Using Nearpod in Elementary Guided Reading Groups

Elizabeth Beste

Aurora University EDU 6210

July 6, 2015

Delacruz, S. (2014). Using Nearpod in elementary guided reading groups. TechTrends, 58(5), 63-70. doi:10.1007/s11528-014-0787-9.

Using Nearpod in Elementary Guided Reading Groups

Summary

In this article, Stacy Delacruz introduces the reader to the concept of using mini iPads with an app named Nearpod when working with guided reading groups. Nearpod is a free app, with paid additional upgrades, that allows teachers to create presentations with quiz features, embedded videos, and slides and is available in iOS, Android, and web formats. Teachers create presentations that are saved with a student code. When students enter the code, they are linked to the app and the teacher can see them on her screen. The teacher controls the pace of the presentation because students can only move when the teacher advances to the next slide. 

Delacruz takes a lot of time to explain the guided reading framework and how it compares to using Nearpod. She includes two tables of information for the reader. In the first, she compares the components of preparation and materials, the steps during reading, and what happens after reading in the traditional guided reading setting and with Nearpod. She then walks the reader through the steps where she explicitly writes what questions would be asked, reading behaviors and how she would provide extension and word work. Some of the differences would include using quiz questions with Nearpod instead of graphic organizers or worksheets with the traditional method. Nearpod would allow students to type answers to open ended questions, where traditional guided reading might use journals. Students can also draw within Nearpod, rather than completing this on an additional sheet.

Purpose

            The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not elementary students respond well to this app within their studies. Delacruz asserts that since this apps inception in 2012, there are 95,000 registered teachers using it. However, there has been little research to support its use in the elementary classroom. There have been some reports about teacher use, but nothing from the student perspective.  

Participants 

            The participants in this study were fourth grade students from a suburban elementary school in the southeast. At this school, 60 % of the students received free or reduced lunch. Additionally, 65% of the fourth grade consisted of English Language Learners. The reading groups chosen consisted of nine students that made up the highest and the lowest reading groups within fourth grade. Four of the nine students were ELLs. The highest and lowest groups were chosen in order to compare their reading comprehension of the selected story.

Methodology

This study used qualitative data gathered during the fourth grade, guided reading sessions The student teacher conducted semi-structured interviews to determine student preference and anecdotal evidence to determine student understanding of vocabulary through student drawings. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded, allowing the student teacher to establish common patterns.

Findings

            When asked whether they preferred reading using the Nearpod app or traditional print book, all the students preferred Nearpod. The main reason was that Nearpod allowed for interactive use. Students liked being able to take a quiz or draw a picture from the same device, rather than having to go elsewhere. The students that were ELLs appreciated the ability to draw what they were thinking. One of the fourth graders commented, “I knew after the first time that our answers would be shown. It was like a game and I didn’t want to make any mistakes” (Delacruz, 2014, p. 69).

            The student teacher was asked about the benefits over the traditional guided reading curriculum. The student teacher felt that the students were more engaged and that it was easier to have immediate assessments built into the program. Students could take a poll and Nearpod would create a pie chart of results instantly.

            The student teacher also identified several challenges to using Nearpod for guided reading. One challenge was that if a student was dropped, the technology teacher was needed to be on hand to log the child out and in so they could continue. This program does not have some of the features that are found in other digital reading programs, such as text to speech and dictionary searches. Each page of the book had to be created using PowerPoint and then loaded into Nearpod.

            The student teacher also went on to note that Nearpod would be beneficial to students beyond guided reading groups. It could be used across the curriculum. If the upgraded subscriptions of Nearpod were purchased, teachers could use it to present videos for science or student created presentations. Additionally, she felt that the same presentation could be presented in other schools or overseas so that students could compare and contrast their views and ideas with children in other locations.

Reflection/Application

While this article was supposed to help provide research that shows how elementary students respond to this app, I think overall it missed the mark. While there is some anecdotal evidence, 9 students do not really provide a lot of support. Based upon the lesson outline provided, students worked on one chapter of a book. Had this been many groups, more children, or an entire book, the outcomes might have been different. I would have been interested to know if the teacher could have kept the level of engagement throughout. Would the teacher have been able to keep up with all the work required to prepare the lesson and would this play a role in engagement? Would it have been as interesting to students on day eight as on day one? Also, the background information about the guided reading framework was a larger portion of the article than the actual study or the explanation about the product being used.

One of the first issues that struck me was the fact that in order for the students to read the book, the pages of the book were loaded on to PowerPoint slides and then saved in a PDF format. These were then loaded into a Nearpod presentation. As someone concerned with digital citizenship and having a LIS endorsement, I see some glaring copyright issues with this practice.

This product appears to have many possibilities. However, this study really only addresses activities on a substitution level. While it is called “interactive” by the students, some of what was described is little more than an electronic worksheet.

I would really like to investigate this product further and am looking at using it for the final class presentation. I briefly looked at the product in order to get a better understanding, but I would be interested to compare the free version with the features that are upgrades. Also, there are many presentations available for sale. I would like to see if these are worth the cost. Finally, I would like to find uses for the product that go above the line on the SAMR model.