These terms describe the progress of learning at a specific level of the competency:

• Limited Evidence

• Emerging

• Developing

• Accelerating

• Proficient

Nearpod is an online resource that can be utilized as a presentation instrument in both teacher-led and student-paced first run instruction, re-teaching or intervention. The specific benefit of student paced learning is that students can explore, learn and document mastery at their own pace using innovative activities such as VR, embedded videos, collaboration boards, polling, drawings or doodle notes, as well as formative assessments such as quizzes, games (Time to Climb), and discussion boards. For example, in my Principles of Hospitality and Tourism course, students must learn the types of accommodations and the specific demographics of the clientele that frequent them. I utilized Nearpod to create a student paced exploration that begins with a video introducing the content, then uses engaging activities such as polling for preferences in accommodations, drawing charts to compare and contrast, and collaborating to brainstorm how categories of accommodations are created. Although students can work at their own pace, they are able to see collaborative statements and peer-enhanced study tools that are embedded in the presentation. For example, a collaboration board may ask students to identify one disadvantage and one advantage to a specific type of accommodation, allowing students to see multiple viewpoints stemming from a diverse classroom of learners, moving from self-awareness to enhanced understanding of other’s emotions and viewpoints. This progression in social, emotional, and intercultural skills is pivotal for students to master communicating across cultures and building relationships with diverse individuals (Quinn et. al, 2020). In addition, students have access to create their own presentations to share knowledge of specific content with their peers, or add their Nearpod to the library for public use. The creation of this presentation and the corresponding activities gives students opportunities to engage critical thinking by evaluating information, making connections and constructing knowledge with the intent to share with a broader audience. The online nature of Nearpod allows students to share presentations or collaborate with students and audiences outside of their immediate community. For example, in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, students may create a Travel blog using Nearpod to describe their community according to the city, state or region.  Students across the world can access this presentation and learn firsthand what it is like to live in that region, giving students a global perspective and providing access to diverse values and worldviews (Quinn et. al, 2020). One final benefit of Nearpod is the ability to redefine learning using Virtual Reality within the website itself to explore museums, countries, or other sites that may have been previously limited by geography (McLeod & Graber, 2019). I have used these VR tools to design lessons for Special Education students where they can explore virtually and respond orally using voice recording options for formative assessment within Nearpod, augmenting the use of Nearpod to provide functional accommodations that align with student IEPs. Finally, differentiation based on student need supports the Learning Principle of Nurture, by ensuring that every student learns at high levels when given equitable access to learning resources (ISTE+ASCD, 2026).