedure or highlight the success of your team, Nearpod can be used to lead the meeting and you can mention a few ideas for classroom activities.
Spark Discussions on Technology Integration
Did you know that Nearpod has 3D models and virtual reality activities? Introducing these features at a staff meeting is a great way to spark a discussion. You can talk about on how different types of technology can elevate and energize lessons. In just about every session I lead with Nearpod there is a moment when everyone is on their feet, spinning around with their device to explore a new destination. Afterwards we talk about the reasons a teacher might integrate virtual reality into a lesson.
Distribute Materials
If you have the full version of Nearpod you can share the code for your lesson so staff members can move through content at their own pace. This is perfect for “flipped faculty meetings” and for teachers who are absent. With the code for a self-paced lesson, anyone who was present at the meeting can review the slides. They can even participate in the activities after the meeting..
You can sign up for a free Nearpod account by clicking here – and also enter to win a Gold Subscription by entering here.
