Community reviews for Classcraft

This is the absolute worst customer service experience I have had in ages. I joined this site just to write a review for this one product because I am so HORRIFIED by the negativity of my experience. I hope no one else ever has to go through what I am still going through, SO I STRONGLY URGE YOU NOT TO SIGN UP FOR CLASSCRAFT.

It takes some set up, but well worth it. Students have to create teams, so there can be some problems with who gets picked to join which team, but it wasn't too horrible for my students. I only have the free copy right now, but it seems well worth the full price to me.

Again this is more of a behavioral tool than an instructional one, but for behavior it is wonderful. It is important to select your teams carefully. I recommend putting together students who wouldn't necessarily group themselves to together. There are a number of instructional videos and PDs offered to teachers who want to learn how to use the site. You are also able to earn extra features for free by referring other teachers.

I really like how students are motivated to do their work and also to be on time with assignments and to the class. They really help each other and the collaboration piece was something I didn't expect. I only use the free portion. My entire class wants to participate. They don't want to bring their team down in points. I wish I could convince other teachers to do it at my school.

Random event are something that a teacher can use to spice things up in class. In my class, I have a mini challenge to select a student. That student can select if they want the Random Event to affect their guild or another guild. Random Events can be positive or negative. The Book of Laments (consequences for falling in battle) is difficult to figure out. This style of teaching lends itself to project-based learning or student-centered learning as it requires the teacher to enter the changes to student stats in live time. It is a great behavior management tracker as you can look back through documentation at student performance and behavior. You can input grades for XP rewards or HP penalties. On the paid version, you can create interactive curriculum where students can interact through videos and discussion boards for HP, XP, and AP rewards and/or removal. Students like the tool and it takes a while to have them adapt to not be 100% ClassCraft focused. In my building, students have started begging other teachers to incorporate it in their classes. As a gamer and a believer of gamification in education, I like this tool for what it is. It gets students excited about class and holds them accountable for their learning/behavior. I wish it was a more platform that teachers could use for more game-based learning. My advice: only create ClassCraft if you are truly ready to devote a significant amount of your in class time to keep up with your class' progress.

This is a great tool for teachers. I would recommend this for teachers who have more access to technology and ideally in a one to one environment. It is definitely for middle school or higher due to the level of intricacy the game can have. There is a bit of setup time, but it is definitely time well spent especially when you get the kids involved from the beginning.

Classcraft is more of a classroom motivator than a teaching tool (academically speaking.) It can be used to raise grades across all disciplines.

The concept is very good, but the execution was poor when I reviewed this product earlier in the academic year. I do recognize that services such as ClassCraft can rapidly respond to customer feedback, so hopefully the team has modified their material since. In the iteration that I saw, a suggested negative consequence for a low test score was to give the student less time on the next test! I think the whole focus on grades and homework was flawed. Why not character classes that promote interpersonal skills and social development? So, a child can be a healer, reflecting a person who is particularly interpersonal and concerned for the well being of others. A wizard class can be that studious student. Level points can be awarded for conspicuous acts f other-focusedness, such as a student assisting another student in understanding a math problem, or consoling a classmate through an emotionally challenging experience? In this way students can be rewarded for see their classmates and themselves as parts of a team, to which they bring their unique balance of gifts. Used in this way, classCraft has some potential, but at that level, a teacher can easily build his or her own system without resorting to paying for the ClassCraft service.

This tool really engages kids into the program. They are more attention to their behaviors, and want to do better so that their character can do better as well. Kids learn to work together in teams and help teammates who may struggle with certain behaviors.The last thing any of my students wanted to do was fall in battle and take more damage. It only took a couple of weeks for students to realize that it was better for them to make good choices than misbehave. One thing teachers need to watch out for is customizing. If you are using this program with elementary students, you'll want to carefully modify the game for them. Consider modifying character stats, as well as random events. Older elementary students are still learning to behave, and some of them will have a big issue with random events that take away almost all of their health or have a negative effect. I had to delete these for my students and insert more positive ones instead. If you're looking for something like Class Dojo, but suited toward older students, then Classcraft may be just the thing you need!

I think it's a great tool to change your class. They stop to think that maths or another are a boring class and begin to feel it as a challenging materia.