Nearpod Launches Interactive Video Platform, Alongside Exclusive Video Content, Expanding Options for Engaged, Active Learning in Any Setting

Nearpod, the platform K-12 teachers use to make every lesson interactive, today announces the launch of a new interactive video platform. This expansion allows educators to bring the interactive elements Nearpod is known for into videos, accommodating the changing needs of students and educators nationwide. The company is also introducing Nearpod Originals, a series of proprietary interactive videos.

Today, video is all but an essential teaching tool. Even before the onset of remote learning, as many as 72% of K-12 educators reported using instructional video with students, according to a 2019 survey by Statistica. These trends coincide with student interest. According to research completed by Common Sense, more than twice as many young people watched online videos every day in 2019 than in 2015.

Nearpod’s expansion into interactive video content comes as teachers have increasingly come to rely on video for instruction, fueled by the growing need to engage students in virtual settings. Nearpod has supported teachers during distance learning by allowing them to more easily create lessons that flex in and out of the classroom. Now, teachers can turn video into an active learning experience for K-12 students in any environment by embedding checks for understanding, such as Open-Ended and Multiple-Choice Questions.

“The past Spring brought forth new challenges for teachers across the globe, as they quickly shifted to remote learning,” stated Pep Carrera, CEO of Nearpod. “No matter where learning takes place, our number one goal is to support teachers in making learning interactive. With this launch, we’re streamlining lesson creation for teachers during a particularly stressful time while bringing even more opportunities for teachers to create engagement and support every single student.”

Educators can choose from more than 1,000 curated videos with assessments already built-in. In addition to videos from trusted education publishers such as CrashCourse, BBC, LearnZillion, and Common Sense Education, the company now offers Nearpod Originals -- culturally relevant, standards-aligned, engaging videos. The original content, designed for grades K-12, features diverse, relatable characters and supports research-based instructional approaches.

Teachers can also search YouTube within the Nearpod app or upload their own videos and make them interactive. This allows educators to teach with videos they already use and enhance them with engaging features optimized for in-person, virtual or hybrid instruction.

Recognizing the need for flexibility as schools and districts across the country navigate important and frequently shifting decisions about where learning will take place this Fall and beyond, the expanded platform features: 

• Real-time insights into student understanding for both slides and video-based lessons
• A new ‘Front-of-Class’ mode to go beyond 1:1 device setting when students return to the physical classroom
• Support for hybrid and distance learning, including voice recording and seamless Zoom integration so students can join a lesson and video conference with one click

“This will help immensely for distance learning and will be an important tool for keeping my students engaged when we can’t be in the classroom,” shared Veronica Salinas, a 7th Grade teacher at Memorial Middle School who beta tested the product. “I’ve already started recording my back-to-school lessons and I look forward to seeing where the new video platform will grow!”

In addition to the launch of interactive video, Nearpod continues to grow its library of pre-made, slide-based interactive lessons. The latest expansion includes new Draw It activities as well as new Social and Emotional Learning content to support students and teachers as they navigate the sudden shift to, and uncertainty around, virtual instruction.

To learn more about Nearpod’s interactive video capability and Nearpod Originals, sign up for the Back-to-School webinar here.

About Nearpod
Nearpod offers an interactive, instructional platform that merges formative assessment and dynamic media for live and self-paced learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Nearpod works with any classroom technology, from tablets and smartphones to laptops and Chromebooks. The platform helps engage students with activities such as Virtual Reality, PhET simulations, and Desmos, and with more than 8,500 ready-to-run interactive lessons and videos created in partnership with leading brands like Common Sense Education and Smithsonian. In 2019, Nearpod acquired Flocabulary, a learning platform that engages students in academically rigorous K-12 curriculum while promoting literacy through hip-hop videos. Together, Nearpod and Flocabulary reach educators in 99 of the 100 largest school districts in the US. In 2018, Nearpod was named EdTech Digest’s Company of the Year. To learn more, visit www.nearpod.com.

Contact Information

Rachel Stoczko

Communications Manager

Nearpod

rachel.stoczko@nearpod.com