Evolution of Verso Over time
If we look at the following timeline of Verso as a company, we can see how it evolved over time:
2013 - Verso is founded by Colin Wood in Melbourne, Australia.
2014-2020 - Verso gains recognition for its anonymous class discussions functionality.
December 11 2014 - In a press release from the Denton School District, announcing the district-wide adoption of Verso, a teacher is quoted as saying, "I've had kids come alive in amazing ways" ("Verso Educational App," 2014).
June 6 2016 - EdTech consultant Tom Mullaney publishes an enthusiastic write-up on his website about Verso's virtue of "Students losing the baggage of identity" through anonymity (Mullaney, 2016, para. 7).
2020 - Mullaney includes Verso in his guide to distance learning conversions, citing its ability for teachers to see student identities on responses while students remain anonymous (Mullaney, 2020).
August 1 2017 - Verso completes a $2 million Series A funding round.
In the press release, emphasis is placed on Verso as a professional development platform. Colin Wood, the founder, highlights its ability to provide "ongoing, continuous" training for teachers at an entire school, equivalent to one day of professional development for a single teacher (Verso Learning, 2017, para. 8).
May 22 2018 - Verso launches Version 2.0 of its product.
In a press release, Verso touts 12 new features, including an improved library of example activities and a vocabulary word-cloud feature, but does not yet include the student feedback collection feature (Verso Learning, 2018).
January 23 2019 - Verso begins offering the Exit Ticket feature, which allows student-to-teacher feedback (Verso Learning, 2019).
June 2020 - The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) releases a report on students' experiences with remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report, based on survey data collected by the VicSRC, highlights that students desired more regular check-ins from their teachers to support their well-being and requested more opportunities to provide feedback and contribute to the direction of future lessons (Henebery, 2020, paras. 1-2).
November 2020 - Verso introduces student Check-ins, an update to the Exit Ticket feature, which was designed in collaboration with the VicSRC (Henebery, 2020, para. 4).
July 2022 - Verso receives the Education Quality Certificate from the Finnish Education Alliance.
The evaluation focuses on Verso's utilization of student voice, enabling teachers to make informed decisions about future lessons. The certificate does not mention the platform's ability to provide anonymous peer feedback (Education Alliance Finland, 2022).