Pearson Activelearn: A teacher's guide

Pearson ActiveLearn: An Overview of the Platform

Pearson ActiveLearn is a comprehensive online learning platform that embodies the essence of interactive and digital teaching, offering an extensive suite of resources for both students and educators across K-12 education levels. In 2025, as schools continue to refine their blended learning approaches, platforms like ActiveLearn provide a valuable bridge between traditional teaching and digital innovation. This platform enriches the educational landscape by providing access to a vast library of interactive lessons spanning core subjects such as English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, among others. ActiveLearn stands out for its integration of teaching videos and a wealth of lesson plans, facilitating a dynamic approach to teaching and learning.

For students, ActiveLearn offers a rich repository of practice tests, quizzes, games, and activities designed to align with learning objectives and promote deeper understanding. The platform's content caters to the diverse learning levels and styles of students, fostering an active learning environment that encourages both independent and collaborative learning experiences.

Key features include:

• A Comprehensive Educational Resource: Offering a wide array of subjects with interactive lessons and activities.
• Support for Diverse Teaching Strategies: Facilitating both individual and collaborative learning experiences through open-ended questions and tailored activities.
• Flexibility and Accessibility: Ensuring content is accessible on both desktop and mobile platforms for learning anytime, anywhere.

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The Development of Pearson ActiveLearn

Pearson ActiveLearn emerged from Pearson's broader digital transformation strategy as the publishing company sought to complement its traditional textbook offerings with interactive online resources. Originally launched as part of Pearson's educational initiative to support schools transitioning to digital learning, the platform has evolved significantly.

The platform was developed to address the growing need for blended learning approaches in schools. By linking directly to Pearson's published textbooks and assessment products, ActiveLearn provides a seamless bridge between physical and digital resources. Teachers can access front-of-class materials, while students work through interactive activities at their own pace.

The redesigned interface introduced enhanced navigation and expanded functionality, reflecting Pearson's commitment to online innovation and active learning strategies. This digital service is accessible across various devices, ensuring that learners and educators can engage with content and activities from anywhere, at any time.

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Exploring the ActiveLearn Learning Package

ActiveLearn is a comprehensive learning package designed specifically for use by primary and secondary teachers who want to deliver high-quality content through an integrated digital platform. It includes everything from lesson plans to assessment materials, quizzes to games, and videos to interactive simulations. In addition, Pearson offers a variety of other products and services, including professional development opportunities and curriculum support. Learning with videos has become particularly popular since the pandemic, and this approach creates active learning experiences for students of all ages. It's been adopted in schools across the UK.

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What to Expect from ActiveLearn Live

Pearson also provides live online training sessions that can be used as standalone or supplemental resources for your courses. These webinars provide an opportunity for teachers to interact with trainers and explore the platform's features. For more information about training options, contact Pearson directly through their website.

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ActiveLearn's Learning Management System

The ActiveLearn LMS allows teachers to create lessons, assignments, tests, and quizzes using any combination of text, images, video clips, audio files, links, animations, interactive elements, and graphics. Teachers may upload these materials directly into the system or link them from external sources such as YouTube, Vimeo, and other video platforms. Students access all course material via the internet and don't need to download anything onto their computers.

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ActiveLearn Primary: Features and Benefits

ActiveLearn Primary's learning management system is a web-based application that can be accessed by students anywhere with an internet connection. It provides straightforward navigation for both instructors and learners. Teachers have full control over what content appears on each page of the site, and students can navigate through pages without having to log in repeatedly. All student information is stored securely within the database. For secondary schools, ActiveLearn Secondary offers comprehensive support for Key Stage 3 and GCSE courses.

The ActiveLearn free trial version includes everything you'd expect from a fully functional online school, including lesson plans, assessments, grades, attendance tracking, communication tools, and more. After the trial period, a subscription is required. The video tutorials show you how to create lessons using ActiveLearn, covering all aspects such as adding images, text boxes, links, quizzes, and more.

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How to Log into Your ActiveLearn Account

Enter your email address and password and click "Login". If you don't already have an account, please register for one. Once logged in, you can navigate to different sections of the website. There are many ways to customise the interface, including changing colours, fonts, and backgrounds. When uploading resource files, you'll need to rename them before saving. Renaming files is important because these are automatically named according to their category.

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Key Features and Uses of ActiveLearn

The platform offers numerous features to support classroom teaching:

• Create new classes and organise resources
• Assign students to classes
• View and grade assignments
• Send messages to students
• Measure progress of students
• Track attendance
• See who hasn't completed homework
• Review previous tests and quizzes
• Set up automatic grading
• Use the calendar to schedule activities
• Manage announcements and events

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Four Ways to Use ActiveLearn Primary Effectively

1) Create Lessons: Use this feature to add new activities to your class. Add questions, videos, pictures, audio clips, interactive elements, and more.

2) Assign Activities: Choose specific activities for individual students based on their needs.

3) Grade Student Work: View assignments, mark tests, and assign homework.

4) Communicate With Your Class: Send messages to your entire class at once or individually. Teachers can send announcements, reminders, and invitations to participate in discussions.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Pearson ActiveLearn

How do I access Pearson ActiveLearn resources?

ActiveLearn resources can be accessed through institutional subscriptions. These subscriptions are purchased by schools and are available to all members of staff at that school. Teachers can then register and organise their students on ActiveLearn and provide them with student-specific resources. Some student resources can also be accessed using ActiveBook codes, which are individual single-use ebook codes included with physical books.

What is Pearson's ActiveLearn Digital Service?

Pearson's ActiveLearn Digital Service is an online learning platform that provides tools and resources to help students succeed across a range of subjects. It includes front-of-class teaching resources, online homework and practice, planning and assessment materials, and the ability to set and review homework. The platform also includes videos of teaching ideas, customisable playlists of resources, and the ability to send content to students' tablets and smartphones. It's designed for use in the classroom and at home, aimed at Key Stage 3 and GCSE students. It offers interactive questions and support for tracking student progress.

Is ActiveLearn free for students?

No, Pearson's ActiveLearn isn't free for students. While there are free trials available for certain products, the full service requires a subscription fee. Subscriptions are offered on a yearly basis and can be purchased directly from Pearson Education or through an approved reseller. With an ActiveLearn subscription, students have access to a range of interactive and engaging digital teaching resources designed to enhance classroom learning. For a free trial of Primary Online Learning, click here; for Secondary Online Learning, click here.

Further Reading

• The Effects of Integrating Mobile Devices with Teaching and Learning on Students' Learning Performance (Hwang and Chang, 2011)
• Effectiveness of E-Learning and Blended Learning (Means, Toyama, Murphy and Bakia, 2013)
• Learner Control and the Effectiveness of Computer-Based Learning Environments (Scheiter and Gerjets, 2007)
• Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet-Based Learning Management Systems (Lee, Cheung and Chen, 2005)
• Digital Learning Platforms in Schools: A Systematic Review (Hillmayr et al., 2020)

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