Pear Deck Power-Up

1 star because whenever I install this extension and when it's finished, the new tab opens saying I installed it. We don't need that because there's already other ways to tell if the extension is installed or finished installing (like checking 1 minute later without any warning which is normal for extensions). Also, this would disrupt somebody's work while installing it at the same time and feels like it's spamming. Other than that, I don't use this extension so I don't know why my IT installed it (if I don't use it, it wouldn't count as 1 star so this part wouldn't count but opening a new tab when a extension is finished installing is annoying)

Powered up worked for years before the newest update, now animations don't work, embedded video links don't work, the extention is effectivly dead

Been trying for years and still cannot get this extension to work

Effectively useless unless you follow a very restrictive golden path.

I have been using PearDeck for several years and have come up with myriad ways to get beyond its limitations with animations (hidden text for pacing by paragraph) and videos (auto-start, and click-to-start) in my presentations. This power up was supposed to make my existing presentations work with the formative questions and engagement strategies I love the app for. Unfortunately, exactly nothing different happened when I downloaded and installed it. My presentations lost all of the timing (like before) and none of the other normal Google Slides functionality was unlocked. Back to the drawing board...

Didn't work as promoted. Very frustrating! I thought maybe it was because my video links were to Youtube so I uploaded videos to Google Drive. Same problem. Too bad, it was my first and last time using PearDeck. Too much time wasted.

This does not work as promised. Two GIFs worked, but an embedded video is just a blank screen, and NONE of my Google Slides animations (text reveals and image reveals) worked at all. Like, not at all. The animated features (text, arrows, images, etc.) don't show up and the presentation just breezes right by them. For me, animations are an important part of a presentation to limit the amount of information being displayed at one time. To mimic animations in Pear Deck, it looks like I'll need to make multiple slides for each single slide in Google Slides. UGHHH.

WONT WORK >:(

does not work. animations still do not work.

Y'all... If Pear Deck could just offer the same options for Powerpoint that they do for Google Slides, it would be so much easier.. Instead, I found myself signing up for a Free Trial on my personal account, since Draw/Drag isn't offered without premium, and my school account (that HAS bought the premium license) doesn't work on Google Slides, then transferring my slides from pwoerpoint to google slides, downloading this USELESS add-on, and being excited to finally present a BLACK SCREEN to my students. No, this power-up does NOT work. I cannot play videos, there are no animations, etc. I jumped through so many hoops, just to be let down. If I wanted static slides, I would have just stuck with PowerPoint. So sad. Do not waste your precious, PRECIOUS time.

Does not work.

I do not like the fact that it keeps giving me pop-ups saying "you installed pear."

I was so excited about this extension. Unfortunately, besides the gifs working now, the rest of the app is more cumbersome. The most glaring issue for me and my students is that they can no longer pause their slides. Pausing is one of the best features of pear deck, especially for my EL students and those with IEPs, so it makes the power-up (and the pear deck add-on) useless. Also, once the power-up has been added, it cannot be turned on or off. The only way to stop it is to remove it altogether. I am a huge Pear Deck fan, and am constantly spreading the word and showing others how to use it. I wish this extension actually worked, because having gifs would take PD to the next level.

It didn't work at all. Videos either open in a new window or show a black screen on the other computers. I followed all of the instructions, looked up tutorials and nothing worked. Canceled and uninstalled. What a waste.

uploaded but animations not working

When this was working it was wonderful! But, it hasn't been working since the school year started. Now, I've had to start thinking about other apps to fill the void.

I can appreciate what the extension is trying to do, which is why I gave it 2 stars. But it solves one problem but creates new ones. Gifs work in "Teacher Paced" but not "Student Paced". Also, if you have other Google Slides "animations" like revealing text, don't count on those showing up. Students will only see the gifs (Nice!) but not any of the text (Doh!). Will revisit if updates to the extension fix the issue.

It doesn't work if you're reopening a Pear Deck, which is less than ideal. I don't always get through a full presentation in one day, and I like to reopen the Pear Deck instead of starting a new one (in order to keep student responses all in one place).