Final Post #8
Prodigy Game
What is Prodigy?
It is an educational platform that uses game-based learning to teach subjects such as English and Math. “The game is designed for 1st through 8th graders to play during the school day and at home. In this online role-playing game, children create customized wizard characters to earn stars and prizes for winning math “battles,” finding treasure, and completing a variety of non-math challenges throughout the game. Children can also shop with Prodigy currency, practice dance moves, chat with other players, and rescue cute pets”(Fairplay).
Benefits of Prodigy for Teachers
Prodigy’s gamified elements, including avatars, rewards, and challenges, help keep students engaged. This helps a lot for Math, as it can be seen by students as a less exciting and challenging subject
Prodigy uses adaptive learning technology to tailor lessons to each student’s skill level
Teachers can track individual student performance from the game
Prodigy is user-friendly, making it easy for both teachers and students
Benefits to gamifying Math
Gamification of Math can make it less intimidating for students by making it fun
Students can get instant feedback
Helps reinforce foundational math skills by being able to practice in a game format
Points, badges, and other rewards such as opening new areas, within the game create a sense of accomplishment and gives students the want to continue practicing
Every student can go at their own pace
Negatives or pitfalls of Prodigy
As in any game, students can focus on the rewards instead of focusing on the understanding of math
“Most of a child’s attention is drawn not to math but to their character’s customization. In time considered independent learning, kids are buying and earning new accessories for their wizard and performing dance moves completely unrelated to the game’s plot. Children spend the most time in Lamplight Town, an outdoor mall. There, children can spin wheels to get more stuff and there are shops constantly available throughout the game—a known real-world sales tactic”. (Fairplay)
“The main drawback is that the math has nothing to do with the setting: They’re textbook math problems that interrupt the adventure at regular intervals. And the repetition of the game mechanic — wizard battles monster with spells — might get tedious for some kids”. (CommonSense)
Not all students enjoy games for educational learning
The story line is about Wizards, that families might not approve of
“When schools assign Prodigy, they create two tiers of students: those whose families can afford to buy a membership, and those whose families can’t. Prodigy’s model is the equivalent of giving wealthy kids in a classroom a shiny new textbook with a surprise toy inside, while kids from low-income families get an old, beaten-up edition. And as kids play, they can tell who are the haves and have-nots”. (Fairplay)
“In terms of settings, some teachers will want to remove the calculator from the student toolset, so having that option would be helpful”. (CommonSense)
Math through Prodigy can increase motivation, practice opportunities, and engagement. However, it’s important to weigh the potential downsides, such as focusing on rewards, paid membership, built in calculator, math not matching with the environment, and technology dependencies for students. Overall, I might use Prodigy as a fun tool for math, but not as a learning tool.
There are other apps I would use before this one, including Reading Eggs, Mathletics, Khan Academy, Splash Learn, IXL Math, and Math Seeds.
