EDT122: Formative Assessment with Dan Niessen: Quizizz, Nearpod, Pear Deck, and Snorkl, plus Google Slides, Canva Visual Suite 2.0, and Canva Sheets

What’s your go-to tool for formative assessment? In this episode,
Dan Niessen joins me to unpack strategies for gathering real-time
insights into student learning. We talk Quizizz, Nearpod, Snorkl,
AI chatbot tutors, Pear Deck, ChatGPT, and more. Dan shares how
he supports educators in choosing tools that fit their goals—and
their students. Plus, I break down updates to Google Slides,
Canva Visual Suite 2.0 and Canva Sheets, along with a timely tip
on how to cite AI-generated content. Tune in!


#EduDuctTape Episode 122


Today's Sponsor - M2 by Swivl - swivl.com/m2


0:00:00 INTRO


 


0:03:26 Today’s Guest: Dan Niessen - @Dan_EdTech
on X/Twitter and @neonetedtech.bsky.social on Bluesky




Dan is the Senior Technology Integration Specialist at
NEOnet, providing all sorts of EdTech PD for K-12 teachers,
administrators, and school staff. He started out as a High
School Social Studies teacher at a few schools around the
Cleveland area, but then moved into his current position in
2018. He's always excited to learn and share about EdTech!

See webinars and resources from Dan and the NEONet Tech
Integration Team - neonet.org/tech-integration





0:10:45 Today's EduDuctTape Question: What tool or
strategy would you use to formatively assess students’
comprehension? 


0:11:27 Formative Assessment during Reading


0:12:34 Chunking Reading with Formative
Questions


0:18:39 The Fast and the Curious EduProtocol




The EduProtocol Field Guides, Books 1 and 2 -
https://www.eduprotocols.com/fieldguides

Eliminate worksheet homework with the Fast and the
Curious EduProtocol - Ditch That Textbook -
https://ditchthattextbook.com/eliminate-worksheet-homework-with-the-fast-and-the-curious-eduprotocol/





0:21:46 Quizizz - https://quizizz.com/


0:23:29 Jared Cooney Horvath's Insights -
https://episodes.fm/1447821443/episode/YmIwMjU4NGMwMDdiNDhkNjhiNjNiNWVhYzhhNzgwYWY


0:25:00 Nearpod and Pear Deck -
https://nearpod.com/ and https://www.peardeck.com/


0:27:30 Pear Deck Autograding


0:30:11 Today's Sponsor: M2 from Swivl


0:35:08 AI Tutors


0:40:07 Snorkl - https://snorkl.app/


0:41:16 Flip


0:41:50 What Makes Snorkl Great


0:42:58 Why Using AI for Formative Assessment Is
Good


 


Edu News I’ve Got My Peepers On:


0:46:00 Google Slides Updates


Google Slides now uses Imagen 3 and adds other new visual
tools -
https://blog.google/products/workspace/workspace-slides-visuals-ai-updates/

New sidebar with design elements in Google Slides makes
building presentations easier -
https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/03/new-sidebar-with-design-elements-in-google-slides.html

Google Slides introduces proportional scaling for objects to
maintain visual clarity -
https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/03/proportional-scaling-objects-in-google-slides.html



0:47:26 Stock Images in Google Slides


0:48:12 New Templates and Themes in Google
Slides


0:48:58 Building Blocks in Google Slides


0:49:46 Proportional Scaling Groups in Google
Slides


0:50:10 Speaker Spotlight & Slides Recording in
Google Slides


0:51:02 Imagen 3 AI Image Generator in Google
Slides


0:52:36 Canva Visual Suite 2.0


Introducing Visual Suite 2.0: Productivity, meet creativity -
https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/canva-create-2025/



0:54:30 Canva Sheets


Canva Sheets: Free Visual Spreadsheets -
https://www.canva.com/sheets/



0:56:34 Citing AI-Generated Content


How to Cite AI-Generated Videos -
https://www.kapwing.com/resources/how-to-cite-an-ai-video/