Earning Coins
As students practice on Freckle, they earn coins for questions they answer correctly. A few important things to note:
- The coin totals reset daily to give every student a fair chance to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
- Coins are gained at the same speed, regardless of the level at which the students are working.
- While different parts of the Freckle program can award different amounts of coins, earning coins will always depend on whether students are answering questions correctly.
- Some assignments may not offer coin incentives to students. For example, if the teacher has assigned an assessment or the student has already passed the level or article, the student will not earn additional coins.
Using Coins (The Piggy Store)
K–12 students have the option of dressing/decorating their avatar using the coins they have earned. The Piggy Store isn't always open—students have to earn their trips to the store by completing assignments or practicing on the app. Students must earn 50 coins to earn a trip to the Piggy Store. The program will ask them if they want to take a trip to the Piggy Store. Once there, they will be given either 90 seconds or an unlimited amount of time to pick out different clothing and accessories (edit students in the Roster to change the Additional Time settings).
In the Piggy Store, students will be able to see how many coins they have available to spend. They will also be able to reference the amount of time they have left in the store.
If students see an item that they want to purchase, all they have to do is select the item. It will then open the option for the student to buy that item.
If students try to purchase an item for which they don't have enough coins, the program will let them know that they need more coins for that particular item.
If the 90-second time limit is in effect, after the time has expired, students will be returned to the program to continue their work. We decided to include a 90-second time limit to ensure the focus of the program is still on the various subjects offered, while the Piggy Store remains a positive reinforcer; however, we realize that some students with special needs may require additional time to make their selections and purchases in the store. This is why we've made it possible for you to give students unlimited time if you wish.
As students go back to work on the program, their piggy avatar will be wearing the clothing/accessories that the student selected during his or her time in the Piggy Store. Students will always own all the items they have purchased and can put them back on their avatar in the store.
Coins Resetting
You may notice that while students are working on Freckle, their coin totals drop to zero. No need to worry—your students didn't actually lose these coins (unless they spent them in the store). This happens because the students are working on a new student session.
At the end of each student session (level completed, trip to the piggy store, new set of questions, etc.), the coins earned by the student during that session are added to that student's coin total.
Changing a Student's Coin Balance
For any reason, if you ever need or want to update the amount of coins one of your students has, you can do this from the Rosters page settings drop-down.