Ed Tech Tool Analysis - Pear Deck

Third graders at Rockford Public Schools have the opportunity to read Because of Winn Dixie at the beginning of the school year. The story of Winn Dixie teaches children about characters, how they can connect to them, and the specific traits they exemplify. In a typical face to face learning experience, students will listen to the story read aloud to them and then connect to the characters and empathize with them. This offline learning experience fosters social presence because students are able to communicate with one another about their thoughts and ideas. The teacher is able to sit alongside the students to provide clarity, ask clarifying questions, and probe for deeper-level thinking.

If I was to implement this lesson using a fully online design I would definitely incorporate the tech tool, Pair Deck. Pair Deck is a Google add-on that allows the teacher and students to view the same Google slideshow and communicate along the way. The teacher provides the student with a code that they type into the Pair Deck website. Once they are viewing the slides, the teacher has complete control and they can only see what the teacher is seeing (they cannot go ahead). The teacher can program questions that require a response from each of the students. There are several types of responses the teacher can program and use with the class. A few of these include short answer, multiple-choice, and drag and drop. The teacher is able to see instant feedback from the students. The teacher then has the ability to share that feedback with the entire group if applicable to the lesson.

I would begin the lesson by using Zoom or another face-to-face meeting platform. We would begin the lesson as we always do by introducing our purpose for the lesson. In student-friendly language, “What are we learning today?” I would then read chapter 5 of Because of Winn Dixie to them as they listen along. At the end of the chapter, the students would complete the Pair Deck short answer response: “How does Opal feel? What causes her to feel this way?” Once the students are complete, I would share out a couple of the responses and use those responses to foster further communication between the students.

Pear Deck fosters the elements of Social Presence because it easily incorporates all the students without making them feel uncomfortable. I also think it helps connect the students to the teacher and keeps them engaged. The class feels like a community because they are all working on answering the same questions and then having conversations around those questions. Finally, the teacher can meet the needs of individual students by having individual 1:1 conversations with them during conferring time if needed.

Click here to learn more about how Pear Deck fosters the various elements of Social Presence.

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