How Boddle Helps Teachers Save Time and Engage Students with Gamified Learning
"Sometimes I just want to move away from pencil and paper, and Boddle brings learning to life—especially with the tool that shows students the steps to solve problems."
Embracing Technology in Education
Education today is rapidly evolving, and technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing communication and collaboration in the classroom. Students thrive when they can use technology to learn and receive immediate feedback. Incorporating tech into instruction isn’t just a helpful tool—it’s become a necessity. Teachers are expected to meet each student where they are, both instructionally and emotionally, while delivering differentiated lessons that cater to varying skill levels within a single classroom.
Engaging Today’s Students
Modern students want to be excited about their learning experience. They don’t want to be passive observers—they want to be part of the action!
Keke Powell, a second-grade teacher at Sunfield Elementary in Texas, is passionate about fostering this type of active engagement in her classroom. Whether dressing up in costumes or transforming her classroom, she’s committed to keeping her students inspired. Boddle helps her bring this excitement to life, offering an engaging gamified platform where kids can learn, review, and grow in their skills.
Boddle’s diagnostic assessment tools enable Keke to assign specific skills tailored to her students' needs, or she can let them follow their personalized learning pathways. With easy-to-access reports, she can quickly identify each student’s strengths and areas for improvement, saving her time while ensuring effective instruction.
Overcoming Challenges in the Classroom
The Problem:
In a classroom setting like Keke Powell’s, managing small groups while ensuring other students remain productive is challenging. Independent skill review often relies on traditional pencil-and-paper tasks, which can be difficult for students to stay focused on. Additionally, analyzing these assignments requires significant time from teachers, making it harder to deliver personalized support.
The Solution:
Boddle provides tools that empower students to review skills independently and keep learning fun. Through rewards and incentives like quests, knowledge points, and gold, students remain engaged while mastering key concepts. They can use these rewards to play mini-games, personalize their avatars, and shop for fun in-game items.
When Keke’s students use Boddle, they gain access to step-by-step how-to math videos that help them take control of their learning. These tools enable them to master concepts independently, freeing up Keke to focus on small group instruction.
Tailored Learning for Success
Standards-Based Learning:
In Texas, students must master specific TEKS standards. Boddle aligns seamlessly with these standards, allowing Keke to assign targeted skills that help her students succeed. This feature saves her valuable planning time, making differentiated instruction easier than ever.
Results with Boddle
- High Engagement: Boddle moves students away from traditional paper-and-pencil tasks by combining learning with their love of gaming. Its adaptive algorithm ensures students are neither frustrated by overly difficult tasks nor bored by skills they’ve already mastered.
- Meeting Students Where They Are: Boddle empowers students to focus on specific TEKS skills they need. Teachers can generate reports to track progress and celebrate student achievements, sharing the joy with families.
- Concept Review with a Twist: Students love battling classmates in friendly competitions, turning content review into an exciting challenge. This gamified approach keeps kids motivated and focused on learning.
- Incentives That Work: For students, Boddle feels like a game, making it an effective motivator for completing classwork. Teachers can even send home student logins, allowing kids to continue learning after school and giving parents insight into their child’s progress.
A Teacher’s Advice to New Boddle Users
Keke encourages new Boddle users to start by letting students explore the program and experience the excitement firsthand. Once they’re familiar, gradually introduce the various tools to help them maximize their learning experience.