While last year’s transition to online learning was abrupt, PUSD’s staff and administration was determined to make the transition to our new, albeit still remote, school year smooth. Part of this plan was the addition of Clever. 

Despite our introduction to Clever just this year, it has been around longer than other online platforms, like Google Classroom and Flipgrid, which our district has been using for years. Nevertheless, Clever’s role within PUSD will likely continue to grow.

“There was always a desire to house digital learning tools under a more centralized location to make access easier for all. The COVID-19 pandemic helped accelerate the process for something like this,” wrote vice principal and coordinator of innovation & distance learning Seewing (Jr.) Yee. 

The purpose of the digital learning platform is to provide a place for resources, communication, and instruction that is accessible to students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Teachers have complete control over what they add to their webpages for students and parents to access. 

“All I have on Clever are links to my website, our online textbook, and a platform that we use for my class. I linked those things at the beginning of the year and haven’t really done much else to it,” said chemistry teacher Pamela Yang.

Despite its main goal to bring school communities together, it would seem that Clever’s importance in our PUSD community is not stressed so highly. 

“All of my teachers mentioned Clever in the first week of school, however the only teacher that has been using it is Mrs. Yang for chemistry,” said Logan Bayani (‘22).

With the platform being so new to our district, its extensive opportunities also present teachers with challenges. Even if teachers are willing to explore new online tools, time impedes their ability to take the time to learn about them.  

“I’m sure Clever is great, I just don’t have the time to figure out what it does and doesn’t do. If the district would like to give us additional time, not just one 45 minute Wednesday morning, sure I’d love to learn. Unfortunately time, of course, is the kicker here in terms of these online tools. I’m sure my students would appreciate me to spend more time providing them with comments on their written assignments, rather than navigating new online platforms,” said history teacher Michael Boone.

Teachers are very busy people, especially during the school year, so time is essential when it comes to something like the introduction of a major platform like Clever. 

“The challenge with Clever is that it was not set up to go on the first day of school,” said history teacher Haley Baldwin.

Without Clever running prior to our school year starting, teachers were not given time to explore the program before having to deal with emails, meetings, assignments, assessments, and everything else that goes on during the school year. 

“Currently, only one of my teachers actively uses Clever. None of my other teachers have mentioned using it. All of my teachers have Zoom meetings at the scheduled time and a Google Classroom to post assignments. Some of them also use Remind for announcements,” said Kacie Hu (‘24).

When everything else about school is either gone or has been altered, turning to familiarity isn’t a complete surprise. In other words, there’s a shared sense of comfort amongst educators and students when continuing with the use of the same platforms, rather than introducing new ones.  

“I have a Clever page set up with links to resources for each of my classes. However, I also have these links posted through Classroom, and I suspect that many students have been using the latter links more than the former,” said Baldwin. 

Ultimately, it would seem that anything Clever can provide, other sites have already been providing for PUSD, namely through Google Classroom, where teachers can push out assignments, links, tests, and more. Nevertheless there is still hope for Clever within our district. 

“I think with the new digital tools we are all using there will be a continued need to use any platforms available that would be helpful for students and staff,” said Yee.

Because Clever acknowledges the challenges that the pandemic has enhanced, they have created resources for all parties involved so they can better understand the platform in its entirety. 

We are all trying to adjust to the new norms that come with remote learning, so while it may seem that Clever has been pushed to the side for the time being, it is likely to become a more prominent figure in our district eventually.