I really like Pear Deck and find new ways to utilize it every time. I love that I can add voiceover for hearing impaired students, let the students go through a deck at their own pace, and see their answers in real time. I am still discovering new uses, and I love it!
Pros
I love that I can use slides more effectively by making them more interactive. Google Slides are already so easy to use, and having a simple add-on that lets me ask questions and see the answers in real time makes Slides even more useful for learning. My favorite feature is the ability for students to answer questions by adding a drawing. I love seeing their creativity, and they have so much fun that they forget they're learning.
Cons
I understand that they need to make money off of their product, but it is frustrating that they hide certain features behind a paywall. To have students be able to draw an answer, you must be a premium user. I think it would be more productive to have the tiers be more substantial. Drawing seems like such a small (but my favorite, most useful) feature to hide behind the paywall.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
PearDeck is a wonderful program that makes lessons engaging for my students and allows me to help them work through misunderstandings in real time.
Pros
PearDeck allows me to help my digital learners immediately. If they are not understanding a concept I am able to see where they are making their mistakes and help them correct it. I've used PearDeck in the classroom and teaching digitally and in both cases it is so easy to use and deliver lessons. Students can easily access PearDeck and with the paid version I can see who is working on the lesson and who is not yet in.
Cons
My one request would be that the add audio pop up, is always blocking the pages that you are trying to record from which makes it difficult to remember what was on that page.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
I use it daily because my first graders find it user friendly.
Pros
Pear Deck allows a teacher to see her students’ work in real-time and therefore make better instructional decisions. Pear Deck allows students to write on slides, answer multiple-choice questions, and drag up to five shapes.
Cons
This software could improve by allowing teachers to upload their own draggables and allow more than five draggables on a slide. Additionally, the customer service is very limited. I’ve had a student unable to access the slides for a couple of weeks now. Waiting to hear back from Pear Deck because my school’s technical support has not found a solution on their end. Additionally, I’ve google my student’s problem and haven’t found a solution. I am tech savvy.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 6/10
Positive!
Pros
As a teacher it is nice to be able to connect with students in class in a remote way. Students can add there thoughts, opinions, and ideas to a class discussion without necessarily needing to speak. Gives even the shyest student a voice.
Cons
Not completely user friendly. Takes a few times to figure out how to use and implement.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 8/10
It's a really really great platform! I'm so thankful we purchased it as it makes learning interactive and much more seamless during these times.
Pros
Online learning is HARD. Pear Deck makes is much easier, and is one of my favorite platforms for e-learning so far. It has great features, particularly the ability to save student results as evidence of learning. I truly love it!
Cons
It took me a while to figure out how to use it seamlessly. It's got a lot of great features and isn't necessarily difficult to figure out, but require time and focus to do so.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 9/10
Pear Deck offers a 60-day free trial for new users, after which the software is available across 3 pricing tiers. Pricing details are outlined below.
Basic: Free
Individual Premium: $149.99/year
Schools & Districts: Please contact Pear Deck for pricing details.