Clever Launches New Instant Log In Feature

When adults are struggling to remember all of their passwords, how can second graders?

After launching to provide a common API for K-12 education two years ago, Clever wants to help instructors teach more and worry about resetting students’ forgotten passwords less. The education technology company recently launched a feature that will allow students to use a single sign on to all of the Clever-supported software, which includes key education players such as Scholastic and CK-12.

Clever CEO Tyler Bosmeny said a recent study showed teachers spent an average of 25.4 percent of their time in computer labs just logging in students.

“It’s really so rare that so many companies come together and solve a common problem,” Bosmeny said. “This is going to make life a lot easier for so many teachers and students.”

Clever also reported rapid growth from our last report on their Series A funding round in December that raised $10 million. At the time, Clever was available in 10,000 schools. Now it’s available in 25,000. Bosmeny said he attributes much of Clever’s growth to how rapidly the company has taken off in several large school districts, including Miami and Houston.

That explosive growth has helped the company attract new software partners, including CK-12. CK-12 produces interactive digital textbooks to encourage STEM learning. CK-12 executive director Neeru Khosla said her venture recently partnered with Clever because the company’s impact has become “impressive.”

Khosla said because education technology is moving so quickly, teachers are increasingly running into administrative hold ups. Even before technology played such a role in the classroom, she said teachers were already playing many different supportive roles in the classroom. Guiding students with new technology added to that.

“Technology was another thing teachers had to learn,” Khosla said. “You only have so much time in a day.”

Khosla said because CK-12 has a small number of employees, partnering with Clever was prudent because they do not always have time to focus on student data and making the log in process easier.

She said as digital devices become more affordable, the demand for services like CK-12 will grow.

“One of the biggest things we want to encourage is for more developers to go into education,” Khosla said.