DoodleLearning Numeracy and Literacy program Launches in Australia

After watching their children playing on their tablets, maths teachers Tom and Nicola Chilman decided to create an app that would combine different learning styles, work alongside class-taught lessons and encourage children to learn in a fun and personal way.

DoodleLearning was launched in 2011, and presently there are four Doodle programs - DoodleMaths, DoodleEnglish, DoodleSpell and DoodleTables - that have been used by over one million children around the world.

Designed to support classroom teaching, Doodle gives children a chance to practise and apply their learning.

“In the schools using Doodle apps, we’ve seen significant impact in terms of pupil engagement and attainment and also in saving educators time, while giving them actionable data to boost progress,” Charity Lisko Vice President of International Curriculum and Product at Discovery Education who acquired Doodle says.

One of the hardest parts of a teacher’s job is to meet each student where they are in their learning progression. The Doodle algorithm supports teachers by giving children work at just the right level for them so all can make progress.

DoodleMaths is a research-based, standards-aligned digital learning app for children aged 4-14 that builds skills, fluency, and confidence at home and in the classroom.

Working alongside teachers and parents, DoodleMaths is a self-paced, personalized learning program that continuously adjusts to the unique learning needs of students.

Using the latest adaptive technology, DoodleMaths gives every child a bespoke learning program that plugs gaps, targets tricky topics and consolidates knowledge. The app is full of fun, interactive exercises, that help children learn maths fundamentals. And because they’re having fun while they’re learning, Doodle promotes ‘little and often’ usage, which research shows is very impactful.

The four programs can be accessed on any device and in schools, Doodle is used for whole class teaching, with intervention groups to give additional support, for assignments to reinforce learning and also for homework. The apps are also popular with parents.

The apps are easy to use and children seems to enjoy working on them. Teachers save time, especially with marking and setting work and the apps deliver detailed pupil progress data which can be easily tracked and reported on and can help teachers decide where to focus their instructional time.

“A study by England’s University of Bath found that using our apps over the holidays has a significant and beneficial impact on summer learning loss. We’re proud that DoodleMaths has been nominated for and won a whole host of awards including Tech & Learning, THE Journal and Teach Primary awards,” Lisko says.

“The program has been rebuilt so that it aligns with the Australian curriculum objectives and achievement standards. However, our programs provide a personalised learning program for each child based on their current strengths, weaknesses and rate of progression.”

Eva, Year 3 Lead, Brookfield Primary Academy says, “The effect of using the apps has become apparent to teachers; “Children are becoming independent learners. The fact that Doodle is tailored to each child's ability really works well and gives them confidence to use it by themselves."

“Children’s attitudes to maths have improved … Using Doodle regularly has also helped to close maths gaps across the school, and has highlighted gaps we can support with,” says Roxanne, Maths Lead, Cliffe VC Primary School.

No formal training is needed to use Doodle. The platform is designed to be intuitive and straightforward to navigate. Children simply log in with their unique credentials or class code, complete a baseline assessment, and begin their learning journey. Doodle’s dashboard allows teachers to see at a glance the progress of their students. And it also allows educators to assess current strengths or weaknesses on specific areas of the curriculum.