Maths edutainment hasn’t worked out. There, I said it!

The moment computers moved from punch cards to keyboard and monitors, the future of maths education was obvious. Kids would enter answers, get instant marks and feedback and we could shortcut the need for teacher marking. A generation later, computers moved from plain text, to video, animation and audio and things got even better. We could hone explanations, develop the clearest pictures and even provide unique pathways through the material for each student depending on their answers.

To keep kids motivated, we’d use the tricks of online games. They'd befriend cute characters in colourful virtual worlds. They could earn rewards and spend them in virtual shops. We’d say well done and cheer every time they got a right answer. Animated fireworks would detonate at the end of every successful activity. It would feel like play, not the dull stuff of school work. It was edutainment.

All great, except it hasn’t worked. Sure, some schools, if they are willing to shell out four-figure sums and faithfully commit to their vendor’s onerous implementation, can shift the dial on maths learning a few percentage points. But the debate in mathematics education today is not about which is the best EdTech platform, but more pressing issues like teaching methods, motivation and curriculum.

Why hasn’t it worked? I don’t know, and I’ve thought about it a lot. At NumberClub we started with some simple ideas. What would maths EdTech look like if we didn’t ask any maths questions? How could feedback be better than simply right or wrong? If they got it wrong, what would be more effective than saying here’s how to do it? How else could we generate the motivation for the huge amounts of practice students need to get good at the weird and wonderful world of mathematics. Answers to these question might just drive maths Edtech in more fruitful directions.