The nonprofit is calling for the agency to investigate Prodigy for deceptive marketing - by telling schools on its website and other marketing materials that the product is “completely free” - and unfair tactics for using persuasive design to promote its paid product to kids. “Schools are signing up for this thinking it is free and not understanding that there’s enormous commercial pressure put on children and families when they play at home,” said Josh Golin, the campaign's executive director. These included messages highlighting how members “have more fun” or get “better pets.” The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood said in its letter of complaint that during 19 minutes of gameplay it saw 16 unique advertisements for membership and only four math problems. We look forward to his contributions in further strengthening our position as a trusted partner of the state.”įoster’s professional certifications include licenses and certifications from Cisco, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft.While the game is given to schools free for students to play in a restricted mode with only their classmates, when children play the unrestricted version of the game at home, they receive regular reminders and messages encouraging them to become members, which costs $59.88 to $107.40 per child per year. “His extensive experience and exceptional advisory skills in cloud computing, security, and enterprise IT in general will greatly benefit our clients.

“We are delighted to welcome Steven Foster to our team,” said Kyle Green, co-founder of Prodigy Consulting. Foster also worked previously as a systems software specialist for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He also served as a senior IT specialist in the Army National Guard, and was an IT specialist for the U.S. Before that, he worked in systems and network engineering and management roles for companies including Infiniti Consulting Group, DSA Technologies, Perficient and Cloud Keeper Consulting LLC.

“Steven’s appointment at Prodigy Consulting marks an exciting chapter in the company’s growth and commitment to delivering exceptional cloud solutions for public-sector customers.”īefore joining Prodigy Consulting, Foster was most recently a network and cloud escalation engineer for Executech in Sacramento.

“With over seven years of experience supporting organizations with cloud adoption, Foster brings a wealth of experience and passion for helping customers in all phases of their cloud journey,” the company said in a statement. Steven FosterIn his new role, Foster is supporting state government agencies and departments with adoption, migration and development of cutting-edge solutions in Microsoft Azure, according to Prodigy.

Membership prodigy