Clever

1. What is Clever?

Positioning: A K-12 education technology platform focused on simplifying data integration and single sign-on for schools, offering seamless and secure access to digital learning resources for students and teachers.
Functional Panorama: Covers Clever SSO for universal app access, Clever Rostering for automated data synchronization, Clever Library for discovering and managing educational applications, Clever Analytics for usage insights, Clever IDM for automated account provisioning, Clever MFA for enhanced security, and Clever Messaging for school-to-home communication.

2. Clever’s Use Cases

• For Teachers: Use Clever SSO to quickly access all their digital tools without multiple logins, streamlining classroom operations.
• For Students: Use Clever Badge Logins or regular SSO to effortlessly access their learning applications, simplifying the start of class and reducing login issues.
• For School IT Administrators: Use Clever Rostering to automate the secure transfer of student and staff data from their Student Information System to hundreds of learning applications, ensuring accurate and up-to-date rosters without manual work.
• For Edtech Developers/Vendors: Use Clever APIs to integrate their applications with thousands of schools, simplifying deployment and user management for their educational software.
• For School District Leaders: Use Clever Analytics to monitor app usage and engagement across the district, informing technology investment decisions and identifying underutilized resources.

3. Clever’s Key Features

• Supports secure single sign-on across hundreds of K-12 applications.
• Automated rostering and data synchronization with Student Information Systems.
• Clever Library for discovering and deploying edtech applications.
• Clever Badges for easy student login, especially for younger learners.
• Clever Analytics for reporting on application usage.
• Clever Messaging for school-to-home and school-to-student communication.
• Clever IDM for automated identity management.
• Clever MFA for enhanced security.
• Clever Badges for Educators launched in November 2023, enabling teachers to quickly log students into devices or applications via QR codes.
• Users frequently suggest improved app search and filtering within the Clever Library to optimize discovery of relevant resources.

4. How to Use Clever?

1. School/District signs up for Clever and connects their Student Information System to Clever’s platform.
2. Clever automatically syncs student, teacher, and class data from the SIS, creating up-to-date rosters.
3. Admins choose and add desired learning applications from the Clever Library or connect existing ones, granting appropriate access based on roles and rosters.
4. Students and teachers log in once to Clever and access all their connected applications without needing separate logins for each app.

Pro Tips:

• For younger students, activate Clever Badges and print QR codes for quick, seamless login experiences.
• Utilize Clever Analytics to monitor application engagement across the district and identify areas for professional development or underutilized resources.
• Encourage teachers to use the “Login as a Student” feature from their dashboard to quickly troubleshoot student login issues.
• Regularly review sync reports in the Clever dashboard to ensure data accuracy and address any integration errors promptly.

5. Clever’s Pricing & Access

• Free tier: Clever offers its core rostering and SSO platform completely free for K-12 school districts, including Clever SSO, Clever Rostering, Clever Library, Clever Analytics, and Clever Messaging.
• Web Dynamics: Clever’s “always free for schools” model is consistently highlighted by educational technology blogs as a key differentiator compared to competitors like ClassLink, which often have tiered subscription models for core services.
• Tier Differences: Premium features like Clever IDM and Clever MFA are available as paid add-ons, typically through custom quotes, to address advanced identity management and security needs for larger districts.

6. Clever’s Comprehensive Advantages

• Competitor Contrasts: Clever’s “free for schools” model for core SSO and rostering capabilities offers a significant cost advantage over competitors like ClassLink, which often charge per student or per feature. Clever boasts integration with over 600 applications and is used by over 90,000 schools, offering broader app compatibility and wider adoption than many competitors.
• Market Recognition: Widely recognized as the leading K-12 identity and rostering platform in the U.S., with over 65% of K-12 schools using it. Consistently receives high ratings for ease of use and customer support on review platforms like G2 and Capterra.