Corporate Pivot



I will try to speak to some recent issues succinctly.

TLDR: Classcraft appears abandoning teachers who are not part of school/district accounts in a push for greater sales with all new directions and features being directed at making classcraft more palatable to a corporate overseeing body.

In recent times I have seen a move on the part of classcraft toward schoolwide focus. This helps the company as it is a larger fee base, it can also help schools as an integrated PBIS and LMS is a wonderful thing. 

* My school does not and will not sign up for this as a collective. I have paid for classcraft out of my own pocket for years and run the program often against the desires of my administration because I consider gamification to be a powerful tool in the classroom.

* While teachers (paying individual teachers) have been requesting features (basic and more complex - I'm looking at you student quest boss battles) for years, all we have seen has been a rollout of UI alterations and simplification of the program to ease new teachers and younger learners into the program. None of which I personally need to teach my classrooms of 13 to 17 year olds.

* The school store was a feature many teachers asked for (as many of us use our own marketplaces already with printed cards or scraps of paper); however, the decision to make it available ONLY to school based programs locks out those teachers like myself who pay for classcraft out of their own pocket.

 


Luke, I echo your sentiment.  I love Classcraft and have used it faithfully for 7 years, paying out of my own pocket like you.  In the beginning, the added features were helpful and it seemed the developers were listening to their teacher base. But over the last few years, I've read countless posts on these forums requesting features that don't seem like a big stretch, only to have those requests "sent up the chain" and never discussed again. When the pandemic hit, my school required us all to use the newly purchased Schoology license, so I've had a year without Classcraft.  I miss it and I'm facing a more normal school year this August with more students back in person.  I want to switch back to Classcraft and figure out how to get around our Schoology mandate, but without individual assessment creation tools besides the rigid Google Form, I'm not sure I can justify going back.  I'm like you, my school/district will NEVER purchase a license.  I believe I was also one of the first to create and share cards I made for my personal school store (not a small expense to have them printed).  It's a shame because my kids love Classcraft and all that the gamification tools bring to their interaction with my curriculum.  I'm afraid Classcraft's lack of attention to their long time user base will come back to bite them, while platforms like Schoology have made significant changes even over the last 6 months to improve their product.  I'd hate to see Classcraft get left in the dust.

I agree with you both. My district will never purchase Classcraft and I've been a user for many years. The cost is too high right now, and I've had to cancel my pro subscription. Too bad, because my kids really loved it. Another thing that really bothers me is that after many teachers requested Classcraft to be integrated with Canvas, they did it, but only at the district level. Seriously? The message Classcraft is sending is that those of us who have used our own money to support and use Classcraft over the years are no longer that important. What a shame.

Agreed. It seems sad that they are dropping features in a effort to make it ???? 

They seem to be abandoning their core group of educators that adopted this when it was first introduced. If you are willing to lose us, who will speak for your product at a school or district level? Then where will your sales come from? 

For years, I subscribed to Classcraft out of my own pocket. Covid and remote learning made it only easier for me to do what I had to do. Cancel the subscription and stop using the product. I hate it. I hate seeing the product I once loved and really admired fall and fail.

I do not understand why in the past few years, I have seen more useful things REMOVED from Classcraft than ADDED.

I agree and am in the same boat only I have already paid for the year and we are just figuring out that 2 of us on the same team at our school cannot use the same students in our classes. He claimed them first and so I guess I am out $100. I have been with them since 2014 and this is how we are treated. I guess they should enjoy the last $100 they will see from me. I am disgusted because my kids love it and were super excited only to find out they did away with our abilities to add them to 2 classes. GOOD LUCK with your future endeavors Classcraft. You should think more about your core group. We are the ones who made you what you are.

I had to take off time from class craft due to covid and my inability to make it work for that setting. Unfortunately, I prepaid for the next year because the price was going up.  That expires in November and I am also frustrated with all of the changes that have occurred. Every time I log in, something has drastically changed and adjusting to the new interface is taxing.  I should have never left legacy mode.  I agree with a all of the above statements. I have used classcraft since 2015 and have been a premium member since 2016.  I agree that those who have been paying in are not receiving our money's worth anymore.  

I agree with everyone. I have been a user since Classcraft started. Is has really been depressing to see such a an engaging platform diminished year after year with changes that decrease the level of fun students experience. I don't know what to do anymore. I am honestly considering not coming back next year, and I never thought I would do that.  

It still seems to me the best platform for a gamified class.

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