Nearpod vs. Unique Learning System

Nearpod works great in any classroom, but the presentation must be projected or each student must have access to a internet connected device.

Incentivized

I have actually recommended it to another teacher in a different district for her autism program since she could level and pace it easily and also easily collect IEP data without stressing out her students with extra work. Unique Learning System is also a good program for our autism program because it is consistent with all core subjects, making is very routine based.

Incentivized

• Provide timely and individualized feedback.
• Allow for the teacher to check for understanding, for the entire class, in one view.
• Present an array of different interactive lesson items, at the fingertips of every student.

Incentivized

• Differentiated into 3 levels but cover the same assignment.
• Ability to assign lessons for the week or the unit to help streamline planning. I can adjust as the unit goes on if needed.
• Keeps scores and data from their daily unit lessons.
• Unit pre and post tests are mirrored for good data collection.
• Benchmarks tie into lessons.
• I can get data for IEP goals too.

• The notes feature in Nearpod sometimes has bugs that can be bothersome.
• The free version of Nearpod is limited, and missing some of my most favored features.
• Becoming proficient at lesson creation outside of Google Slides can take some time until you have mastered the learning curve.

Incentivized

• Unique Learning System's materials in the science and social studies areas aren't "fluffy" as other areas, but they are continuously adding materials
• The layout of the website isn't the most user friendly, but most teachers are able to navigate easily after an initial training
• The administrator side of things isn't super straightforward, reports can be confusing to find/run, but the one on one meetings always provide clarity.

Incentivized

Goal is to continue our subscription for the 2019-2020 school year

Incentivized

I appreciate all the various resources that Unique Learning System has to offer. However, due to my limited interaction with other resources similar to Unique Learning System I do not know enough to compare it against other programs. I also am not a person in charge of renewing Unique Learning System for my organization.

Incentivized

While there is some learning curve to fully understand and know how to lead a lesson with Nearpod, once mastered successfully, Nearpod lessons are simple to create and deliver. When leading a lesson, it is relatively simple to see how everyone in the class performs and how well they participate and understand.

Incentivized

I still find it difficult to track student progress within Unique Learning System using unit checkpoints. Scores seem to disappear and I end up giving pre-tests again at the end for some students. I need a step by step visual for using GPS and how to use it to plan for IEPS. I find it difficult to change student modifications on the spot when I see the student can do more on a given day with less support. Planning for math is more difficult for me - the units seems disjointed and without comprehesnive lesson planning support. Recipes and Experiments are difficult - many fails from recipes or experiments that don't seem to be classroom tested. It is expensive on a teacher's budget to run trials for expensive recipe ingredients.

Incentivized

errors will show up

Incentivized

there have been few issues with login or glitches

Incentivized

The support staff for Nearpod is top-notch. I have not had technical issues, but I did have a concern about my bill and they reached out to me nearly immediately to address the problem. I was very satisfied with how they handled the interaction from beginning to end. They did a great job.

Incentivized

The individuals helping have always been great. The response to requests for changes in functionality or reporting less so.

Incentivized

it was all over the place hard to follow along

Incentivized

good product

Incentivized

Outside of Miro, Nearpod is my favorite program for leading a lesson. If I am presenting, and not requiring my students to perform any activities, then I really like Miro for presentations. If I have a large class, then I still prefer Nearpod to all others. Additionally, the more certain I am of what I want to do when, the more I like using Nearpod for lessons.

Incentivized

Unique Learning System is far superior to Newsela. The symbol support alone makes Unique Learning System much more appropriate for my students. One thing that I like about Newsela is the integrated comprehension questions within the reading. The students cannot advance until they get the questions correct, and I think that is a valuable way to reinforce their reading attentiveness.

Incentivized

todays weather would not load sometimes

Incentivized

• Nearpod has a positive impact on my students because they learn while using technology vs. traditional method.
• My students' scores have improved ever since I've started implementing the consistent use of Nearpod.
• I cherish the fact that the teacher is in control but the activities are all student centered and fully engages them.

Incentivized

• Time on planning - Unique Learning System provides a great pacing guide and lesson plans to use for all of its content. We have made a pace that makes the most sense for us, but are able to pull from the lesson plans different activities, modifications and accommodations, leveling ideas, resources, communication boards, standards, and objectives to provide to our administration.
• Data collection for SPMs - As Polaris keeps track of mastered and progressing goals, our administration is able to open our Polaris account and see in one small snapshot how our learners are doing towards our department goals.
• Quarterly Progress Reports - As all of our data for learners towards their IEP goals are housed in one spot and there is a "progress report" feature embedded within Polaris, it took the job of creating progress reports from taking several days and many hours to 2-3 hours for my roster of 15 learners. It has saved me so much time and energy.

Incentivized