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英国一款广受欢迎的乘法表练习应用 Times Tables Rock Stars（常称 TT Rockstars）近日进入议会讨论：议员担心游戏化作业奖励“上网时长”而非学习质量，公司则称将默认开启宵禁与每日时限，并关闭排行榜。阅读时可留意 reward、development、pressure、evidence 等词，以及 may、claimed、said 如何保留各方说法边界。

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A popular maths homework app is now part of a wider UK debate about how long children should stay on screens. Times Tables Rock Stars, often called TT Rockstars, lets primary school pupils compete for virtual coins and rock-star outfits while they practise multiplication. The company behind it, Maths Circle, says the tool is used in about 17,000 schools and more than 100,000 households. This week, Labour MP Emily Darlington told the Commons Science Committee that apps like this may harm children’s development because they reward “length of time rather than quality of time spent online.”

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一款广受欢迎的数学家庭作业应用，正成为英国关于儿童该在屏幕前待多久的更广泛讨论的一部分。Times Tables Rock Stars（常称 TT Rockstars）让小学生一边练习乘法，一边争夺虚拟金币和摇滚明星造型的服装。其背后公司 Maths Circle 称，该工具已用于约 1.7 万所学校和逾 10 万个家庭。本周，工党议员 Emily Darlington 在下议院科学委员会表示，此类应用可能损害儿童发展，因为它们奖励的是“在线时长，而非在线时间的质量”。

Darlington told the BBC that education technology can help in class, but gamification can push children to spend hours online to earn the latest outfit. Parents, she said, worry about device conflicts at home and pressure to keep up with classmates. The committee is looking into how screen time and digital devices affect children’s brain development. Early years education minister Paul Waugh said gamification is not the way to learn, and claimed many products are profit-driven ways to increase screen use. He also said EdTech should support teachers, not replace them, and warned of a “wild west” of products unless schools can choose tools that are certified as safe and effective.

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Darlington 对 BBC 说，教育技术可以在课堂上发挥作用，但游戏化可能推动孩子为了赚取最新服装而在网上花费数小时。她说，家长担心家中设备使用冲突，以及跟上同学的压力。该委员会正在调查屏幕时间与数字设备如何影响儿童大脑发育。幼儿教育大臣 Paul Waugh 说，游戏化不是学习之道，并声称许多产品是以利润驱动的方式增加屏幕使用。他还说，教育科技应支持教师而非取代教师，并警告若学校无法选择经认证安全有效的工具，产品市场可能变成“狂野西部”。

Maths Circle founder Bruno Reddy, a former maths teacher, said the firm shares concerns about screen time. He told reporters that every game is deliberately short, characters remind children to take regular breaks, and the guidance for schools is about three minutes, four or five times a week. In September, he said, a typical child played on three days for about six minutes each time. The company also says it sends a reminder after more than 30 minutes of after-school use. From 24 November 2026, every school will have a curfew and a daily time limit switched on by default, with leaderboards switched off as default. Reddy also said the app avoids streaks, random rewards, chat messages, loot boxes and notifications, has no advertising, and charges schools the same subscription no matter how long pupils play.

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Maths Circle 创始人、前数学教师 Bruno Reddy 说，公司也认同对屏幕时间的担忧。他告诉记者，每局游戏故意做得很短，角色会提醒孩子定期休息，给学校的经验法则大约是每周四五次、每次三分钟。他说，九月份典型孩子约有三天使用，每次约六分钟。公司还称，放学后使用超过 30 分钟会发送提醒。从 2026 年 11 月 24 日起，每所学校将默认开启宵禁与每日时限，并默认关闭排行榜。Reddy 还说，应用避开连续打卡、随机奖励、聊天、战利品箱和通知，没有广告，且无论学生玩多久，学校订阅费相同。

Campaigners remain cautious. Charlotte Ashton of Generation Focus said many digital learning tools still lack strong evidence that they improve learning without unintended harm. The government is drawing up screen-time guidelines for ages five to sixteen. For readers, the story is not a final verdict on one app. It shows how popular homework games sit inside a larger question: when does practice become more screen time than maths practice?

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活动人士仍持谨慎态度。Generation Focus 的 Charlotte Ashton 说，许多数字学习工具仍缺乏有力证据证明它们能在提升学习的同时避免意外伤害。政府正在为 5 至 16 岁起草屏幕时间指南。对读者而言，这篇报道并非对某一应用的最终判决。它显示，受欢迎的家庭作业游戏正落在一个更大的问题里：练习何时变成了更多的屏幕时间，而不是数学练习？

新闻来源

• BBC News · Children spending too long on maths app TT Rockstars, MP warns (4–5 Nov 2026)
• Schools Week · Minister concerned over ‘gamification’ of ed tech products (4 Nov 2026)

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