Unruly Splats
Product by Unruly Studios
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)
Unruly Splats effectively merges physical activity with block-based coding concepts, engaging kinesthetic learners. However, because we have not yet formally evaluated its long-term impact on computational thinking, we cannot definitively guarantee mastery. It excels at collaborative problem-solving but requires heavy educator scaffolding to ensure students grasp underlying coding logic rather than just stomping buttons.
Pros
- Engages kinesthetic learners by requiring physical movement to execute and test code.
- Promotes collaborative problem-solving as students must work together to design and play the physical games.
- Uses immediate visual and auditory feedback loops to help students debug their block-based programs.
- Bridges the gap between abstract computational logic and concrete physical actions.
Cons
- Heavy reliance on teacher scaffolding prevents independent self-paced learning for younger students.
- The novelty of stomping on the physical buttons can distract from the actual coding objectives.
- Lacks built-in spaced repetition to ensure long-term retention of specific programming syntax.
- High cost and institutional pricing model make it inaccessible for individual family purchase.
What Do We Know About Unruly Splats ?
Unruly Splats is an effective introductory coding tool for kinesthetic learners, but it is built for classroom environments rather than independent at-home learning. The system pairs a tablet-based block coding app with physical, stompable floor buttons. Your child uses the app to write logic sequences, dictating how the buttons light up, make sounds, and score points. Then, they physically test the code by playing the game they just built. This tangible execution of abstract logic provides immediate sensory feedback. When a game fails to work, your child instantly sees the error and must return to the code to debug it. This rapid iteration builds resilience in problem-solving. However, the physical play component can sometimes overshadow the computational thinking goals if an adult is not guiding the lesson. Children may focus more on the stomping than the coding logic. Because Unruly Splats operates on a school-based subscription model that includes hardware and teacher training, you will likely only see this used in your child's physical education or STEM classes. It is not currently available as a single consumer purchase for your living room.
How Does Unruly Splats Work?
Unruly Splats uses experiential, game-based learning by pairing block-based coding with active physical play. Students begin by logging into a digital interface where they drag and drop coding blocks to create rules for a game. These blocks define variables, conditional statements, and loops that dictate the behavior of physical floor pads. Once the code is written, students sync the app to the physical Splats via Bluetooth. The learning mechanics rely heavily on trial and error and immediate feedback. Students run the program, physically interact with the pads by stepping or jumping on them, and observe the outputs like colors, sounds, and scoreboards. If the physical game does not behave as intended, students must trace the error back to their digital code. This process forces them to apply computational logic to real-world objects. The platform includes educator lesson plans that provide worked examples, allowing teachers to introduce foundational concepts before asking students to modify the code and invent their own rule sets.
Strengths and tradeoffs of Unruly Splats
The biggest strength of Unruly Splats is its ability to map abstract coding concepts to physical movement, while its biggest weakness is the potential for physical play to distract from rigorous computational thinking. Strengths: The platform excels at providing immediate, concrete feedback. In traditional screen-based coding, bugs can feel invisible. With Splats, a logic error results in a tangible failure during physical play, prompting active retrieval and debugging. This kinesthetic approach caters to students who struggle with static, screen-only instruction. Weaknesses: Without strict teacher guidance, the active play element easily overrides the learning objective. Students may rely on trial-and-error guessing rather than systematically tracing code logic. Furthermore, the platform does not utilize spaced repetition or adaptive difficulty pacing. Students do not automatically progress to harder concepts based on performance; instead, the teacher must manually introduce more complex logic. Because The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated the product, we cannot confirm how efficiently students transfer these block-based skills to traditional text-based programming environments later in their education.
Who Might Benefit From Unruly Splats ?
Unruly Splats is best for K-8 classrooms and after-school programs looking to integrate computational thinking into physical education or collaborative group work. It serves kinesthetic learners who disengage from traditional, seated screen time. Because it requires significant floor space, physical activity, and peer interaction to reach its full potential, it is ideal for educators wanting to foster teamwork alongside essential STEM skills. It is not designed for individual, self-paced learning or for parents seeking a standalone application to teach their child coding syntax at home on a personal tablet.
Data Transparency
Meets Data Transparency Standard
Unruly Splats meets our data transparency standard at Level 2 of 3 (Parent control). Level 3 needs the policy to document an API for retrieving their own data.
26 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated September 2026
Privacy Policy →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.
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
View all 35 checks
Parent Access8/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“Parents and guardians of children under 13 who use any of the Unruly products have certain rights under COPPA and Unruly recognizes those rights.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“At any time, parents/guardians may request to review the personal information we collected from their child, request that we make no further use of that information, or request that we delete it.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
“If your child is a _Classroom User_, please contact your _Educational Institution_ if you need to request to access, make changes to, or delete _Student Data_ on your _Classroom User_ from our servers.”
Can parents delete their child's account?
“At any time, parents/guardians may request to review the personal information we collected from their child, request that we make no further use of that information, or request that we delete it.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“We care about children’s privacy and are committed to complying with the **Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act** (COPPA).”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“We care about children’s privacy and are committed to complying with the **Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act** (COPPA).”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“We will process the data consistent with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“In compliance with COPPA, Unruly does not collect Personal Information from children under 13 without a parent or guardian's consent or that of a school if applicable.”
Data Portability4/5
Can users access their personal data?
“_Right to Know and Access Information_: You may request access to the personal information we maintain about you in the ordinary course of business.”
Can users download/export their data?
“Districts and schools may request copies of their student personal information (which includes a CSV template file of names, and classes), which shall be provided within four (4) weeks of the written request.”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
“Each school or district Administrator has access to a dashboard that allows them to create, update, review, modify and delete individual accounts, and monitor logins within the individual accounts.”
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
“Districts and schools may request copies of their student personal information (which includes a CSV template file of names, and classes), which shall be provided within four (4) weeks of the written request.”
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not mention an API for data access.
Data Minimization1/6
Is data collection itemized?
“Administrators and educators: full name, email address, phone number, username, password, security question, school, school address, classes associated with the account, IP address”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says schools may provide student names to the vendor.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy says the vendor may collect a limited amount of personal information, such as an email address, from a child user for certain communications.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
The policy says only that it generally avoids or limits collection from children; it does not say collection is limited to what is necessary.
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says IP addresses are collected but does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy collects country-level geolocation and does not rule out location tracking.
Third-Party Protection6/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“We do not sell the personal information of children or students.”
Are third-party providers named?
“Your Personal Information may be stored on our behalf on third-party cloud infrastructure provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), a service provided by Amazon Web Services Inc.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“These third parties service providers are bound contractually to practice commercially reasonable security measures and to use your personal information solely as it pertains to the provision of their services.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“We do not use student or children’s personal information for advertising purposes, including targeted advertising.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“We will not use _Product Use Information_ or _Browsing Information_, collected through the use of our _Splats_ and _App_, for behavioral or re-targeted advertising purposes or allow third parties to track the activity of a _Child User_ for such purposes.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting information about you and recognizing you on return visits to our Services by disabling cookies on your browser or by installing the Google Analytics opt-out plug-in.”
Deletion & Retention5/5
Can users delete their account?
“_Right to Deletion_: You may request that we delete your personal information.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
“Districts and schools and homeschools can delete student Personal Information at any time and in real-time using the Administrator dashboard as mentioned above.”
Specific data retention timeline?
“If information was not deleted by the school or the district before the subscription expired, we retain such information for a limited period of 3 months after expiration.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
“Student classroom accounts and the student identifiable information within them are automatically deleted after three months of inactivity - first from our server and then, two weeks later, from any backup server.”
Post-deletion handling described?
“Once that information is deleted, it is deleted from our servers – first from our servers and then, five weeks later, from any backup server.”
Advertising2/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“We may also use this information to serve advertising to adult users. We do not use student or children’s personal information for advertising purposes, including targeted advertising.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy says the vendor and its third-party partners may deliver targeted ads to adult users on its own websites and services.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“We do not use student or children’s personal information for advertising purposes, including targeted advertising.”
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not describe an ad-free option and discloses advertising to adult users.
Meets Data Transparency Standard
The reviewed policy met our data transparency standard. This result describes the policy disclosures we assessed. Actual practices and legal compliance were not verified.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of Privacy Policy 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 Unruly Splats 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 Unruly Splats
Is Unruly Splats free?
No. Unruly Splats operates on an institutional subscription model rather than a direct-to-consumer purchase. Schools pay a comprehensive annual fee that covers the physical hardware buttons, unlimited student software seats, and professional development for educators. It is not available as a free app for individual families, and the digital application requires the proprietary physical hardware to function as intended.
Is Unruly Splats good for elementary students?
Yes, Unruly Splats is highly effective for elementary and middle school students. The drag-and-drop block coding interface removes the frustration of typing complex syntax, making foundational logic accessible to young learners. The physical stomping component also matches the high energy levels of K-5 students, keeping them engaged in the learning process much longer than a traditional static coding lesson would.
What does Unruly Splats teach?
Unruly Splats teaches foundational computational thinking and block-based programming. Students learn to manipulate variables, create loops, and build conditional logic statements to control hardware. Beyond strictly academic STEM skills, the platform also teaches collaborative problem-solving, iterative debugging, and basic game design principles by forcing students to design rules for active, physical play in a shared physical space.
How does Unruly Splats compare to standard Scratch?
Standard Scratch keeps the learning entirely on the screen, focusing on building digital animations and video games. Unruly Splats utilizes a very similar block-based coding language but directs the programmatic output to physical hardware devices. This hardware integration forces students to move their bodies, collaborate in physical space, and physically test their code, bridging the gap between digital logic and real-world engineering.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated Unruly Splats?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well Unruly Splats teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 2, Parent control.
Is Unruly Splats COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy commits to COPPA compliance.
Is Unruly Splats FERPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references FERPA. A policy reference alone does not establish FERPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy commits to FERPA compliance.
Does Unruly Splats have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: The policy has a dedicated section headed "CHILDREN'S PRIVACY".
Does Unruly Splats 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 vendor states it does not sell children's or students' personal information.
Can you delete your data from Unruly Splats ?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users may request deletion of their personal information.
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- Pricing
- Unruly Splats memberships come with an annual fee that includes ongoing training for any teachers in the school, unlimited student seats in our coding app, access to customer events and competitions, hardware and warranty on all hardware, and access to our educator portal which includes lesson plans, video tutorials, and a community forum.
- Platforms
- iPadOS (Apple tablet), macOS (Apple), Chrome OS (Google)
- Grade Levels
- Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
- Website
- Visit site