Advancing Tech Program Success with Pear Deck

Like many K-12 technology leaders, Craig Klement of Garland ISD knows that an edtech selection process isn’t always a clear path to the right fit. Sometimes after thorough research and evaluation, adoption doesn’t follow. It was an experience like this that led Craig to advocate for district-wide adoption of his favorite instructional tool, Pear Deck. 

As a high school remedial math teacher in 2016, Craig was searching for a way to reach students who were disengaged with a subject that challenged them. Discovering Pear Deck, Craig was amazed by how quickly he gained much-needed insight into individual student progress, allowing for differentiated support. Pear Deck gave students a new way to engage with the lessons and created a safe space to participate in class without intimidation or embarrassment. As a result, class participation soared.

Soon after, Craig evolved his growing interest in edtech into a new position as a technology coach at Garland High School. At the time, teachers and administrators were on the hunt for a school-wide solution for instructional technology and were leaning towards Nearpod. 

“I picked ten teachers likely to use the tool to vote on our selection,” says Craig. “They initially chose Nearpod, but we had a hard time getting all of the teachers into it. Most found it difficult to use, and after a year of investment, there was still minimal usage across campus.”

How Pear Deck helped

That’s when Craig approached Pear Deck about a school-wide license, knowing it was easy to use and effective. Pear Deck’s transparent pricing and affordable cost made it easy for school leaders to get on board with the new proposal; they were encouraged knowing that all lessons created with Pear Deck would be theirs to keep forever. 

Teachers across grade levels and subjects fell in love with Pear Deck’s flexibility and how seamlessly it integrated with the Google Slides they were already using. 

Pear Deck’s fully-editable templates made it easy to customize activities and assessments to fit into their lessons. Administrators were pleased to see that school-wide Pear Deck adoption drove an increased ROI in their 1:1 technology program; teachers who were previously hesitant to adopt a new tool felt comfortable using Pear Deck. 

Craig was soon getting requests from teachers at other schools in the district to join their subscription, and Pear Deck enthusiasm spread throughout Garland ISD. Simultaneously, the district was championing a focus on social-emotional learning, and Pear Deck’s SEL templates were well-loved by teachers and staff. In 2019, Garland ISD participated in Pear Deck’s pilot program, leading to a district purchase.

Results

Today, all educators across Garland’s 72 campuses enjoy access to Pear Deck’s suite of easy-to-use instructional tools, building towards improved achievement outcomes and fostering more inclusive learning environments.

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