Lack of incentive

Nearpod could incentivize K-12 teachers to use formative assessments more effectively. All assessments on Nearpod provide real-time data to teachers, which could help facilitate any modifications to lessons or activities they may need to make for the purposes of meeting their students’ learning needs. They also provide insight into students’ learning preferences, which is important information that could influence how a teacher creates an inclusive learning environment. With such an extensive library of resources, Nearpod directly addresses the challenge of not having enough resources, including materials, funding and time. Not only does the library include pre-made activities, but it also includes pre-made lessons on a variety of subjects.

The availability of these options and the capabilities of Nearpod could incentivize teachers to develop and use formative assessments. The pressure to maintain high stakes standards could be reduced by slow and simple classroom integration of Nearpod activities and a few assessments, such as those found in Nearpod’s mini lessons. The availability of real-time data could help teachers make stronger connections between their pedagogical knowledge and their use of assessments. Since Nearpod is a digital tool, there is a learning curve that both students and teachers have to overcome. As such, it would be challenging to simply stick a fun assessment anywhere because it could become a distraction in the same way that ineffective assessments could become confusing. Therefore, Nearpod’s formative assessments could compel K-12 teachers to be more intentional.

Professional development opportunities

Nearpod includes professional development opportunities in the form of free access to live and on-demand webinars, online communities of practice and Nearpod Educator certifications. Nearpod has both free and paid account options available. When anyone signs up for either a free or paid account, they have access to an extensive library of webinars specifically made for teachers. Topics include how to encourage students to continue learning over the summer, how to integrate Nearpod into Microsoft programs and how to use Nearpod in social studies classrooms.

Furthermore, Nearpod users can join their Facebook group called Nearpod Educators and has over 47,000 members. The group is a community of practice that allows teachers to brainstorm with other teachers and provide tips and tricks for effectively using Nearpod in the classroom. More experienced Nearpod users can become Nearpod Certified Educators, which describe educators who have extensive knowledge of how Nearpod works, how to create lessons plans and how to effectively use those plans in the classroom. There is a private Facebook group for these Educators as well.

For K-12 teachers, Nearpod can function as a tool to use formative assessments more easily and effectively and a way to develop their own assessment literacy. Since Nearpod assessments are formative by default and design, teachers can apply their own content knowledge about assessments to their creation and use of formative assessments. If they are unsure about doing so, they can join the Facebook group to engage with other teachers to address their concerns. Together, these teachers can construct knowledge about the effective application of assessments that they can then test in their classrooms. Furthermore, teachers can also access the free professional development webinars, many of which are specifically about assessment design and pedagogy. This option could address the lack of time teachers have for professional development opportunities because the webinars vary in length.

Attitudes and perceptions

K-12 teachers could be further incentivized to use Nearpod because most, if not all, activities and available assessments are active and engaging. If students respond positively about their learning experiences, that response could change teachers’ perceptions about what kind of learning and assessments are possible. This is an especially important notion because teachers to plan and observe students in the classroom, gather information, analyze and use it to inform how they instruct and assess students. There is already limited time that teachers have to do that. This limitation also contributes to the negative perceptions and attitudes teachers have towards formative assessments, especially since they may not be considered as important as summative assessments. With access to Nearpod’s library and Flocabulary, K-12 teachers would have the opportunity to make more time for related instruction and assessment activities. This access could change teachers’ attitudes and perceptions about formative assessment because they could view the work of other teachers and use resonant ideas as inspiration. As well, they could connect with teachers on Facebook so that they do not feel alone in their journey. Furthermore, if K-12 teachers feel excited and confident about the formative assessments they are giving students, and they receive positive feedback from students, that could change their investment in the assessments. In particular, the positive feedback could be the catalyst to learn and do more, possibly pushing current barriers to teaching out of the way.

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