Professional Development Workshop

Karmen Lowery

FRIT 7739: Instructional Technology Practicum

Dr. E. Downs

Fall 2022
Identification of Learning Problem and Goal

Over the past several years, many digital resources and tools have been introduced and

adopted by our school. Teachers are encouraged to use these new tools but often lack the time to

explore or learn how to use them effectively with their students. After completing a needs

assessment (Appendix A) amongst our faculty, it was clear to see that the majority of teachers

are already confident in utilizing the GSuite tools for Education, including Google Classroom, as

well as some of the other Google tools like Drawings, Sites, and Keep. However, the majority of

teachers wanted to learn more about interactive tools like Nearpod, Peardeck, Kami, and Padlet

(Appendix B). The goal of this professional development workshop is to explore two similar

interactive tools, Nearpod and Peardeck, and how they can be used to enhance lessons and

student engagement. We will explore the interactivity features in each tool and compare the

benefits of each one, helping teachers decide which tool would be better to use in various

lessons.

Learner and Context Analysis

The target learners for this workshop include teachers from grade levels kindergarten

through 8th grade, as well as teachers from other areas including spanish, art, music, library, and

physical education. The majority of the teachers are female, with only two being male- the

physical education teacher and the 7th grade grammar teacher. In addition, all teachers are

certified educators and hold at least a bachelor’s degree in education. 24% of the teachers have

achieved a master’s degree, 6% have achieved a specialist degree, and 3% have achieved a

doctorate degree. The experience level of the teachers are spread out with 45% of them having

five years or less of teaching experience, 30% of them having up to 15 years of experience, and

25% of them having 20 or more years of experience. The teachers were asked to rate their
comfort level with integrating technology in their classrooms, and on a scale of 1 to 4, with one

being basic and 4 being proficient, the majority of the teachers rated themselves either a 2 or a 3.

This tells me that they all feel somewhat comfortable using technology and with some adequate

time and training can become proficient.

Task Analysis

The tasks to be completed during the professional development workshop are procedural

and will require participants to engage in discussion and lesson tasks as well as apply what they

are learning to create an interactive lesson using both Nearpod and Peardeck. I will be serving as

the subject matter expert as I have effectively implemented various lessons using both Nearpod

and Peardeck in my classroom.

Tasks Outline

1. Introduction and overview of goals and objectives

2. Brief overview of Nearpod

a. Watch video “What is Nearpod?” (found in Nearpod)

b. Participants log-in to their Nearpod accounts via Classlink

3. Brief overview of Peardeck

a. Watch video “What is Peardeck” (found in the Add-on tool in Google Slides)

b. Participants open a new tab to open a blank Google Slides

c. Click on Extensions > Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on > Open

4. Participants join a Nearpod presentation and participate as a student interacting with the

various interactive tools

a. Multiple choice

b. Drawing
 c. Poll

d. Open-ended

e. Collaborative board

f. Matching

g. Time to Climb

5. Participants join a Peardeck presentation and participate as a student interacting with the

various interactive tools

a. Multiple choice

b. Drawing

c. Open ended

d. Number

e. Drag and drop

6. Close sessions and access reports in both

7. Participants explore pre-made content area in Nearpod to help start creating a lesson

8. Participants explore the Content Orchard in Peardeck to start creating a lesson

9. Participants complete workshop evaluation

Instructional Objectives

By the end of the professional development workshop, learners will be able to…

1. effectively implement interactive lessons using tools in Nearpod and Peardeck to achieve

100% student participation.

2. make a knowledgeable decision about which digital tool, either Nearpod or Peardeck, is

best to use to create interactive lessons in a variety of scenarios.

ISTE Standards for Educators

 ● Learner: Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others

and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve

student learning. Educators:

○ 2.1.a Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches

made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.

● Designer: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that

recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

○ 2.5.a Use technology to create, adapt, and personalize learning experiences that

foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.

○ 2.5.b Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards

and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.

○ 2.5.c Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital

learning environments that engage and support learning.

Development of Assessments

A variety of assessments will be used throughout the professional learning workshop.

First, a needs assessment (Appendix A) will be conducted amongst the faculty. The assessment

asks each participant to rate their level of comfort with integrating technology in their classroom,

which digital tools and resources they are already confident in using, and which digital tools or

resources they would like to learn more about. The responses gathered from the needs

assessment will determine which digital tool or resource will be the focus and how it can be used

to enhance instruction. The data collected also provides a general comfort level to meet

participants’ needs as well as the ability to plan for the best time to facilitate the workshop.
 During the workshop, formative assessments will be used to gauge participants’ level of

engagement as well as to monitor their progress of grasping new technology. This will be done

through observations, discussions, and by using the interactive tools built into the presentations,

such as open-ended questions and polls. In order to ensure that the participants do not get

overwhelmed, I will use the polling tool in Nearpod and the Drag and drop tool in Peardeck to

get a quick read of stress levels in the room. At the end of the workshop, a summative

assessment will be used for participants to leave feedback and rate the effectiveness of the

workshop. They will also be asked to reflect on their learning experience using the “I like, I

wish, I wonder” statements.

Content Sequencing and Instructional Strategies

Sequence Description Objective

1 Introduction & review objectives 1, 2

2 Brief overview of Nearpod (video) 1

3 Participants log-in to their Nearpod accounts via Classlink 1

4 Brief overview of Pear Deck (video) 1

5 Participants open Pear deck Add-on in Google Slides 1

6 Participants join Nearpod session as student and interact with various 1

question types (multiple choice, draw, open ended, poll, collaborative
board, and Time to Climb game)

7 Participants join Pear Deck session as student and interact with 1

various question types (multiple choice, draw, open ended, number,
drag and drop)

8 View reports in both Nearpod and Pear Deck 1

9 View pre-made content lessons in Nearpod 1

10 Participants explore and select a template to design a lesson 2

11 View pre-made content lessons in Pear Deck’s Content Orchard 2

 12 Participants explore and select a template to design a lesson 2

13 Participants complete workshop evaluation 1, 2

This workshop is designed for participants to interact as both a teacher and as a student in

order to make genuine connections to their own classrooms. Participants will be guided through

a lesson in each platform, experiencing and engaging with the various types of questions and

tools in each one. By experiencing both platforms, they will be able to make a knowledgeable

decision of which platform to use to best meet their objectives and goals. They will be given the

opportunity to ask questions and share ideas with one another throughout the workshop as well

as begin to brainstorm and explore pre-made lesson templates to help design a lesson of their

own to use with their students.

Design of Instruction

The workshop is designed to be a synchronous workshop, in which the participants can

gain first-hand experience in both platform environments. In order to engage the participants, the

following learning principles in each of the learning domains were considered.

● Cognitive learning domain involves intellect- participants gain an understanding of the

purpose and functionality of each platform, allowing them to purposefully evaluate each

platform and create resources that enhance classroom interaction and engagement.

● Affective learning domain involves our emotions toward learning- participants gain first-

hand experience as a student user and as a teacher user; this allows them to be better

equipped in planning and resolving any issues with various learners.

● Psychomotor learning domain involves our physicality- participants explore provided

content and templates in each platform to begin designing and creating an interactive

resource that can be used in their current classroom.

Evaluation

The participants will complete an evaluation feedback form (Appendix C) at the end of

the workshop. The feedback will provide information and insight to the effectiveness and

usefulness of the resources and tools covered. Participants will also be asked open-ended

questions that will help guide future professional development workshops.

Appendix A: Needs Assessment

Appendix B: Results of Needs Assessment
Appendix C: Professional Development Workshop Evaluation