Nearpod and Blue Valley School District Collaborate to Bring Interactive Digital Instruction to 23,000 Students

Nearpod, a teacher-centric, interactive instructional platform that gives teachers real-time insights into student learning, today announces a collaboration with Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas. The platform will serve as a resource for all 23,000 K-12 students and over 2,300 educators. 

With this joint effort, the district gains access to over 15,000 standards-aligned lessons. Educators can also upload their own lessons from Google Slides or Powerpoint, YouTube videos or their own videos. The platform features customizable lessons, allowing students to engage deeply in their learning through over 20 interactive features and formative assessment tools such as Collaborate Boards, simulations and VR Field Trips. 

“I love the amount of content that can be added into lessons. From videos, quizzes and matching pairs to Time to Climb and VR Field Trips, it keeps students engaged and learning in ways a document camera, whiteboard or worksheets can’t. I’m also able to simultaneously see all student answers on my screen and determine which students might need extra support or reteaching,” shared Jacquie Meier, a second-grade teacher at Mission Trail Elementary in Blue Valley School District. “Students have commented multiple times that they love Nearpod, and they are disappointed when it is time to end our Nearpod lessons!”

Nearpod, which works with any device, allows students to join lessons with a single click and integrates with the district’s learning management system, Canvas. The platform also features both synchronous and asynchronous lesson mode, alongside the ability to toggle between Live and Student-Paced modes. This gives educators instructional freedom to allow students to learn as a group or at their own pace while gaining real-time feedback to help drive instruction. 

“We first looked to Nearpod in the pandemic, as it helped us bridge the physical divide between teachers and students during remote learning. As we transitioned back from remote learning, first with hybrid and now fully back in-person, we realized this platform extended far beyond distance learning,” stated Brad Moser, Director of Blended Learning at Blue Valley School District. “Now, our teachers have timely access to interactive formative assessments, like Time to Climb and Interactive Videos, that bring excitement to our classrooms and expand teachers’ insights into student learning.” 

Blue Valley teachers also have access to Nearpod’s Digital Citizenship and Literacy curriculum. This content supports instruction in computer science, including coding and applications of technology, while helping students navigate a technology-enabled world with lessons on digital safety and media literacy.

“Our educators are using Nearpod every day in their classrooms for impactful differentiation.  The ability to quickly assess where students are in the middle of a lesson has made it easier for our teachers to adjust lessons and meet students’ needs in the moment,” continued Brad Moser. “We also enjoy using Nearpod in our professional development, because our teachers deserve engaging learning experiences as well.” 

To learn how Nearpod can help boost student engagement, visit: nearpod.com 

About Nearpod
Whether using interactive lessons, interactive videos or gamified learning, teachers get real-time insights into student learning with Nearpod. Teachers can upload their existing content and make it interactive using Nearpod’s more than 20 formative assessment and rich-media features so that all learning is active and collaborative. In addition, Nearpod’s libraries feature over 15,000 standards-aligned lessons, videos and activities created in partnership with leading publishers like Common Sense Education and Smithsonian. Nearpod’s companion platform Flocabulary engages students in K-12 standards-aligned hip-hop videos and instructional activities that increase reading comprehension through academic vocabulary exposures. Together, Nearpod and Flocabulary reach the 100 largest school districts in the US and are used by over 1.7 million educators worldwide. In March 2021, Nearpod was acquired by Renaissance, a global leader in assessment, reading and math solutions for pre-K-12 schools and districts. To learn more about Nearpod, visit www.nearpod.com. For more information about Renaissance, visit www.renaissance.com. 

About Blue Valley School District            
Blue Valley School District is committed to providing meaningful and extraordinary educational opportunities for all students. Located in suburban Kansas City in the heart of Johnson County, Kansas, this 91-square mile school district serves nearly 23,000 students. It was named #1 school district and district with best teachers in Kansas by Niche Rankings. 
 

Contact Information

Rachel Stoczko

Communications Manager

Nearpod

Contact via E-mail