Technology, the Core 4, and the 5 step Lesson Plan

 By way of a colleague, I've come across a great app for classroom use called NearPod. This app allows you to control student i-devices using your iPad.

Now, first let me explain that I have one iPad and 5 iPods in my classroom due to our E2T2 technology grant. There are also iPods for checkout in all libraries in our district. I checked-out the 10 iPods from our library, and the 15 iPods from our high school's library,. Yes, I am an iPod hoarder! This allowed me to hav eone device for every student.

Nearpod allows me to create an presentation including content slides as well as interactive slides where students can draw, answer questions, take a poll, watch videos, browse a webpage, and take a quiz. There are other features too, but that's all that's available on the free app (pretty awesome even without paying!). The great part about NearPod is that I have all of the control. The students only see what I send to their iPod. So all student look at the content slide until I swipe my iPod to the next slide.

Big Point Coming...

The Core Four allowed me to have such amazing control of my classroom, even while using amazing technology!

Let me explain by showing you a glimpse into the lesson presentation that I created for NearPod, and what I had the students do...

Slide 1: Question - Teach OK using the question on the slide
Class-Yes, Scoreboard rule #1

Slide 2: Vocab Review  - Teach OK using the facts on the slide
Class-Yes, Mirror the vocabulary gestures learned previously

Slide 3: Pretest - interactive quiz to assess prior knowledge, students don't see their scores, but I instantly can on my iPad
Class-Yes Scoreboard for  rule #1

Slide 4: Answer - Video: Mr. Parr on YouTube has great parodies of current songs linked to science concepts
Class-Yes, Scoreboard for following Rule #5 (smiling.dancing during the video! fun!) Teach OK
Class-Yes

Slide 6: Expand Answer - Mirror with gestures to explain the H-R diagram (graphs a star's temperature and luminosity), Hands and eyes to show how to plot one star on the diagram, Teach OK
Class-Yes Scoreboard for rule #1

Slide 5: Drawing - with an H-R Diagram background, students plot specific stars by drawing right onto their screen.. Choose one drawing, slide it to all students' iPods and have that student prove with because-clapper why it was plotted correctly. 10 finger woo of course!
Class-Yes Scoreboard for rule #4

Slide 6 Assess: Q&A with various questions relating to the H-R diagram, question asked, students respond, I am send out one student's correct answer for all students to see, and class can see summary of class responses. Teach OK Scoreboard for rule #4

The critical thinking part of the lesson plan happens with the homework activity that students complete showing why certain stars are plotted on certain parts of the diagram.

LOVE Nearpod and WBT!