We are all human, and we are allowed to be nervous, frightened, and unsure of the unknown. However, with our passion for teaching and the will to reach all of our scholars, we are discovering many ways to educate, engage, and support our families over the screen of our little laptops.
There are so many excellent educators out there accomplishing amazing things together. Many gathered together to do a caravan around their school’s community to say hello to their scholars. Some incredibly tech-savvy and artistic educators made postcards and mailed it to their scholar’s residence to show them love and support. Other educators, including myself, are hopping on Zoom to connect with our scholars to check in and give them the normalcy and love they need at this time of uncertainty.
If you read Kandyce Valverde’s blog post “ Forever in the Middle: Distance Reading,” you will see how powerful Zoom can be! You can pre-record and share with families, and you can connect and host a Zoom “ Author’s Chair” where students can share their writing with their peers. You can even use Nearpod live lessons with all your Zoom participants!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!
At my school site, my team uses Nearpod almost every day. It is such an amazing resource for us! The lessons can be used in so many ways! Our team uses Nearpod for all subjects! We use Nearpod for our constructive responses after reading our weekly anthology. When students all submit their answers, we can screen share responses anonymously, and we use it similar to “ my favorite no.” We identify the strong points along with what’s missing or what can make the answer even stronger! We use Nearpod for math concepts and showing models along with using it as a review; quick check; assessments. Their favorite game to play is called “ Time to Climb.” The game is set up as a review game where students can identify the answer within 30 seconds or less. The whole class competes to get to the top of the mountain by answering quickly and correctly. It’s always so fun to see the joy when they don’t even realize they are learning and reviewing their academic knowledge.
Now let’s get to the good part! ZOOM ZOOM NEARPOD! After researching and trying it out with my class, I found that you can still host live Nearpod lessons within your zoom session. Students will be able to join within the link you share in the chatbox without leaving the Zoom. Participants will see the Nearpod lesson slides, and the teacher can dictate the speed, just like when we are in person, along with speaking, guiding, and answering questions with the students through the live lesson. For my class of students, this gives them that “ in-person” touch. They can hear me, see me, and see the lesson slides and participate in the activities all at the same place, at the same time, with their peers. This is learning and engagement at it's best without physically being there.
If you had never try using Nearpod, give it a try. If you had never tried Zoom, play with it with your friends or even your family members. You can sign up for a Nearpod free account, and you can create or use already created lessons to help you with your distance learning plans while incorporating a live zoom session.
Here is a quick video showing you how to create and insert the Nearpod lesson link within Zoom and how it will look for you and your scholars! In my opinion, this combination of live zoom and Nearpod is distance learning's cherry on top. Other than the fact that I am not physically circulating the " room", I am there every step of the way in facilitating, engaging, and giving feedback while the students are at least 40 miles away from me.
HAPPY ZOOM, ZOOM, NEARPOD!
Eileen Wunderlich
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