I had an absolute blast playing around on Prodigy in our technology class, it took me into an unknown technology World that I was excited to learn about!
There are many benefits when it comes to using this resource in your classroom and as a teacher you have endless opportunities to alter the program to best suit your studentās needs! In addition, I feel this is a great resource for students, it makes learning Math and English fun, new and engaging.
The great features for TEACHERS:
- You can track your studentās learning progress.Ā
- It is aligned to the curriculum.Ā
- You can assign certain levels / topics to best suit the individual studentās needs.Ā
- Students come off more engaged with math when it is paired with Technology.Ā
- It is a FREE resource in most school districts.
- Easy to navigate.
Cool features for STUDENTS:
- Being able to play with your friends / classmates.Ā
- You can complete daily tasks / earn points.Ā
- Answer math problems through ābattlesā.Ā
- You can ārescueā pets and collect them as your own. Ā
- You are learning either Math or English at the level that best suits you (controlled by teacher).Ā
- Easy to navigate throughout website.
Pros and cons of gamifying a subject like Math:Ā
Pros:
- Continuous engagement due to earning points, getting new pets, winning battles by answering the math problem correctly AND you get to unlock new parts of the map the more you play / win the battles.Ā
- They can play it at home and not just in a school setting.Ā
- The teacher can alter the grade level and apply it to the studentās account. Ā
- Teachers can track the studentās progress and see some areas they need to work on.Ā
- Allows studentsĀ to trouble shoot technology.Ā
- Students gain problem solving skills.Ā
- Sparks growth mindset.
- LASTLY, it is a great technology resource that allows students to further succeed in their learning in comparison to a normal āvideo gameā.Ā
Cons:
- Students could get distracted with other websites due to it being on an open browser.Ā
- Sometimes technology is not always in our favour ā running into login and loading issues. Ā
- Some students may not have access to technology outside of the classroom. Ā
- Only available for grades 1-8
- They could become reliant on technology and find math outside this website āboringā.Ā
- Increased screentime which has a lot of negative effects, especially for youth. Ā
An inside look into Prodigy
Students get to create their very own costume Wizards.
Question Examples
Here is an inside look into what the questions look like and the range of questions that can be asked.
As well as this website provides options where if a student is struggling they can click on the lightbulb and it will provide “tips” (top image shows an example of a tip)
Also, when the question pops up there is a lot of room for students to use the pen options to help “draw” out the question if that will help them successfully complete the question.
World Map
The more students play, the more different parts of the map they unlock which allows them to explore new locations, unlock more pets and “battle” new opponents.
I will definitely be incorporating this website into my future classroom! š
Your blog looks really good with those columns š I wish when I was a kid we could explore math this way. I also had fun playing on Prodigy!It was super engaging and instantly I wanted to do better than our classmates, so that meant really focusing on math, who knew it could be that much fun! I agree with you that a con would be kids getting too distracted on other websites or games when you’re not always there to watch. Also technology isn’t always available and or working, but when it is this is a great way to practice math.
Thanks for your great post!