When students spend roughly 8 hours a day for 5 days a week in a classroom, it can sometimes feel impossible to keep each of them engaged in the learning process. Engagement is crucial for students to make progress academically, and with a wide variety of educational technology tools right at our fingertips, interactive presentation tools prove to be great assets to help keep students engaged while learning new content.
Nearpod is an interactive presentation tool that I have personally used in the classroom. Nearpod is an interactive online platform in which students are able to respond to the lesson using personal devices while the lesson is being given. Each student can have his/her own personal device, such as a class laptop or iPad, or students can work in small groups. The teacher is able to create as much or as little student interaction as possible by adding virtual field trips, matching games, quizzes, drawing activities, polls, collaboration boards and more! Nearpod also has a selection of pre-made presentation slides that can be used as an additional resource. I have found students enjoy the “Draw it” feature the most and it also makes sure all students are paying attention because the teacher can monitor which students are participating and interacting with the slide. The two links below lead you to the Nearpod website and a Nearpod that I created to view some of the interactive features.
Nearpod URL: www.nearpod.com
Nearpod example link: https://share.nearpod.com/vsph/FCY7lOz3HH
Another presentation tool that teachers and students can use is called Screencast-O-Matic. Screencast-O-Matic is a tool that allows you to record your computer screen and uses voice over technology so that your voice can be recorded without being visible on camera. This is a great tool for teachers to use in a flipped classroom setting, or a great alternative to public presentations or a fun way to complete a project! My first experience with Screencast-O-Matic was in college and I think students would have so much fun creating projects then presenting with Screencast-O-Matic. The links below will lead you to the Screencast-O-Matic website and also to a screencast display of a WebQuest, Nearpod, and class blog page all recoded using Screencast-O-Matic.
Note: WebQuest is another great presentation tool for students. Go check it out!
Screencast-O-Matic URL: https://screencast-o-matic.com/
Screencast-O-Matic example link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxr8v0VDPu4&t=5s
Travel, Teaching, & Educational Technology 