Supporting Teachers With AI: An Instructional Technology Facilitator’s Approach Using Pear Deck Learning

How do you help teachers embrace AI, without overwhelming them? You start by removing friction from the everyday.

For Christina Verberne, that means helping educators spend less time copying, pasting, and stitching together resources, and more time doing what they love: teaching. In her 20+ years as a science teacher, dual enrollment instructor, and now Instructional Technology Facilitator, she’s seen one truth hold steady across every role: if a tool makes teachers’ lives easier, they’ll use it, and champion it.

That’s exactly what happened with Pear Deck Learning. What started as a small pilot in Christina’s district, she has grown into a thriving community of more than 240 “Pear Deck Super Users.” From the start, Christina knew adoption wouldn’t come from top-down mandates, but from tools that made it easy to jump in.

“We have a lot of teachers who, unless we give them the tools already built-in, they just don't have the time,” she explained.

Today, what excites Christina most is how Pear Deck Learning continues to evolve, with AI tools like Pear Start and Content Converter built directly into the platform. Instead of switching tools or starting from scratch, teachers can plan, personalize, and present, all in one place.

Turning static resources into classroom-ready lessons with Content Converter

When a last-minute curriculum need popped up in her district, Christina knew teachers didn’t have time to start from scratch. Her district’s social studies lead had pulled together a Google Doc outlining standards and video links to help fill a curriculum gap ahead of state testing, but the resource wasn’t classroom-ready.

Christina stepped in with Pear Deck’s Content Converter.

“I just saved the doc as a PDF, uploaded it into Content Converter, and within minutes, I had a fully interactive Pear Deck,” she explained. “It was amazing. It kept the original content intact but turned it into something teachers could use immediately without spending hours formatting slides.”

After generating the first draft of the lesson with Content Converter, Christina didn’t stop there. She ran the same material through Pear Start, Pear Deck Learning’s AI-powered lesson planning tool, to generate even more detailed content and ideas for differentiation. 

The result? A comprehensive, standards-aligned digital lesson that was ready to go, just in time for teachers to use for state testing prep.

“It was such a great example of how quickly we can go from a static doc to something polished, interactive, and classroom-ready,” she said. “It showed teachers what’s possible, and that’s what gets them excited.”

Now, as Christina plans for summer PD, Content Converter is one of the tools she plans to showcase.

“It’s my hook for PD,” Christina said. “When teachers see they can take something they already have and, in just a couple clicks, turn it into a Pear Deck — it’s like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know that was possible.’ They want to save time and not have to start from scratch, and this gives them a way to do that.”

Pear Start: Making lesson planning easier for every kind of teacher

This spring, Christina Verberne received early access to Pear Start, Pear Deck Learning’s new AI-powered lesson planning tool, and it didn’t take long for her to recognize its potential.

“I plugged in a basic outline, and Pear Start gave me a full lesson plan with activities and even a Pear Deck to go with it. Then I clicked one button, and it was ready to teach. That blew my mind.”

Christina knows how overwhelming lesson planning can feel, especially for teachers juggling multiple preps, new grade levels, or unfamiliar content. That’s where Pear Start comes in. As she explained, it gives educators a structured, standards-aligned starting point they can trust, whether they’re developing full lessons or looking to build on an idea. By streamlining the most time-consuming parts of prep, like copying and pasting materials from different sources, Pear Start helps teachers spend less time formatting, and more time focusing on students.

“It’s such a timesaver. Especially for teachers who need something real quick or a review activity. They don’t have to do all that copying and pasting.”

Christina has already seen a wide range of use cases across her district:

• New and non-credentialed teachers: Pear Start provides instant, standards-aligned plans that reduce planning time and build confidence.
  
  
• Block teachers: It helps break up long, 90-minute class periods into manageable, engaging segments.
  
  
• Elective and certification course teachers: In subjects that often lack a full curriculum, Pear Start provides a reliable starting point, turning a single standard or topic into a structured, teachable lesson.
  
  
• Professional development sessions: Christina has started using Pear Start herself to streamline planning for summer PD, creating interactive trainings with just a few clicks.

“I think it helps teachers who don’t know where to start,” Christina said. “You’re not locked into anything, it just gives you a solid starting point, and sometimes that’s the hardest part.”

What sets Pear Start apart, Christina noted, is that it’s built into a platform teachers already use and trust. “What stood out to me the most was that it made the Pear Deck,” she said. “It didn’t just give you ideas, it gave you something you could teach with. That’s huge.”

By integrating AI directly into the Pear Deck Learning platform, Pear Start enables Christina to help teachers move from idea to instruction in minutes: No switching tools or starting from scratch.

Helping teachers feel confident about AI, not overwhelmed

Christina knows that for many educators, AI can still feel like unfamiliar territory. But she believes embracing it and modeling thoughtful use is critical for preparing students for the future.

“The kids are using it regardless,” she said. “Our job is to help them use it properly. Teachers need to understand AI and feel comfortable teaching students how to use it appropriately.”

That’s why Christina is excited to bring Pear Deck Learning’s AI Literacy lessons into classrooms across her district this fall. It’s another way she’s helping both teachers and students use AI tools responsibly, confidently, and with purpose.

Her leadership is already making an impact, from easing the burden of lesson planning to building teacher confidence in using new technology. And at the foundation of it all is Pear Deck Learning, an instructional platform designed to support educators at every step so they can focus more time and energy on what matters most: Teaching.

Ready to see what Pear Deck Learning can do for your school?

‍