As the world transitioned to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational technology leader Pear Deck swiftly introduced three significant product enhancements to accommodate the evolving needs of K-12 educators. Since March 1, the company has recorded over 60 million Moments of Engagement between students and teachers in remote classrooms globally.
A Pear Deck survey involving 600 educators highlighted a significant shift in edtech usage patterns. Before the abrupt move to online education, fewer than half of the respondents used educational technology more than once or twice a week. Furthermore, only 13.3% indicated that their remote instruction was predominantly synchronous, pointing out the substantial adaptation required by teachers to facilitate mostly asynchronous, student-driven learning.
Since February, when Pear Deck began assisting educators affected by school closures in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the company has rapidly expanded its infrastructure and resources to accommodate a surge in demand. Since then, Pear Deck has granted access to over 100,000 educators and 2.5 million users in remote classrooms worldwide.
“Pear Deck has been keenly listening to educators across the globe to understand their most pressing needs in these challenging times,” stated Riley Eynon-Lynch, CEO and co-founder of Pear Deck. “In response, we’ve strategically rolled out three key product enhancements.”
The new features introduced for remote learning include:
- A one-click option to set any Pear Deck presentation as a student-paced, asynchronous lesson.
- The “Add Audio” feature for Pear Deck on Google Slides, allowing educators to record or upload audio clips to each slide. This enables students to receive instruction or socio-emotional support directly through their devices.
- Teacher Feedback (beta), a tool enabling educators to provide clear, timely, and specific feedback directly within a Pear Deck lesson.
Additionally, a comprehensive efficacy survey of more than 1,000 Pear Deck users showed that over 91% of teachers find Pear Deck to be an effective and indispensable tool for remote instruction.
“Though the future of education remains uncertain, our dedication to collaborating with educational institutions to empower teachers and enhance learning experiences is steadfast,” Eynon-Lynch affirmed. “Our team is committed to continual innovation and addressing the emerging needs of the educational community.