You might think the title of this post is purely for fun, but the tool I'm going to share with you came to my attention at an opportune moment when I was desperately trying to find tools that I could use in a particular class. At the time, I was not sure if I would be able to implement it in real-time (synchronously), or if I'd have to give students something they could work on even without me there (asynchronously). Such is life in a pandemic!
Finding PearDecks and it's dual modes for instructor-paced and student-paced learning turned out to be exactly what I needed- a true synchronicity! In this post, I want to give you a quick introduction to PearDecks, an awesome tool that I use for both synchronous and asynchronous learning.
In my school district, the first half of class is supposed to be synchronous, a time for "lecture," and the second half is asynchronous, for individual work time. (Image available fromCotron Online)
Why this tool?
In my school district, the school dictates how much time of each class period should be devoted to synchronous vs. asynchronous learning time. It makes sense to standardize what students and parents should expect from their school day, but it hasn't always been easy to adapt to as a student teacher! Pear Decks allows me to be adaptable in how I present content, which bolsters my confidence in an unsure time.
Having a tool that can be used both synchronously and asynchronously is a huge help when you're not sure if school will be going remote anytime soon, if it's a close call for a snow day, or you just want to have more flexibility for presenting your hard-earned creations. To demonstrate how I use this tool, I made a video with some highlights (below, storyboard available).
Below is the full version of theGoogle Slide presentation that I shared in the video, and you're welcome to check it out. (Forgive me for the length though- it covers a week's worth of content!)
Using PearDecks for Synchronous Learning
Many of us are probably using some synchronous learning techniques that mimic our old school schedules, which is great for fostering a sense of human connection amidst an increasingly virtual world (Marton, 2017). For remote synchronous learning, the intructor-led version of PearDecks allows students to see slides and answer the questions within, but you still control the flow of the class and can see their responses in real time. I've used this in combination with Google Meets, to add opportunities for interaction to an otherwise boring lecture.
The Student-Paced Mode is asynchronous, and the Instructor-Paced Mode is synchronous!
Above is a real example from a synchronous class I led- I asked students to drag a red, yellow, or green dot onto the screen to let me know how they were feeling about the material. Thankfully, they all felt pretty confident! On the next slide, I added an open-ended prompt asking the yellows what questions they still had.
Using PearDecks for Asynchronous Learning
For asynchronous learning, the student-paced version of PearDecks allows you to overlay audio on your slides, so you can still get across everything you were hoping to share in class without cluttering up your slides. They can submit all the same answers as in the instructor-paced version, but do it on their own schedule. When you're ready, you can see all the students answers, either individually or aggregated depending on your needs.
Above is an example of an individual student response to a PearDeck question. This student didn't quite get it right, so I know I need to reach out to them to clarify. In an asynchronous class, the students have as much time as they need to reflect on their answers (or sometimes, doodle rainbows!).
In Closing...
For many online learners, a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning works best (Myers, 2018). This makes the flexibility of PearDecks really helpful. It lets students who miss a class still participate in nearly the full experience on their own time. Students who are generally reluctant to speak up in class can benefit from the anonymity afforded in this platform, and feel less social pressure (Ng et al., 2011). However, the teacher gets the full benefit of knowing what each individual contributed, to address any issues or misunderstandings.
I hope you've found this useful as well! Comment and let me know if you've used PearDecks, and how it worked for you.
References:
Martin, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., & Budhrani, K. (2017). Systematic Review of Two Decades (1995 to 2014) of Research on Synchronous Online Learning. American Journal of Distance Education. ttps://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2017.1264807
Myers, T. (2018). Exploring the Use of Synchronous and Asynchronous Tools to Support Problem-Based Learning. ProQuest. https://doi.org/10830996
I thought your video explaining how to use Pear Deck was very informative. According to Mayer’s cognitive theory, many learners are audiovisual learners and benefit from words and images (Salas, 2015). Your Pear Deck presentation and video on your blog incorporates a lot of audiovisual information that is excellent for these learners. One suggestion I have for you is since you have the same tool for your synchronous and asynchronous lesson, perhaps you can go into more detail about how you use the tool asynchronously and synchronously and the benefits or drawbacks of each way. According to research, when Pear Deck is paired with teleconferencing software such as Zoom, it can boost student engagement and improve students’ achievement in online instruction (Anggoro, 2020). Have you found teaching Pear Deck synchronously more effective than asynchronously? You have such a rich mix of questions and media on the Pear Deck you’ve created. I can imagine students are very engaged, whether it be synchronously or asynchronously. Excellent, concise blog! Kara
Anggoro, K. J. (2020). Pear deck. RELC Journal, 3368822093673. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220936735
Salas, A., & Moller, L. (2015). The value of voice thread in online learning: Faculty perceptions of usefulness. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(1), 11.
Thanks for your thoughts Kara! I definitely prefer using PearDecks synchronously, and find students spend more time working on each question (maybe because I control how long they have to think!).
Hi Rhys, There are so many applications for education that have popped up recently that it's difficult for me to sort through and find tools that students will use. After all, if the student won't or can't use the tool, it's useless. As instructors it's important for us to reformulate our approach to communication and assessment in order to help students shift that perspective towards new technologies (Brooks & Young, 2016).
I noticed a small issue with the way your blog is presented: the font is inconsistent. It may be the way you uploaded the text, which is how I have seen the issue in my own blog posts.
I love how you used the same technology for both synchronous and asynchronous learning, and I'm definitely looking into PearDeck to use for my students. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with fully online learning, but emerging technologies have made it easier for us to connect successfully (Watts, 2016).
References
Brooks, C., & Young, S. (September 2016). Exploring Communication and Course Format: Conversation Frequency and Duration, Student Motives, and Perceived Teacher Approachability for Out-of-Class Contact. International Review of Open and Distributed Learning, Vol. 17, No. 5.
Watts, L. (2016). Synchronous and asynchronous communication in distance learning: A review of the literature. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(1), 23. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1794526758?pq-origsite=gscholar
Thanks for your feedback! As for the font- I've had difficulty finding how to change the font of the by-line, which seems to default to TNR. I'll keep working on it!
That was such a cool blog because I've been meaning to check out pear deck and I haven't had the time so it was wonderful watching your video about the different applications and instructions on how to use it. Sometimes checking out a new tool is overwhelming because there is the up front time to figure it out.
I'm a little confused about how you use the asynchronous version in your class. Do you provide a slide show and have the students complete it before the synchronous class? Or do you provide a totally different slide show as a "warm up" or "review" where the students can interact with the material?
I really like how you use the tools to gain immediate feedback about how well the students understand the information (if they get a question wrong, or if they choose a yellow vs. red icon).
Thanks for providing your blog - it was fun to see your video :)
Brandi.
Here is reference showing that the use of pear deck actually improves student engagement over traditional face-to-face classroom instruction - so you're on the right path. Great job :)
Javed, Y. and H. Odhabi (2018). Active Learning in Classrooms Using online Tools: Evaluating Pear-Deck for Students' Engagement. 2018 Fifth HCT Information Technology Trends (ITT), IEEE.
I haven't used the asynchronous version much yet, except for to provide it for students who miss class or who want to review on their own time. I could see it being used to let small groups or individuals work through review questions at their own pace, or something similar, once they're all back in the classroom and I can float around to answer questions. Thanks for sharing that excellent source!
You did a great job telling your story for your blog post! I also love your title and can’t wait to learn more about Pear Deck! One thing that particularly stood out to me was your use of green, yellow, or red circles to get student feedback. This is very important to check in and reach everyone (DeWilde, 2020).
Does your teacher who you are doing your student teaching with also use Pear Decks? Also, how exactly do you use Pear Decks asynchronously? Do you give them questions to complete for homework? Are they graded? Do you have a way for your student to ask questions or leave feedback even during asynchronous learning? Allowing your students to ask questions just to follow up on their homework is important for the students to learn from the work and grow their learning (Rosário, 2015).
I also like how you provide shyer students a comfortable environment to be able to participate in without all of the social pressure. This helps the student have more motivation to speak up and participate (Kriegel, 2020).
References
DeWilde, J. (2020, February 16). How to Ask Your Students for Meaningful Feedback. The Art of Education University. https://theartofeducation.edu/2020/02/25/how-to-ask-your-students-for-meaningful-feedback/.
Kriegel, O. (2020, September 15). Encouraging Students to Participate: How to Help Shy Students Speak Up. Hey Teach! https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/encouraging-students-participate-how-help-shy-students-speak1809.html.
Rosário, P., Núñez, J. C., Vallejo, G., Cunha, J., Nunes, T., Suárez, N., … Moreira, T. (2015, September 22). The effects of teachers' homework follow-up practices on students' EFL performance: a randomized-group design. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01528/full.
Great job Rhys. I definitely noticed your title right away. It made me want to read more to find out what you were going to be talking about. I liked the real examples that you provided of the feedback that you were able to use with PearDeck. Research has found that over 90% of students agreed that timely and constructive feedback are important to them (Tanis, 2020). You have demonstrated how PearDeck is able to provide feedback not only for students, but also for you, which is awesome.
I would love to know any ideas that you might have for using PearDeck with younger grades who are still learning to read.
I think you did an excellent job.
Sharvis
Reference
Tanis, C. J. (2020). The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning: Association for Learning Technology Journal. Research in Learning Technology, 28http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2319
Hi Rhys,
ReplyDeleteI thought your video explaining how to use Pear Deck was very informative. According to Mayer’s cognitive theory, many learners are audiovisual learners and benefit from words and images (Salas, 2015). Your Pear Deck presentation and video on your blog incorporates a lot of audiovisual information that is excellent for these learners.
One suggestion I have for you is since you have the same tool for your synchronous and asynchronous lesson, perhaps you can go into more detail about how you use the tool asynchronously and synchronously and the benefits or drawbacks of each way. According to research, when Pear Deck is paired with teleconferencing software such as Zoom, it can boost student engagement and improve students’ achievement in online instruction (Anggoro, 2020). Have you found teaching Pear Deck synchronously more effective than asynchronously?
You have such a rich mix of questions and media on the Pear Deck you’ve created. I can imagine students are very engaged, whether it be synchronously or asynchronously. Excellent, concise blog!
Kara
Anggoro, K. J. (2020). Pear deck. RELC Journal, 3368822093673. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220936735
Salas, A., & Moller, L. (2015). The value of voice thread in online learning: Faculty perceptions of usefulness. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(1), 11.
Thanks for your thoughts Kara! I definitely prefer using PearDecks synchronously, and find students spend more time working on each question (maybe because I control how long they have to think!).
DeleteRhys
Hi Rhys,
ReplyDeleteThere are so many applications for education that have popped up recently that it's difficult for me to sort through and find tools that students will use. After all, if the student won't or can't use the tool, it's useless. As instructors it's important for us to reformulate our approach to communication and assessment in order to help students shift that perspective towards new technologies (Brooks & Young, 2016).
I noticed a small issue with the way your blog is presented: the font is inconsistent. It may be the way you uploaded the text, which is how I have seen the issue in my own blog posts.
I love how you used the same technology for both synchronous and asynchronous learning, and I'm definitely looking into PearDeck to use for my students. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with fully online learning, but emerging technologies have made it easier for us to connect successfully (Watts, 2016).
References
Brooks, C., & Young, S. (September 2016). Exploring Communication and Course Format: Conversation Frequency and Duration, Student Motives, and Perceived Teacher Approachability for Out-of-Class Contact. International Review of Open and Distributed Learning, Vol. 17, No. 5.
Watts, L. (2016). Synchronous and asynchronous communication in distance learning: A review of the literature. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(1), 23. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1794526758?pq-origsite=gscholar
Thanks for your feedback! As for the font- I've had difficulty finding how to change the font of the by-line, which seems to default to TNR. I'll keep working on it!
DeleteRhys, start peeking into the html view of your blog posts to see what extraneous characters you can remove :-)
DeleteHi Rhys,
ReplyDeleteThat was such a cool blog because I've been meaning to check out pear deck and I haven't had the time so it was wonderful watching your video about the different applications and instructions on how to use it. Sometimes checking out a new tool is overwhelming because there is the up front time to figure it out.
I'm a little confused about how you use the asynchronous version in your class. Do you provide a slide show and have the students complete it before the synchronous class? Or do you provide a totally different slide show as a "warm up" or "review" where the students can interact with the material?
I really like how you use the tools to gain immediate feedback about how well the students understand the information (if they get a question wrong, or if they choose a yellow vs. red icon).
Thanks for providing your blog - it was fun to see your video :)
Brandi.
Here is reference showing that the use of pear deck actually improves student engagement over traditional face-to-face classroom instruction - so you're on the right path. Great job :)
Javed, Y. and H. Odhabi (2018). Active Learning in Classrooms Using online Tools: Evaluating Pear-Deck for Students' Engagement. 2018 Fifth HCT Information Technology Trends (ITT), IEEE.
Hi Brandi,
DeleteI haven't used the asynchronous version much yet, except for to provide it for students who miss class or who want to review on their own time. I could see it being used to let small groups or individuals work through review questions at their own pace, or something similar, once they're all back in the classroom and I can float around to answer questions. Thanks for sharing that excellent source!
Rhys
Hi Rhys,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job telling your story for your blog post! I also love your title and can’t wait to learn more about Pear Deck! One thing that particularly stood out to me was your use of green, yellow, or red circles to get student feedback. This is very important to check in and reach everyone (DeWilde, 2020).
Does your teacher who you are doing your student teaching with also use Pear Decks? Also, how exactly do you use Pear Decks asynchronously? Do you give them questions to complete for homework? Are they graded? Do you have a way for your student to ask questions or leave feedback even during asynchronous learning? Allowing your students to ask questions just to follow up on their homework is important for the students to learn from the work and grow their learning (Rosário, 2015).
I also like how you provide shyer students a comfortable environment to be able to participate in without all of the social pressure. This helps the student have more motivation to speak up and participate (Kriegel, 2020).
References
DeWilde, J. (2020, February 16). How to Ask Your Students for Meaningful Feedback. The Art of Education University. https://theartofeducation.edu/2020/02/25/how-to-ask-your-students-for-meaningful-feedback/.
Kriegel, O. (2020, September 15). Encouraging Students to Participate: How to Help Shy Students Speak Up. Hey Teach! https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/encouraging-students-participate-how-help-shy-students-speak1809.html.
Rosário, P., Núñez, J. C., Vallejo, G., Cunha, J., Nunes, T., Suárez, N., … Moreira, T. (2015, September 22). The effects of teachers' homework follow-up practices on students' EFL performance: a randomized-group design. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01528/full.
Great job Rhys.
ReplyDeleteI definitely noticed your title right away. It made me want to read more to find out what you were going to be talking about. I liked the real examples that you provided of the feedback that you were able to use with PearDeck. Research has found that over 90% of students agreed that timely and constructive feedback are important to them (Tanis, 2020). You have demonstrated how PearDeck is able to provide feedback not only for students, but also for you, which is awesome.
I would love to know any ideas that you might have for using PearDeck with younger grades who are still learning to read.
I think you did an excellent job.
Sharvis
Reference
Tanis, C. J. (2020). The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning: Association for Learning Technology Journal. Research in Learning Technology, 28http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2319