Nearpod Empowers Educators with New Google Chrome Extension, Clever Integration and Student Engagement Tools with Latest Release

Nearpod, the comprehensive student engagement platform for K-12 teachers, today announces its 2019 spring release to empower educators with new content and timesaving tools, as well as drive greater student engagement. The latest release includes deeper integrations with Google Classroom and Clever, new content from Newsela, even more simulations from PhET Interactive Simulations, and enhanced productivity and organizational features for districts and teachers. 

Today’s educators typically work an average of 11 overtime hours each week, driven by ever-increasing data input and reporting requirements in addition to regular lesson planning. As workloads increase, teachers require intuitive tools and trusted resources so they can spend more time on students, rather than on lesson planning and reporting. This spring release aims to bring teachers more productivity features, platform functionality, ready-to-run content, and organizational enhancements to simplify lesson planning and integration of classroom tools. 

“Our teachers are already pressed for time on a daily basis,” said Guido Kovalskys, Nearpod co-founder and CEO. “We listened to the feedback from our community and developed this release to empower them with necessary tools to gain back valuable hours of their day.”

Simplify Access with Google Classroom and Clever Integrations

A key component to the enhanced integration and usability of Nearpod is a Google Chrome extension which enables teachers to easily access the Nearpod library and assign lessons directly within Google Classroom. Students instantly join Nearpod lessons from their familiar Google Classroom interface. Nearpod is also launching Clever’s single sign-on (SSO), offering schools and teachers an easy way to access all of their digital learning applications in the Clever Portal. 

“The added ability to plug into our existing technology ecosystem is invaluable to us,” shared Heather Sanders, a district Instructional Technology Specialist from Texas. “Nearpod really understands and listens to our needs, and they’ve delivered with these latest features and integrations – we’ve been able to continue to use the platforms we have in place, and rapidly enhance the productivity of our educators.” 

Check out the Google Classroom Extension integration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwDHiK43P4g 

Enhanced Learning Experiences with New Content from PhET and Newsela
With this release, the company is also introducing more than 25 new PhET interactive simulations. Teachers can add these math and science simulations to any Nearpod lesson to incorporate hands-on, exploratory learning topics like fractions, spring forces, and quadratic equations. Additionally, through Nearpod’s newly announced partnership with Newsela, educators can spark engagement with over 70 3-12 grade ready-to-run lessons featuring Newsela’s leveled texts.

In addition to new content from PhET and Newsela, Nearpod also recently launched a suite of more than 130 Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, with a series on SEL in Digital Life by Common Sense Education. With this launch, schools and districts can increase the integration of SEL skills into classroom learning. 

The new supplemental curriculum provides flexible, intentional opportunities for explicit instruction in social and emotional learning skills. Nearpod understands that SEL competencies like self-management, self-awareness, and responsible decision making are inextricable from all aspects of a student’s life, and these lessons provide opportunities for students to hone these necessary competencies that will help them to flourish in personal and professional environments. 

“Nearpod’s continuous curriculum additions and user-friendly platform have truly transformed the learning experience for my students,” stated Kali Thompson, a 2nd grade teacher at Westside Atlanta Charter School. “From social skills to science and reading comprehension, Nearpod provides every student with a voice by implementing engaging lessons that encourage exploration and discovery. These integrations give me more time to teach, connect with my students and ensure they’re grasping each lesson every day.”

Optimize My Library Organization – Subfolders and Drag & Drop
Subfolders in My Library increase productivity and organization by allowing teachers to easily find and launch lesson plans quicker than ever before. My Library Drag & Drop enables educators to leverage an intuitive and familiar user interface for library management and offers efficient access to organize folder content.

This release follows on a string of new content and feature releases from Nearpod, including integration with online graphing calculator Desmos and new digital citizenship lessons made in partnership with Common Sense Education, bringing its content library to more than 7,000 standards-aligned lessons. The news also follows on Nearpod’s recent acquisition of Flocabulary, a leading video and student creativity platform that uses educational hip-hop to engage students and increase achievement. 

Experience Nearpod’s spring release with a webinar replay or visit the Nearpod blog.

About Nearpod
Nearpod, recently named EdTech Digest’s Company of the Year, is the most comprehensive Student Engagement Platform for K-12 teachers. Nearpod works with any classroom technology from tablets and smartphones to laptops and Chromebooks to help engage students with activities such as Virtual Reality, PhET and Desmos, and with more than 7,000 ready-to-run lessons created in partnership with leading brands like Common Sense Education and the Pulitzer Center. Nearpod recently acquired Flocabulary, a learning platform that helps students thrive by bringing the K-12 curriculum to life through hip-hop. Beyond classroom instruction, the company revitalizes teacher development through Teacher Professional Learning content that cultivates classroom-changing strategies for educators. Nearpod is backed by Insight Partners, Reach Capital, GSV Acceleration Fund, Storm Ventures, the Stanford-StartX Fund, Krillion Ventures, The Knight Foundation, Miami Angels, Scott Cook and his wife, Signe Ostby, and Marc Benioff. The company was founded in 2012 by Guido Kovalskys, Felipe Sommer and Emiliano Abramzon. To learn more, visit: nearpod.com.

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Rachel Stoczko

Media Contact

VSC for Nearpod

nearpod@vscconssulting.com