Grant Proposal

FRIT7232
Fall 2019

Dayna Halloran, Tymisha Creightney, Brittany Lord

I. Abstract
 Starling Elementary School is a Gwinnett County Public School that is dedicated to

technology integration in order to enhance student learning. Starling is a Bring Your Own

Device (BYOD) school, allowing students increased access to web resources through their own

devices and the chromebooks in each classroom. Every year, Starling’s technology team

introduces new technology tools to teachers. However, often times there is not an entire staff

follow up to encourage the use of presented technology tools. Nearpod is a web-tool that can be

used to enhance student-engagement. Teachers have the ability to create a presentation that

contains: polls, videos, memory games, images, drawing options and so much more. Once the

teachers push presentations out to their students, students work at their own pace in order to

enhance or remediate learning as needed. The purpose of additional training for teachers would

be to increase teacher confidence with the Nearpod which in return will correlate the student

engagement. The ease of Nearpod makes it ideal for teachers to differentiate lessons for students.

The objectives of additional Nearpod training are to enhance teacher confidence creating and

navigating Nearpod presentations. Teachers will create a Nearpod account, become familiar with

the Nearpod lesson library, and create a Nearpod to use in their own classroom. Teachers will

leave the training with knowledge of Nearpod to bring back to their own classroom, a Nearpod

account, and the confidence to integrate Nearpod presentations into everyday lessons.

II. Proposal Text

Starling Elementary School is a Gwinnett County Public School that is dedicated to

technology integration in order to enhance student learning. Starling is a Bring Your Own

Device (BYOD) school, allowing students increased access to web resources through their own

devices and the chromebooks in each classroom. Every year, Starling’s technology team
introduces new technology tools to teachers. However, often times there is not an entire staff

follow up to encourage the use of presented technology tools. Three instructional web tools that

have been presented to Starling over the past couple years include: Google Classroom, Nearpod,

and Seesaw. A survey (Appendix A) was sent out to all staff requesting their opinions on which

of these web tools they were confident in and which of these web tools they would benefit from

follow up instruction. The data from this survey shows that 84% of teachers at Starling

Elementary are confident in their ability to use Google Classroom. This resulted in 6% selecting

Seesaw as their dominant technology choice and 10% of Starling teachers were most

comfortable using Nearpod. Another component of our survey inquired about which of these

three web tools teachers felt they would benefit from additional training. The data from the

survey shows that 40% of teachers felt they would benefit from additional training regarding

Nearpod. In conclusion, with additional training on Nearpod teachers would grow at the rate they

are integrating technology into their classroom which aligns with Starling’s vision of technology

integration across the board.

Technology has grown rapidly in the aspect of education; it is crucial that educators and

students are effective in their practices when using technology integration. Professional

Development is crucial in order to keep educators up to date on all the latest and best practices

for technology usage in the classroom. Professional Development regarding Nearpod would

allow teachers to become effective in their vision of technology integration. The Professional

Development would also allow teachers to embrace the vision without requiring them to spend

additional outside time learning the ins and outs of Nearpod.

Based on the data collected, Starling Elementary School teachers feel their need for

Nearpod professional development is greater than their need for Google Classroom or Seesaw
development. Nearpod has been introduced several times throughout the past couple years.

However, teachers have not been adequately trained in the Nearpod resource, making it harder to

integrate classroom use. Teachers without adequate training would need to experiment or learn

on their own if they desired proper technology integration through their Nearpod presentations.

Teachers already increase student learning throughout lots of independent investigation to

enhance student engagement. Providing a professional development at Starling Elementary for

the increased enhancement of Nearpod would align with Starling’s vision of effective technology

integration across the board.

A. Demonstrated Need

In Gwinnett County Public School’s there is a push for successful technology integration

across the district. Starling Elementary School is heavily aligned with this push as they focus on

technology integration in all subject areas and with several different resources. Currently at

Starling Elementary, teachers have been encouraged to use the web-based tool, Nearpod.

Nearpod increased student engagement with interactive presentations that contain a variety of

tools such as: quizzes, images, memory games, drawing features, attached videos and more.

Teachers have been offered brief introductions regarding Nearpod. However, the training

is insufficient in regards to the expectations for using Nearpod. Teachers will need to be fluent in

creating, sharing, and pushing out Nearpod lessons in order to effectively use the tool in their

classrooms.

For the purpose of this grant, teachers at Starling Elementary were sent a survey

regarding their confidence in Google Classroom, Nearpod, and Seesaw. Fifty-three teachers

completed the survey, resulting in 40% of those teachers requesting additional Nearpod training.
Additional Nearpod training would not only meet the needs of technology integration across the

district and at the local school level; it would also meet the needs expressed by teachers in order

to enhance their technology knowledge for student engagement.

B. Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: By the end of August 2020, Starling Elementary School will provide training on the

Nearpod web-based tool to all certified teachers using onsite, in person training, and optional

additional online learning for those that wish to extend their knowledge beyond the presented in

person training.

Objective 1: Certified teachers will receive 4 50 minute blocks of Nearpod training to be

provided by the school.

Strategy 1.1: For the month of August, teachers will dedicate all of their Thursday

Planning periods for NearPod Training and Professional Learning.

Objective 2: All certified teachers will create their own Nearpod presentation to align with

curriculum being taught.

Strategy 2.1: On the last Thursday in the month of August teachers will design

their own Nearpod presentation to align with curriculum they are currently implementing in their

classrooms. Teachers will have the option to decide subject and standard.

Objective 3: After creating Nearpod to align with curriculum, teachers will implement Nearpod

presentation within curriculum for student use.

Strategy 3.1: Teachers will complete a survey giving feedback on implementation

success and address any misconceptions. Survey will also give teachers a chance to offer

feedback and commentary on professional development offered.

Goal 2: By January 2021 certified teachers will be regularly implementation Nearpod

presentations to align with their curriculum.

Objective 1: Trained teachers will demonstrate effective use of Nearpod presentations in

the classroom to align with curriculum being taught.

Strategy 1.1: Teachers will share Nearpod presentations with grade-level for

alignment across the board.

Strategy 1.2: Teachers will share their presentations in Starling Library on

Nearpod to allow for administration and school LSPI to review.

C. Plan of Operation

The plan of operation is going to focus on the timeline, activities that will take place,

goals and objectives that will be focused on, and how the activities are effective professional

development.

The Nearpod professional development is scheduled to take place during Thursday

planning periods for the month of August 2020. Training will take place in the Professional

Learning Room at Starling Elementary School. Training will be administered by Starling’s

LSTC and the Grayson Cluster Technology Specialist. Teachers will receive training within their

grade-level small groups.

Our training is organized to present activities that will allow teachers to gain knowledge

on the implementation of Nearpod and engage in hands-on learning. The first Thursday of

Nearpod training will provide a thorough overview of Nearpod as a whole. This training day will

showcase the features on Nearpod, show to access a lesson library, and how to share a Nearpod

with peers or students. Teachers who attend this first day of training will learn the basics of

Nearpod usage and the benefits of implementing this technology resource into their curriculum.
 The second Thursday in August, teachers will meet for day two of their Nearpod training.

This second day of training will cover the tools and activities that can be integrated into a

Nearpod presentation. Teachers will be shown Nearpod presentations that are appropriate for

their grade-level. For example, Kindergarten teachers could be shown how to use the narration

feature, allowing students that are unable to read to have their slides read to them. Fifth grade

teachers could be shown the maps features, allowing students to explore geographic regions they

are learning about with a 360 view. Nearpod has a large variety of tools and activities available,

proper demonstration of these resources is crucial to this professional learning.

On the third Thursday of the month, teachers will meet for their third training on Nearpod

integration in the classroom. During this training time, teachers will sit in on a mini-lesson where

a Nearpod is being implemented. Teachers will be watching a grade-level mini-lesson that is one

grade higher than their own. Kindergarten teachers will watch a First Grade mini-lesson, First

Grade teachers will watch a Second Grade mini-lesson, Second Grade will watch Third, Third

will watch Fourth, Fourth will watch Fifth, and Fifth will watch Fourth. Allowing students to see

a mini-lesson with proper Nearpod integration will showcase how a smooth transition can be

made, how to engage students, and making sure the presentation is meeting the expectations of

the standard being taught. After watching the mini-lesson, teachers will come back together in

the Professional Learning room for the remainder of their planning period. This time will be

devoted to questions regarding the mini-lesson and a discussion regarding success or failures

during the lesson.

On the fourth and final training day, teachers will meet in the Professional Learning room

during their planning period. This last training day will be dedicated to the creation of new

Nearpod lessons to align with current curriculum being taught. Teachers will be expected to
create their own Nearpod presentation utilizing at least 3 activities available in Nearpod. These

Nearpods will be expected to be integrated in the lesson planning, used alongside other resources

in order to meet the expectations of the standard and curriculum at hand. Starling’s LSTC and

the Grayson Cluster Technology Specialist will be on-hand to assist with brainstorming of ideas

and creation on Nearpod presentations. Upon completing the creation of a Nearpod presentation,

teachers will be expected to integrate created lesson within two weeks. This will allow data

regarding success and training to be collected in a timely manner.

Timeline August 6, 2020 August 13, 2020 August 20, 2020 August 27, 2020

Activities Training: Training: Training: Training:

Overview of Overview of all Teachers will be Creation of
Nearpod and its resources and shown a mini- personal
benefits activities lesson on Nearpod
Activity: available in successful presentation to
Trainers will Nearpod - Nearpod implement into
showcase an quizzes, polls, integration. teaching.
overview of maps, drawing Activity: Activity:
Nearpod and the features, Teachers will sit Teachers will be
benefits of memory, and in on a mini- creating their
integrating into more! lesson using own Nearpod
lessons, teachers Activity: Nearpod presentation,
will gain Trainers will integration. with the
knowledge on showcase There will be a assistance of the
accessing the benefits of discussion LSPI and
Nearpod library Nearpod with a following mini- Technology
visual lesson to clarify, Specialist.
representation, discuss, and Teachers will be
exploring question as expected to
different tools needed. include at least 3
and uses activities
available in
Nearpod in their
lesson.

Goals/ Trained certified

Objectives teachers will
demonstrate
 effective use of
Nearpod
presentations in
the classroom to
align with
curriculum being
taught.
All certified
teachers will
create their own
Nearpod
presentation to
align with
curriculum being
taught.

III. Evaluation Plan

The goal of the professional development and training sessions at Starling Elementary

School is to provide training and support on NearPod for school administrators and certified

instructional staff. The trainings will take place on site for the month of August on Thursdays,

which is a 50 minute planning period for teachers. The trainings are slated to last 45 minutes

each session.

Before training begins, administrators and instructional staff will be given a technology

needs survey that will be used to measure the need for professional development for Nearpod

within the school (Appendix A).

Once training is completed, instructional staff will be able to create their own NearPod

presentations and implement Nearpods lessons into their lesson plans that align with the

curriculum for student use. Upon completion of the training sessions, administrators and

instructional staff will be given a series of surveys that will allow them to evaluate their use of
Nearpod as well as offer feedback and suggestions for the NearPod training sessions. The first

survey following the training (Appendix B) will be given in mid-September after teachers begin

to implement Nearpod within their classrooms in their daily lessons. Additional sruverys will be

given in December, March, and May to measure the use and preference of Nearpod. These

surveys will be used as a guide to determine if further implementation of Nearpod is needed or if

other technology based instructional methods should be used.

IV. Budget

Description Quantity Price

Nearpod Gift Cards 50 $1000

Since the professional development we are proposing has been arranged during the

planning period of the teachers, there is no need to budget for substitutes or other resources to

cover instructional time. The certified staff is also issued a laptop making the purchase of more

laptops unnecessary for this grant. As an incentive, we would like to give a Nearpod gift card to

teachers that successfully complete training and implement Nearpod into their classroom.

V. References

10 Ways to use Nearpod in the Classroom

retrieved from:https://nearpod.com/blog/nearpod-in-the-classroom/

VI. Appendices
 A. This survey was given to determine the technology needs at Starling Elementary

School.

1. What technology tool do you feel you are the most familiar with?

a. Google Classroom

b. Seesaw

c. Nearpod

2. What technology tool do you feel you would benefit from additional

training?

a. Google Classroom

b. Seesaw

c. Nearpod

3. Is there another technology tool that you feel you would like to become

proficient in or learn more about?

B. This is a survey that will be given to assess teacher feedback regarding Nearpod

implementation.