Tech Tools: My New Favorite Presentation Tool — Nearpod

There are so many great digital presentation tools available today! Powerpoint, Google Slides, Prezi, and more are widely used, but they are limited in that they are top-down, presenter-to-speaker tools. They require little, if any, active audience engagement.

Because I, like every other presenter, want my audience to be blown away by my awesome presentation, I would often add fun quizzes and other interactive tools from other sites. While my presentations were more dynamic, I found myself jumping between supplemental presentation tools. I wished that there was a way to put all my favorite tools in one presentation. My wish came true when I discovered Nearpod.

Nearpod’s motto is “Interactive lessons. Real-time assessment. Across all devices.” It’s a popular tool for educators to use with their students, but it definitely transcends the classroom and can be used to spice up any presentation in any setting.

Nearpod has basic presentation tools, like the slides we are all used to seeing and the ability to embed videos. However, this unique tool allows you to easily add real-time polls, open answer responses, audience drawings, and more!

As the presenter, you have the ability to see all of the audience responses and pull up examples to share with the group. For example, if you want to have your audience draw the line on a graph, you can have them do that and pull up a few examples to show the group. You can also add links to other websites, which is super helpful if you want to add a Google Form.

Nearpod is versatile; you can literally present from your phone and have the audience follow along on their devices! Another great feature is that you control the pace of the presentation. Remember the “old days” when you handed out a print out of your presentation? More recently, presenters are sharing bitly links so that the group can follow along from their device. The downside of both of these options is that it’s easy to look ahead or disengage from the presenter. With Nearpod, YOU control the pacing and which slides appear when on the group’s devices! No more worries about people in the back of the room not being able to see small font or concerns that they are not on the right slide!

If you are just getting started with Nearpod, know that you don’t have to start all over and re-create presentations you’ve already developed. Download the free Nearpodize This! extension from the Google Chrome store to easily convert your existing presentations! You can also check out free or low-cost Nearpod presentations by searching in Nearpod for specific topics.

Nearpod is truly one of the best presentation tools available today. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s fantastic!

Originally published at reigningit.wordpress.com on January 24, 2016.