Recently, a unique opportunity opened up for us here at Maths Circle. We were able to conduct a case study differently to our usual format. With Pound Hill Junior School, we were able to speak with the school’s ‘Digital Leaders’ – a group of students from Year 3 to Year 6 who specialise in developing and reviewing the school’s digital programme. Having been avid TT Rock Stars users since 2016, their computing lead, Sam Berry, decided to try NumBots on a four-week trial. Following their trial, we sat down with Sam and the pupils from Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 to discuss their feedback. For the children, it was a chance for them to show us their innovative flair; providing us with new ideas on how to improve the game, as well as feedback on what they already like about NumBots.

The Digital Leaders also sent some of their awesome bot designs, so look out for those throughout this article!

CUSTOM SHACK

What did the Digital Leaders like?

In discussing the Custom Shack, it was evident what makes it so popular:
The ability to customise their bot appeared to be extremely popular, as well as those who like to browse the many, many parts!

What do the Digital Leaders want to see? 

When asked whether the children preferred saving or spending their coins, a strong preference of saving over spending emerged. More specifically, many indicated the purpose of their saving was to afford particular pieces that they aimed to work towards. As a result of this, there were a few suggestions for additions that would facilitate their coin saving.

SCRAP BOOK

What did the Digital Leaders like?

A relatively new feature of the Custom Shack, we were especially eager to hear the children’s opinions – and we were not disappointed! The Scrapbook enables the children to save and revisit old designs. Considering we had already established that the robot customisation element of the game was extremely popular, it made a lot of sense that they loved this feature.

What do the Digital Leaders want to see? 

As a popular feature already, there wasn’t much of a response on how we could improve the Scrapbook. However, the Digital Leaders still had some suggestions for us of course! Unsurprisingly, they wanted more space for their previous bots, as the limit is currently 10 designs.

LEADERBOARDS

What did the Digital Leaders like?

Dissimilarly to TT Rock Stars, the Leaderboards are not a prominent feature of NumBots, however they became a discussion topic with the Digital Leaders from Pound Hill nonetheless. The Leaderboards received a varied response, some preferred earning and saving coins, whereas some found it an integral part of their NumBots experience! According to some of the pupils, the Leaderboard is a source of motivation for improvement. Two girls explained to us that the ability to compare their score to others provided them with inspiration to improve their score. Another used the Leaderboard to set herself goals and targets.

What do the Digital Leaders want to see? 

An interesting outcome from this conversation was that many children find their sources of motivation elsewhere. Therefore, when it came to discussing what they would change or add, we received an insight into different ways children find motivation. One student suggested that a reward for daily practise would act as an incentive to play more. Another suggested for us to introduce a designated ‘Best Scores’ area, where they can save and revisit their top scores.

BADGES

What did the Digital Leaders like?

When asked about badges, we received a lot of thumbs up. Another popular feature of the game, it was apparent that the children find them rewarding as it provides them with something to work towards. This type of motivation then inspires them to continue practising and therefore progress onto the next level.

What do the Digital Leaders want to see? 

It was evident that the sense of achievement the children feel when they receive their badges provides them with a sense of pride, therefore there were suggestions for badges earned to appear in the Custom Shack.

CONCLUSION

To round up, we left this special meeting with a lot of points to think about! If you strongly agree, or perhaps disagree, with any of the Digital Leaders’ suggestions, then please email us at [email protected]! Alternatively, pop us a message on any of our social media channels (see the icons below). Once again, thank you to the wonderfully innovative Digital Leaders from Pound Hill Junior School – keep your eyes peeled for changes suggested by you!