Math makes up one of the letters of STEM, so students are always better off when we don’t forget to include that. In this week’s Rising Resources blog, we’re exploring an online resource known as Prodigy, within which students can learn and practice grade-appropriate math from anywhere! Over 50 million students have used this online platform so far and it’s loved by teachers and administrators, too. Designed for students between first and eighth grade, Prodigy offers an interactive experience for students to learn specific math concepts in a fun way and at their own pace. Keep reading to learn more about Prodigy and how it offers a successful, game-based option for teaching math!
Like most of the resources we feature, Prodigy is completely free for educators and students and accessible over the Web. In fact, it says there will never be a cost to use it on their website, which is something we’re sure everybody likes to hear! Users can create a free account in one of four types—teacher, parent, student, or administrator—right from the Prodigy homepage. After providing their name and email address and creating a password, they’re ready to go! They can start accessing the curricula within Prodigy right away and users can start building up their Prodigy profiles.
When partnering with Prodigy to bring real-world math to students, educators also receive some benefits. These include free training on how to use the Prodigy platform and bring custom learning experiences to students. The training is completely free and tailored to the strengths and needs of the faculty at each individual school that has implemented Prodigy. Once they begin, educators will have access to their own dashboard within the Prodigy platform, on which they can see progress and usage reports from individual students as well as district wide!
Teachers can also manage Prodigy implementation at the school level and receive ongoing support whenever they run into any snags. Many of the same benefits Prodigy provides for students are applicable to their teachers as well. For example, educators will learn how to use Prodigy to effectively engage their students in meaningful math learning. They’ll also get the chance to learn more about how to motivate students by encouraging them to move through the challenges at the pace that’s best for them—something that can be accomplished both in and out of school. Finally, teachers can use Prodigy to differentiate learning with a wide range of proficiency options—something that has been shown to boost learning outcomes and test scores.
On the student side of things, Prodigy provides them with adaptive feedback in real time as they progress through the challenges. In terms of actual time spent on math problems, it’s estimated that students answer approximately one math question per minute when using Prodigy—a pretty good ratio. Then, teachers can use the insights provided by Prodigy to enhance and supplement their math instruction to better serve an entire class or individual students. The detailed reports and analyses Prodigy provides also help teachers tailor their math instruction accordingly.
With there being such a large focus on the successful retrieval and implementation of educational data these days, Prodigy is available to teachers to help them navigate that very area. The data provided is very comprehensive and teachers can use what they learn about their students to better engage them and improve academic achievement. To learn more about Prodigy and to get started with meaningful math lessons, check out their website. And, be sure to check out our store for more great educational technology as well as following us on the Twitter and the Instagram!