Financial management teacher Bronwyn Burford has been testing a customizable educational platform this school year. The Nearpod platform became possible through a grant.
The platform allows teachers to create original lessons or choose from previously developed curricula already loaded into the Nearpod system. From the students’ view, the platform lets them move through various exercises. These exercises include games, infographics, reading material, polls, and quizzes with multiple question types. Nearpod even includes drawing tools, collaborative spaces, and the ability for students to compete during games.
“It gives learners different tools to check their learning,” Burford said. Burford also finds the tool useful in introducing a lesson, reviewing lessons, and when remote work is appropriate. “This tool would have been fabulous for my class during Covid,” she said.
Head of Upper School Brandi Richardson learned about Nearpod at a workshop several years ago. She said that Nearpod became increasingly popular during the pandemic as teachers were trying to offer quality distance education. Distance education requires interactive engagement, not just one-way delivery of information. She is thrilled that Burford received the grant to use Nearpod in this year’s financial management class.
From the teacher’s view, instructors can see student participation, missed questions, and knowledge of the material. The reporting offers depth, speed, and lets the teacher view student comprehension. Nearpod is a great way to measure student learning, Burford said.
How have students reacted? Burford has observed that students in her class continue to gravitate toward interaction and class discussions. She uses Nearpod as a supplement to introduce new material, review lessons, or if she has a substitute teacher.
Richardson said that she loves the interactive features offered. “Essentially, teachers can deliver information and new material while the students work in Nearpod. Nearpod brilliantly captures multiple learning modalities because students can work through note-taking and absorbing new material with visuals, sounds, and video,” she said. “At the same time, teachers can seamlessly measure student understanding with built-in questions and polls. Nearpod has a wonderful bank of premade lessons for teachers to use easily, allowing teachers to customize and build their own interactive lessons.”
Nearpod Lessons in Financial Management
Read “25 Things to Know about Investing by Age 25” and summarize three remarkable things. Then post answers on the collaborative bulletin board and view results as each classmate posts a response.
Answer multiple choice financial questions to advance in a game to be the first student to get your player across the finish line. Watch the progress of all players as you answer.
Use the drawing tool that illustrates how you would allocate your income from your first paycheck.
