Assessment
Nearpod vs Pear Deck
Both sit in Assessment on the Edibok index. Here is what each one is, side by side, so you can tell which fits the job you actually have.
| Nearpod | Pear Deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Slides with superpowers: polls, drawing, VR field trips, and live insight into every screen. | Turns the Google Slides you already have into sessions every student answers from their seat. |
| Grade bands | K-2 · 3-5 · 6-8 · 9-12 | 3-5 · 6-8 · 9-12 |
| Price model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Platforms | Web · iOS · Android | Web |
| Notable features | Live sync mode; VR field trips; Draw it responses | Lives in Slides; Anonymous mode; Takeaway notes |
| Privacy and accounts | District plans with SSO and admin dashboards. | Works inside Google Workspace for Education; district tier adds controls. |
Nearpod
Upload your existing slides and stud them with interactive moments: open responses, polls, matching, collaborative boards, and even VR field trips. In live mode you control the pace and see every student's answer as it lands; student paced mode covers homework and sub days.
The draw it question is the sleeper hit: watching thirty students sketch a food web tells you more than any exit ticket.
Pear Deck
A sidebar in Google Slides adds interactive questions to the deck you were going to present anyway. Every student responds from their own device, anonymity on the projector keeps it safe to be wrong, and the teacher dashboard quietly shows who is lost.
Start class with one warm up slide left anonymous; wrong answers become discussion instead of embarrassment.
This is a description of two listings side by side, not a test or a ranking. Neither app was trialled for this page, neither paid to appear, and no link here earns a commission. Check your district's privacy and procurement rules before classroom use.