Blended/Flipped Lesson

1) I used nearpod to create a lesson that is designed to be completed at home. The lesson would be assigned as homework during a unit about invertebrates. In class, students will complete an activity about the evolution of invertebrate phyla. Students would then be assigned a series of nearpod lessons for homework throughout the week to explore relationships between animals of different phyla. When students return to class, the next day, we will be able to continue filling in evolutionary relationships to build understanding of predator/prey relatioships and ways in which organisms area able to adapt to their environments.

2 ) The nearpod activity allows students to learn about a unique predator/prey interaction on their own using online resources. They are not specifically creating anything but they are asked to evaluate information and form an opinion as a typed response. Student responses will be available to me as soon as the lesson is completed and answers to the poll will be available to share with the class the next day. In the SAMR model, nearpod allows for redesign of homework assignments so that students are learning new information and constructing responses in a more interactive and memorable format than traditional reading and writing.

3) How does Nearpod fit with my ELR framework? As a teacher, Nearpod is very easy to create and distribut for student use. I like that I am able to post a link to the nearpod on my website and students can complete the assignment without being required to enter any additional passwords or ID numbers. Basic functions of the website are free and accessible for any studnet with internet access. I am not sure if nearpod will work on a tablet but the design is pretty simple so I expect that it is compatible with an iPhone or iPad. There were a couple of slides I created that were not saved but that is likely an error on my end. Website design was reliable and easy to understand. The real benefit of this tool is the ability to expose students to new information outside of class with an interactive component. Not only are students watching a video but they are immediately reflecting on their learning and submitting a response to demonstrate their learning. Students can reapeat videos, modify previous answers, and proceed at their own pace.

4/5) Nearpod is a useful tool for this purpose but I am hesitatant to have students complete this type of assignment in a classroom. I might use nearpod in class as part of an assignment where students use the internet to conduct their own reasearch and report their findings on a shared document that can be displayed in class. The lesson I designed does not benefit from being completed in class with other students or a teacher present. Therefore, it does not appear to be a positive use of classroom time. Students could however use nearpod to create their own lessons for a friend based on information they have learned in class or through their own research. It could also be used as a study tool where students make lessons as if they were teaching somebody else about a topic learned in class.

6) Nearpod allows students to follow teacher-designed lessons away from the classroom. It also allows students to submit answers that can be reviewed or analyzed by a teacher before returning to class the next day. This allows more immediate feedback or a continuated discussion in class driectly based on student resposes from the homework. I think one of the most significant limitations to student learning is the potential for loss of peer-to-peer interaction during class time. I am afraid that I or other teachers will used online lessons during class to replace listening/talking activities. If a lesson is entirely on the computer and does not require interpersonal skills, it can easily be completed at home.