Make Wonder
Product by Wonder Workshop, Inc.
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
While The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated Make Wonder, its design applies problem-based learning by having students program a virtual or physical robot. It effectively bridges block-based coding with observable outcomes, though the high cost of hardware or subscriptions presents a barrier.
Pros
- Uses problem-based learning to teach logic and sequencing through observable robot actions.
- Provides a virtual robot environment so students can test code without physical hardware.
- Scaffolds computational thinking by starting with basic commands before introducing complex loops.
- Offers pre-built lesson plans that align coding puzzles with specific learning objectives.
Cons
- The free version is entirely dependent on owning expensive physical robot hardware.
- Virtual environments lack the tactile feedback that makes physical robotics effective for young learners.
- Requires significant teacher facilitation to connect puzzle solving to broader computer science concepts.
What Do We Know About Make Wonder?
Make Wonder is an effective tool for introducing computational thinking, provided your child has access to the required physical robot or a paid school account. The app relies on problem-based learning, asking students to program a robot named Dash to complete specific challenges. By dragging and dropping code blocks, your child immediately sees the consequences of their logic when the robot moves or reacts. This immediate feedback loop is critical for learning programming concepts like sequencing and debugging. However, parents should know that the free version of the app is completely useless without the physical Dash robot, which is a significant separate purchase. The virtual robot features are locked behind a classroom subscription designed for educators. Because The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated this app, we cannot provide definitive efficacy data. Still, the underlying mechanics of using block-based coding to manipulate a character successfully apply worked examples and progressive scaffolding. Your child will not learn complex syntax like Python here, but they will build the foundational logic required to understand how algorithms function in the real world.
How Does Make Wonder Work?
Make Wonder uses problem-based learning and progressive scaffolding to teach introductory computer science concepts. Students use a block-based coding interface to drag and drop commands that control a robot named Dash. The app presents coding puzzles that act as worked examples, showing students a desired outcome and asking them to assemble the logic required to achieve it. In the physical mode, the code transmits to a real robot on the floor. In the virtual mode, a simulated 3D robot navigates an on-screen maze. This allows students to engage in trial and error, running their code to observe errors and debug their sequences. The curriculum advances from basic directional movements to complex logic involving loops, conditionals, and sensor inputs. Teachers can monitor student progression through a dashboard that tracks puzzle completion and identifies areas where students struggle to grasp specific computational concepts.
Strengths and tradeoffs of Make Wonder
The biggest strength of Make Wonder is its immediate visual feedback loop, while its biggest weakness is its high cost of entry. Immediate visual feedback is a cornerstone of effective coding education. When students execute a block of code, they instantly see the virtual or physical robot execute those commands. This grounds abstract logic in concrete, observable actions. Scaffolded puzzles guide learners by slowly increasing the cognitive load, ensuring students master basic sequencing before attempting nested loops or conditional statements. However, the reliance on expensive hardware or subscriptions limits accessibility. The physical Dash robot represents a significant investment for parents, and the annual virtual license targets schools, not individual families. Furthermore, the transfer of skills from block-based puzzle solving to independent programming often requires active teacher intervention. Without an adult guiding the reflection process, students may rely on trial-and-error guessing rather than deliberately applying computational thinking to solve the challenges.
Who Might Benefit From Make Wonder?
Make Wonder is best for elementary and middle school students who need a highly visual, concrete introduction to coding and logic. It effectively serves classrooms in Kindergarten through 8th grade where teachers want to integrate robotics without purchasing a physical unit for every single student. Parents who already own the physical Dash robot will find the app an essential companion to unlock the hardware's educational potential. It is ideal for young learners who struggle with abstract programming concepts and benefit from immediate feedback.
Data Transparency
Does Not Meet Data Transparency Standard
Make Wonder reaches Level 1 of 3 (Basic protections), below our data transparency standard. Reaching Level 2 needs the policy to document a data retention timeline and self-service deletion.
22 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated September 2026
Privacy →Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Not documented: a data retention timeline, self-service deletion
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access7/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“With proper authentication, a parent or legal guardian always has the right to:”
Can parents view their child's data?
“review the Personal Information we may have collected and stored about their child.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
The policy gives parents rights to review, delete, and refuse further collection of their child's data, but does not state that parents can modify or correct their child's data.
Can parents delete their child's account?
“you wish to view, request deletion of, or prohibit further collection of information about your child.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“We care about children’s privacy. We are committed to complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“Our robots and mobile apps are COPPA listed by the kidSAFE Seal Program. We are fully compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that prevents Educational Institutions from releasing certain information about your child to vendors such as MORAVIA Education without consent.”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“Per COPPA, the parent’s email address may be used to notify and obtain verifiable consent from a parent before: - activating a Wonder Workshop account.”
Data Portability3/5
Can users access their personal data?
“You have the right to access and update any Personal Information that we have collected.”
Can users download/export their data?
“You have the right to obtain copies of your information in a structured, commonly used format. The format should allow you to move your data between our service and the services of others.”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
“Some Personal Information can be updated using the account management tools at [portal.makewonder.com/account/edit](https://portal.makewonder.com/#/account). This includes the account holder’s name and email address.”
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy mentions only a "structured, commonly used format" and does not name a specific format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not mention an API for data access.
Data Minimization2/6
Is data collection itemized?
“- payment: credit card, bank account, or other information used in payments - contact: email ID, phone number, billing, shipping, or mailing address - identity: first name, last name, age, username, or password”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says teachers may enter students' first and last names into the Make Wonder portal, so real names can be collected.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy says it may collect email addresses, including from a parent or child for certain communications.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“As detailed below, we limit the use of personally identifiable information (PII) to the minimum necessary for the use of our products.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says server logs may record your IP address and does not clearly state that IP addresses are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy lists precise geolocation as possible child personal information and does not explicitly exclude location tracking.
Third-Party Protection6/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“When we do collect data, we use it to support our products, customers, and users. We never sell the data.”
Are third-party providers named?
“We use Amazon Web Services to provide our infrastructure, and store data with industry standard security practices.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“To operate the Service, however, we may share your Personal Information with our agents, representatives, and contractors. This is so that they can provide us with support services and other features and fulfill your orders. We require these third parties not to use your Personal Information for any other purpose.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“On our Child-Directed Products, we do not use Product Use Information or Browsing Information for behavioral or re-targeted advertising.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“On our Child-Directed Products, we do not use Product Use Information or Browsing Information for behavioral or re-targeted advertising. Nor do we use it to allow third parties to track the activity of Children Users for such purposes.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.”
Deletion & Retention2/5
Can users delete their account?
“To request that we delete all Personal Information about you, please submit a request.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
The policy says deletion is done by request and describes no self-service deletion tool.
Specific data retention timeline?
The policy does not say how long data is kept in general; it only says that after a deletion request, removal from backups may take up to 60 days, and that browsing information is kept for a time judged reasonable.
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
The policy does not address automatic deletion of inactive accounts.
Post-deletion handling described?
“In addition, the School or District may request that all student and teacher data be deleted at any time during the course of the subscription. It may take up to 60 days for data to be completely removed from our backups.”
Advertising2/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“For our General-Audience Sites, Wonder Workshop may partner with “Third Party Advertising Companies.” These are third-party advertisers, ad servers, and ad networks.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy discloses third-party ad networks on its general-audience sites and does not state that the product is free of advertising.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“On our Child-Directed Products, we do not show behaviorally-targeted or re-targeted ads to Child Users. Nor do we track Child Users for targeted advertising purposes.”
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not describe an ad-free option or state that the product has no advertising.
What This Means
The policy review did not meet our data transparency standard. The checks above show the documented findings and unknowns. A missing statement does not establish how the app handles data in practice.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of Privacy against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how Make Wonder works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About Make Wonder
Is Make Wonder free?
The app itself is completely free to download from your device's app store, but its core functionality requires external purchases. To use the free version of the software, you must pair it with a physical Dash robot, which is a significant standalone hardware purchase. Alternatively, educators can purchase a Make Wonder classroom subscription for $199 per year. This paid tier unlocks access to a virtual, simulated robot on the screen, allowing students to learn and code without needing the physical robot hardware in front of them.
Is Make Wonder good for elementary students?
Yes, Make Wonder is highly effective for elementary students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, as well as middle schoolers. The software utilizes a block-based coding interface that completely removes the barrier of typing complex computer syntax. By dragging and dropping colorful command blocks, young children can focus entirely on foundational computer science concepts like logic, sequencing, and problem-solving. The app slowly increases the cognitive load through scaffolded puzzles, ensuring younger learners are not overwhelmed before they grasp basic directional commands and simple action loops.
What does Make Wonder teach?
Make Wonder directly teaches computational thinking, applied logic, and foundational computer science concepts. By interacting with the virtual or physical robot, students learn how to properly sequence commands to achieve a specific goal. As they progress, they are introduced to more advanced programming structures, including continuous loops, conditional if-then statements, and sensor-based inputs. Crucially, the app teaches the iterative process of debugging. Because students immediately see the robot fail a task when the code is wrong, they learn how to identify errors and systematically correct their logic.
Make Wonder vs. Scratch: Which is better?
Deciding between Make Wonder and Scratch depends entirely on your learning goals. Scratch is a completely free, open-ended platform designed for creating digital games and animations, making it the better choice for creative expression and unstructured exploration. In contrast, Make Wonder provides highly structured, objective-driven puzzles specifically focused on robotics and physical computing. Make Wonder is better for guided, problem-based learning where students need structured tasks to master specific concepts. Both use block-based coding, but Make Wonder focuses on robotic execution rather than digital storytelling.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated Make Wonder?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well Make Wonder teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 1, Basic protections.
Is Make Wonder COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy states COPPA compliance.
Is Make Wonder FERPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references FERPA. A policy reference alone does not establish FERPA compliance. Policy review note: FERPA explicitly referenced in Student's Privacy section; borderline because no direct compliance claim is made.
Does Make Wonder have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: The policy has a dedicated Children's Privacy section.
Does Make Wonder sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: The policy states the company never sells the data.
Can you delete your data from Make Wonder?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can request deletion of all their personal information.
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- Pricing
- Free version requires a physical robot. Classroom version is $199/yr.
- Platforms
- iOS (Apple mobile), Chrome OS (Google)
- Grade Levels
- Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
- Website
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