Blending EdTech with Play: Why ‘Either/Or’ Is Old News

by Bryn Llewellyn

Blending EdTech with Play: Why ‘Either/Or’ Is Old News

edtechWhen we first launched Tagtiv8, a teacher once told us:

“I love Tagtiv8 - but it’s not a scheme of work.”

At the time, we bristled. Our session plans covered every area of mathematics - what more could anyone want?

Then the penny dropped.
Tagtiv8 isn’t a scheme of work - it’s something better.

Tagtiv8 supercharges any scheme of work - across maths, phonics, spelling, science, geography, history, MFL, RE… you name it. We don’t replace teaching approaches; we energise them.

And increasingly, we’re doing this by bringing together digital tools and analogue active learning - the best of both worlds.

Original Test-and-Learn Adventures

To explore this blended approach, we partnered with innovative edtech organisations including TT Rock Stars, Night Zookeeper, Now Press Play, Chatta and others.

Together, we created our CreActivity Days - hands-on experiences combining:

  • immersive storytelling and gameplay
  • physical Tagtiv8 resources
  • digital platforms that deepen learning

Check out some examples here and here.

The results? Children learning more, moving more, and loving it.

Want to see it in action? Read our case study on transition here.

And collaboration becomes even more powerful when community foundations join the fun. Read a case study involving Daisy Education and Leeds United Foundation here.

New Blended Idea for 2025: Dragons & Grammarsaurus

Thanks to Morley Victoria Primary School in Leeds, we piloted an exciting new project: combining Tagtiv8 with Grammarsaurus.

Using shared dragon imagery and the ‘Tell Me a Dragon’ unit, pupils explored language actively.

The Active Learning Flow

  1. Share images of dragons.

  2. Place 5 Clarifying Question strips in the coloured tubs. 

Ask children to get into groups of 3 and visit the 5 tubs to discuss answers to the questions.

  1. Activate mini-lessons by using ‘Seek the Letters’, whereby children seek letters and create words.

  2. Return words to the teacher(s) and explain their choice of vocabulary using sentence stems:

  • My dragon is…
  • My dragon has…
  • My dragon eats/breathes…
  • My dragon sleeps…

  1. Write a sentence in their books for each sentence stem.

  2. Create a word, but jumble up the letters for the teacher to guess, giving clues if necessary.

  3. Share a poem from ‘Dragons’ by Nic Toczek.

  4. Gather feedback.

Highlights from the Playground

The outcomes were positive:

  • The session lasted longer than planned because the children were so engaged - despite the fact that it was the afternoon session at the end of the week.

  • Children chose their own groups of 3, but some of them asked if they could swap or work independently as they worked through the challenges. 

  • Teamwork is important, as witnessed by the impromptu “Let’s get into a group huddle before we start the challenges.”

  • It was interesting to see the groups utilised the areas within the playground, e.g. the steps, the mushrooms, the shade.

  • For the ‘My dragon sleeps…’ 2 groups independently got together to then insert a conjunction, i.e. “My dragon lives in a cave. However, our dragon lives in an ocean palace.”

  • Children incorporating drama into their findings, e.g. “My dragon eats crispy seaweed - UUUURRRGH!”

  • Putting the letter tags into alphabetical order helped in terms of organisation. It was interesting to see which children recognised this.

A powerful reminder: movement unlocks creativity, language and confidence.

New Blended Idea for 2025: Number Stacks x Tagtiv8

Next, curiosity led us to Number Stacks founder James Aylott - and an idea sparked.

With a partner school from Batley MAT, we blended Tagtiv8 activities with Number Stacks Puzzle Box Challenges.

Step 1: Fill the Tub the ultimate physical challenge. You can watch the explainer video here.
Step 2: Solve together:

  • Choose a card
  • Communicate with friends
  • Collect tags
  • Create solutions

This approach worked brilliantly across:

  • place value
  • multiplication & division
  • fractions

Listening to learners explain their reasoning in motion gave teachers rich assessment insight - and helped identify next steps quickly.

Looking Ahead: Playful Partnerships Wanted

We believe learning is most powerful when it’s:

  • Active
  • Creative
  • Collaborative
  • Digital + Physical
  • Driven by children’s curiosity

Are you an edtech innovator or education solution provider who shares this vision?
Ready to co-create meaningful, playful learning experiences?

Let’s talk.

 

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