Reasons to Invest in Verso
Promoting Student Voice Through Design
Currently, Verso's website does not mention its anonymous peer evaluation functionality, focusing instead on its check-in feature for teachers. However, despite the shift in emphasis, there is continuity in Verso's evolution because both the anonymous discussions and check-in function promote student voice, which is the common element that establishes Verso's identity.
Anonymous class discussions, which were initially highlighted in reviews and write-ups about Verso, serve a significant pedagogical purpose. They allow shy students to express their opinions and increase overall student voice in the classroom. Verso's feature of enabling students to respond to their peers' work also encourages educators to provide thoughtful instructions on how to do so effectively. Open-ended instructions often result in shallow and superficial comments, so educators should aim for students to make their thinking visible by expanding on their peers' responses based on success criteria or using those responses to revise their initial thoughts. Educators should not assume that students have learned something simply by perusing other students' responses; there should be evidence to demonstrate this.
Verso has actively incorporated student voice into its design process, as stated on its homepage, claiming that the check-in feature was co-designed by students. This reflects Verso's commitment to giving students a voice and allowing them to provide input to their teachers.
Foundation in Educational Research
Michael Fullan
John Hattie
Alan November
Another crucial aspect of Verso's identity, alongside enabling student voice, is its foundation on educational research and best teaching practices. The platform provides educators with a toolkit that offers evidence-based teaching strategies. Verso had consultations with renowned researcher John Hattie, who popularized the idea of visible learning through his book "Visible Learning." The company also invested four years of research and development, basing its app on the work of the educationalists Stephen Heppell and Alan November, who focused on student autonomy, and researcher Michael Fullan, who specialized in system change (Australian Trade and Investment Commission, n.d.).
In the realm of EdTech, it is crucial for tools and platforms to be aligned with research. Within the teaching profession, there is a widespread discussion about the importance of teachers continuously developing their professional skills. Merely being proficient with technology is insufficient; it is essential to be intentional and align its use with the specific learning objectives of each lesson. This perspective has become a commonly repeated phrase in today's era of abundant educational technology options. Verso stands out in this context by claiming a strong foundation based on evidence of effective teaching practices.
Commitment to Evidence-Based Strategies
If individuals subscribe to Verso primarily for its anonymous peer evaluation functionality, they will quickly discover evidence of Verso's commitment to evidence-based strategies. One notable example of this commitment is observed when setting up an activity using Verso's template.
Within the template, there are two boxes prompting educators to provide a list of contextual vocabulary and academic vocabulary. Adjacent to these boxes are default instructions for students to create a list of the academic and contextual vocabulary they should include in their responses. If the educator chooses not to include vocabulary items, it is advisable to delete these instructions to avoid confusing students. On the activity summary page, after the activity is completed, a word cloud displays the academic vocabulary used by students. If contextual vocabulary is not provided to students in the activity, Verso will indeed indicate that no contextual vocabulary is available to display. In this case, it will say, "Read about why this is important here." and provide a link to a write-up within the app called "Key Vocabulary"
This example highlights that even if individuals subscribe to Verso primarily for its functionality and have no initial interest in the evidence-based information provided, it becomes hard to ignore. The accessible and concise write-ups within the app offer valuable insights into best practices. Moreover, at the end of each write-up, Verso includes a prompt saying "Try this strategy now" along with a link to create an activity. This promotes a circular process of creating an activity, learning about a new best practice, and then creating a new activity based on that knowledge.
IDentifying Direct Competitors
Verso's direct competitors are challenging to identify due to their diverse range of offerings that span multiple domains. As a platform focused on professional development, Verso is classified as a cloud-based professional development platform for teachers according to the website Tracxn. Tracxn's metrics rank Verso as the 16th out of 227 competitors in this category (“Verso Competitors,” 2024).
Initially, Verso's primary objective was to facilitate anonymous class discussions. However, it has since expanded its scope. In an article from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) discussing tools that support formative assessment, Verso is categorized alongside other tools that aim to strengthen communication between teachers and students or among students themselves. Notable examples of such tools mentioned in the article include Classkick, PeerGrade, and Spiral (Dyer, 2021).
Presently, Verso positions itself as a powerful tool for gathering feedback from students. While a simple Google form can collect desired feedback, Verso surpasses this method by offering additional capabilities. Verso can consolidate data over time and subject it to machine learning analytics.