Bring Grammar to Life with Pearson Modular Grammar Powered by Nearpod

Christina Cavage
By Christina Cavage

We are constantly seeking out ways to engage our English language learners, especially during these unprecedented times. Whether your students are sitting in the classroom with you, or joining your class remotely, you are probably contemplating how you can increase learner activity and engagement. Teaching English grammar in an interactive, hands-on manner has consistently been a challenge for many of us.

How can we make it come alive?

How can we get students to move beyond the drill and kill type of approach many have grown accustomed to?

How can we appeal to today’s learners who are often more connected to their mobile devices than they are to the classroom? 

Well, if you have been following along, you are probably pretty aware of what Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod is, and what a powerful tool it can be. It not only presents grammar in an interactive, engaging manner, but appeals to today’s learners by delivering instruction to them via their mobile devices…hands on learning for today’s learners.

Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod

Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod is a library of lessons on the most critical grammar structures. It includes grammar instruction and engaging practices, allowing you to fill in the gaps in your grammar instruction. But, what makes it so engaging? Well, the platform, built by Nearpod, includes several exercise types that serve as great practices, assessments and engagement tools. Let’s take a look at some of these exercises.

Collaborate! activity
Collaborate! Activity

First, we have the Collaborate! activity. This is a collaboration board that allows students to ‘post’ their ideas for everyone to see. These types of tasks are great for assessing background knowledge, starting a discussion, checking what students know, and reviewing homework. Students can read one another’s posts, and even like one another’s posts.

Matching
Matching Activity

Another great activity type is Matching. With the matching activity, students can match pictures to text and text to text. This exercise is great for matching sentence halves, questions and answers, and vocabulary terms.

Draw It Activity

Next, we have Draw It! Draw Its allow students to interact with content. They can do so by drawing with their finger, perhaps circling, underlining, or even writing. Different colors can be chosen, and students even have the option to type rather than use their finger. Draw Its are great for getting students to notice the grammar. Asking them to identify structures, or functions in context can help them see the grammar come alive while interacting with it directly. As the teacher, you can see how each student interacted with the grammar. This can be a great resource for conferencing with students.

Video
Interactive Video

One of the most engaging tools is the Interactive Video. The interactive video allows students to receive a video lesson, and during that short micro-lesson, there are quick checkpoints to assess a student’s understanding. Open-ended or multiple choice questions can be asked throughout the video. Having students watch short videos to learn, and then having checkpoints can really do a lot to get students engaged in the lesson being presented.

There are several other great activities as well: polls, open-ended questions, quizzes and races, like the Time to Climb, and those are highlighted below. As you can see, there is a lot to the Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod. It can supplement your instruction, and make grammar truly come to life by engaging students in a wide variety of ways.

Exercise Type What it is How it is used for engagement?
Collaboration Board Allows all users to post their ideas; like others’ ideas; text or images Engage on-site and distance students; hear others’ ideas; social learning
Draw It Students can underline, circle, draw, write or type Engage with content, interact with content
Polls Quick checks of thoughts, ideas or formative assessment; can be timed Allows everyone to see what others are thinking
Open-Ended Question Allows students to write multiple sentences; can be timed Share writing; ideas; review homework
Matching Match pictures to text, text to text; can be timed Ideal for vocabulary, sentence halves, question and answers
Fill in the Blanks Sentence completion, vocabulary or grammar in context; can be timed Great for application of new skills
Time to Climb Students ‘race’ one another; ideal for formative assessment or review; can be timed Gamification; competition
Quizzes Multiple choice for formative and summative assessment Assess in a fun, interactive way
Interactive Video Video with checkpoints to assess microlearning Keep students engaged in learning new content

To learn more about the Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod, visit pearsoneltusa.com/nearpod. We also encourage you to watch the recorded webinars with Christina Cavage to learn more about this great program. You can view our webinars here.

Extend Your Grammar Instruction with Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod

Christina Cavage
By Christina Cavage

What a year it’s been! We are entering a new academic year during unprecedented times. If you are like me, you are looking for ways to deeper engage your English language learners whether they are sitting in the classroom with you, seeing you via Zoom, or participating in your asynchronous online environment. If we have learned anything this year, we have learned that we have to revisit how we present content, and how students interact with content during remote instruction.  That’s where the Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod comes in.

What is Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod

First, let’s review what exactly it is. Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod is a library of lessons on the most critical English grammar structures. It includes grammar instruction and engaging practices. The idea behind the delivering it via the Nearpod platform is that it allows you fill in the gaps in grammar teaching in an engaging yet pedagogically sound manner. You can supplement your teaching, whether it be listening, speaking, or writing with these supplemental grammar lessons. However, the greatest thing about this platform is that it allows you, the teacher, to reorganize a lesson, modify a lesson, delete content from a lesson, and even add content and activities to the lessons. Thus, it is a truly customizable content. In essence, lessons and content can be tailored to your courses’, program’s or students’ needs.

Once you add a lesson to your library, it is yours to modify. You can reorder slides or delete slides you do not need.

Let’s say you want to modify. You can modify existing content by changing questions, adding images, or even altering quiz questions.

Watch this short video to see how you can easily modify content.

By doing so, you can be sure to cover the student learning outcomes (SLOs) in our course. I also often change the names of people to reflect the students in my class! Or, consider modifying by changing the location of places used, or the images. One of my favorite things about the Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod is the ability to add your own content and your own activities. There are several options when adding content. Here is a Nearpod’s list.

List of Nearpod activities

There are some great options included in this list. A few of my favorites include Video, Flocabulary Video, Field Trip and Slideshow. If you showed a PowerPoint in class, you can create a slideshow of it, and embed it in your lesson. If you want to engage your students in a particular theme or place, add a Field Trip. These field trips take you to the moon, and around the world. The Flocabulary Video is a great way for students to have video storyboards and share with one another. And, then video. The video option is wonderful because you can add your own created video, or you can search on YouTube and find a video there. In either case, you can embed questions within the video. So, students watch a piece of the video, and then are presented with either an open-ended question or a multiple-choice question. This is a great engagement tool, as well as an excellent way to formatively assess your students.

Lastly, you can also add your own activities. There are several types of activities you can add. You can add collaborative discussion boards, polls, matching, open-ended questions and more. In the end, Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod provides curated content built on sound pedagogy that can be altered to meet your needs.

Watch this short video to see how you can easily add your own content to the course.

Let’s be honest, no one understands the needs of your program, your course and especially your students more than you!

Ready to give the Pearson Modular Grammar Course Powered by Nearpod a spin? Find out more information at nearpod.com/pearson or contact your dedicated ELT Sales Specialist for a demo at pearsoneltusa.com/reps.

Teaching online with Pearson digital tools

by Christina Cavage and Gosia Jaros-White

Need a PDF of this blog post? Download it here.

Need to move your face-to-face instruction online? Feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started. Think about LEARN: Language Teaching in an Engaging, Active, Resourceful eNvironment. This is what we aim to do in our face-to-face classes, so how can we replicate that in the digital world? In her webinar, Christina Cavage explores these tips and tricks to help you transition to the online environment. You can watch it here and download the webinar handout here.

Pearson English Portal: MyEnglishLab, eText, ActiveTeach

The Pearson English Portal is a powerful platform that delivers digital resources to instructors and students, such as MyEnglishLab, Pearson eTexts / digital flip books, and the ActiveTeach. With the Pearson digital resources, you can transition your course online and ensure your students have the resources they need to continue learning.

The following roadmap will help you utilize MyEnglishLab in conjunction with eTexts and ActiveTeach in your online course delivery, both synchronously and asynchronously. It illustrates:

  1. How to front load your class lessons with MyEnglish lab;
  2. How to use data from MyEnglishLab to drive synchronous instruction;
  3. How to reinforce and instruct using the eText / digital flip books and ActiveTeach;
  4. How to formally assess and support learning gaps with additional MyEnglishLab content.

If you have not accessed the Pearson English Portal or used MyEnglishLab before, you will find links to information and resources at the end of this post (Tips for Success).

Roadmap for using Pearson resources in live and asynchronous classes
Figure 1: MyEnglishLab Gradebook
eText + screensharing
Figure 2a: Teaching using the eText with screensharing
ActiveTeach + screensharing
Figure 2b: Teaching using the ActiveTeach and screensharing
Collaborative task for breakout rooms
Figure 3: Collaborative task in the eText for breakout rooms
Manage resources: add resources in MyEnglishLab
Figure 4: Manage resources — add resources in MyEnglishLab

Tips for Success

  1. Be sure you and your students are registered for the Pearson English Portal at english.com/activate.
  2. Once registered, students should use their product access code to add to their dashboards. They can find the codes in their student books. You can also obtain these codes from your Pearson ELT sales specialist.
  3. Orient students to MyEnglishLab. Consider sharing this helpful setup video with your students: Registering your access code.
  4. Set up your course. Make sure you obtain your instructor access code from your Pearson ELT sales specialist. This video will walk you through the process of creating a new course.
  5. Share your Course ID with your students. Have them join your course. This video will show students how to join your course. Share the link with them.
  6. Reach out to students who are not completing assignments via messaging in MyEnglishLab or other electronic systems. Ensure they are able to access the course.
  7. Attend webinars and other trainings to explore all functionality. You can sign up for live webinars here.
  8. Explore available resources and videos here.
live webinars
Sign up for live training webinars

Sample Lesson Planner for course that traditionally meets 4-6 hours a week face-to-face:

  1. Assign MyLab work, including instructional videos (2-3 hours of work for students).

2. Meet synchronously 1-3 hours a week, review content delivered online, asynchronously. Review key concepts in e-book, utilize collaborative tasks, and engaging activities for students to connect and practice.

3. Reinforce with MyLab assignments and assessments, 1-3 hours of student work.

Additional resources to help you move online

We have lots of helpful resources to get you going:

A series of seven videos by Dr. Ken Beatty on making online teaching and learning work. Access them here.

A presentation by Christina Cavage exploring solutions and tips for successful online teaching. Access it here.

A presentation on how the Versant Placement Test can be used to assess students securely from home. Watch it here.

A demo on how to use MyEnglishLab for anytime, anywhere learning. Watch it here.

Microlearning and MyEnglishLabs

SCAD Language Studio ? Professor Christina Cavage, Human Resources headshot, Fall 2013 ? Photography by Stephanie Krell, courtesy of SCADChristina Cavage

Why FLIP, or blend face-to-face learning, with digital learning? Well, the reasons are numerous. Many I have outlined here in the previous months. Moving some content outside of the classroom allows us more flexibility in the classroom. Additionally, it allows our classrooms to go back to a collaborative, communicative, rich language environment. However, it also allows our students to microlearn.

What is microlearning? While the term may seem new to you, the concept is not. Students learn best when content is presented in small chunks. Think of YouTube and Khan Academy. The success of these sites speaks directly to their appeal to digital natives—learning in bite-sized pieces for those ever-dwindling attention spans for traditional lectures. Recent research indicates that exposing students to new content in small doses is the most effective for learners today. Yet, while traditional learning methods are decreasing, media consumption is rapidly increasing for learners of all ages. Thus, the success of Khan Academy and TedEd. So, what about our ESL learners? How can we provide more microlearning for them? Continue reading

Using Technology versus Integrating Technology

SCAD Language Studio ? Professor Christina Cavage, Human Resources headshot, Fall 2013 ? Photography by Stephanie Krell, courtesy of SCADChristina Cavage

Last month I introduced the concept of using technology versus integrating technology. Since then I haven’t stopped thinking about this concept and my own classes.  I believe that we need to strive towards true integration rather than just technology use.  One criteria outlined in recent publications regarding the integration of technology is where we use the technology.

With this push towards technology in learning, is it really effective to use it in the classroom?  Research says no.  Although certain tools can help facilitate learning, students using technology in the classroom takes away from the cooperative, communicative environment needed for language learning.  So, how can we effectively use tools in the classroom to facilitate learning while at the same time integrate technology outside of the classroom? Continue reading