A CLEVER Use of Time

What it is

Clever is an app integration system designed for schools. As CEO Tyler Bosmeny explained to an NPR reporter, “Clever does two things. It helps apps integrate with student information systems and gives students and teachers a single sign-in for all of them” (Kamenetz, 2015). In essence, Clever is a third-party that manages student information for all of the applications that a school district uses. The tool allows students to log in to all of the apps that the school district uses with a single user name and password (Singer, 2015). This streamlined process provides convenience and addresses issues of security and privacy for school systems. Currently, Clever is being used by 44,000 elementary and secondary schools nationwide, which is approximately one third of all of the K-12 schools in the United States (Singer, 2015). The tool is brought to schools free of charge because the company charges the app developers that integrate with the system (Singer, 2015). Clever is increasing the productivity for administrators, teachers, and students. View an introductory video on Clever below.

How it Works
The staff at Clever has worked hard to integrate over 130 apps with their system. A list of the apps offered with Clever can be found in their application gallery. A few of these apps have been listed below, as well:

• Benchmark Education Company 
• Campus Suite 
• Canvas 
• Formative 
• Gmail 
• Google Calendar 
• Google Docs 
• Google Drive 
• Khan Academy 
• Mastery Connect 
• NewsELA 
• SAS Curriculum Pathways 
• Scholastic 
• Spelling City 
• SymbalooEDU

The list of apps is somewhat limited right now because the app systems have to go through a screening for privacy and security before they are adopted for use by Clever (Singer, 2015). Once an app is selected, the app company pays Clever to be integrated into their system. Therefore, the cost is alleviated for the schools.

On the school side of the program, administrators choose which apps will be used by the school system and provide Clever with the student information system (SIS) so that the students can receive login information. The SIS connects directly with Clever’s program, and the administrators can select which information is transferred to the app developers (Singer, 2015). The information that can be provided to the app developers includes the student’s name, ID number, address, date of birth, gender, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and ELL status. Most of the time, the student’s name and ID number are all that is provided (Singer, 2015).

Once the schools have selected which apps they would like to use with Clever and the groups of students that will have access to the apps, the students are assigned a single login and password through Clever’s program. K-2 students are also provided with a “Clever Badge,” which is an ID card that has the student’s name and a unique QR code. The students can hold the badge up to the webcam on their laptop or Chromebook and the code will automatically sign them in to the Clever system. This login system is more secure than writing the login information on a piece of paper and eliminates the teacher having to log in each student individually. Scanning the QR code is much easier for the young students who may have a difficult time typing or remembering complex login information. If students forget their password, the teacher can log in to their Clever account and provide the student with a temporary backup code that allows them to access their account for the day. This allows the teacher and the students to progress forward with class quickly and efficiently.

Benefits of Using Clever
EdTech Review provides four benefits of school systems using Clever. First of all, the setup for the Clever system is “swift and simple.” Ed Tech Review cites that administrators can sign their school system up for Clever in less than five minutes (Saxena, 2013). Secondly, Clever saves time and money because “student data only needs to be entered once, after which Clever syncs ongoing changes to all Clever-enabled applications” (Saxena, 2013). This makes entering data cheaper and faster, and eliminates the threat of data entry errors. Thirdly, Clever is a trustworthy technology because it uses bank-grade encryption to transport the student data. Clever is also FERPA compliant, so student’s safety is always a number one priority (Saxena, 2013). Lastly, Clever works very simply on a day-to-day basis. Once the data is entered into the SIS, Clever keeps all of the student accounts up-to-date across all of the integrated apps (Saxena, 2013). With Clever being such an easy technology tool to set up and use for school systems, administrators are finding the program to be a time saver that significantly increases the instructional and learning time in the classroom.

Enhancing Productivity for School Leaders
School leaders are adopting Clever for their school systems because the program is free, easy-to-use, and safe. These attributes and the system’s overall functions are relieving a significant amount of stress for school leaders at the beginning of the year. Typically, administrators are responsible for creating student accounts on apps that are used by the district and by teachers within the school’s classrooms. The administrators are also then responsible for transferring all of the student information that is sent to the app companies at the beginning of each year. Because Clever connects directly to and updates along with the school’s SIS, this step is completely eliminated for administrators (Singer, 2015). Clever also saves time for administrators by allowing the quick customization of which students receive access to the apps that are integrated with the Clever program (Singer, 2015). Administrators can choose if the apps are provided for individual classes, across grade levels, whole schools, or an entire district. The last feature of Clever that is particularly useful for administrators is that they can manage and monitor the apps that are being used by their students through their administrative account on Clever. The program provides data through charts and graphs to administrators so that they can see how often the apps are being used and what they are being used for (Singer, 2015). The only catch with this is that the data is only collected for the apps that are integrated with Clever, not for the apps that are used independently by teachers in their classrooms. A demonstration for how Clever can be used by administrators can be found below.

My Experience with Clever
Because Clever is a technology tool for school systems, I was unable to get an account and become familiar with the program from a user's perspective. However, I was able to watch some YouTube videos and explore Clever's website. In reading the material on Clever's website and reviews on the program, I think that Clever would be a significant asset to any school system. With being a free tool that is easy and secure to use, school systems would be wise to adopt this program as a way of increasing the productivity of students, teachers, and administrators. The program could easily be implemented with little to no training required for staff members. Clever is a program that ought to be utilized by all school systems nationwide.

References
[Clever badge]. Retrieved from https://clever.com/images/badges/Clever-Badge.png

[Clever snapshot]. Retrieved from https://clever.com/images/instant-login.png

Kamenetz, A. (2015, August 27). One-third of schools are using this app you’ve never heard of. 

Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/08/27/434667722/one-third-of-schools-are-using-this-app-youve-never-heard-of

Saxena, S. (2013, November 3). Clever – integrations with your SIS in minutes. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/news/720-clever-integrations-with-your-sis-in-minutes

Singer, N. (2015, September 20). Clever, a software service, gives schools a way to manage data flow to apps. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/technology/personaltech/clever-a-software-service-gives-schools-a-way-to-manage-data-flow-to-apps.html?_r=0