How it works
Using Our HTML5 Games on a Big Screen: Laptops, Classrooms and Whiteboards
The games were made for small fingers on a tablet. They also work well on a laptop, a TV or a classroom whiteboard. Practical notes for each.
StarSlate was designed with a tablet on a kitchen table in mind. But the games are HTML5 games, which means they run in any modern web browser, and a browser can be on a laptop, a desktop computer, a television or an interactive whiteboard at the front of a class. Each has its own advantages. Here is what we have learned.
On a laptop or desktop
A bigger screen makes it easier for an adult and a child to look together. You can sit side by side instead of peering over a shoulder.
Use the "Make it bigger" button. It is under every game. The game fills the whole screen and the rest of the page disappears, which removes distractions. Press the Esc key, or the Close button at the bottom, to come back.
Think about the mouse. Many children under five find a mouse hard. Moving a pointer with one hand while looking somewhere else is a real skill and takes time to learn. If your child is struggling with it, that is not a problem with the maths.
Some options:
- You click, they point. Your child points at the screen and says the answer. You do the clicking. For the youngest children this is often best anyway, because it keeps you talking.
- A touchscreen laptop, if you have one, works exactly like a tablet.
- A trackpad is usually harder than a mouse for small hands.
- Let them learn the mouse here. The buttons in these games are large and there is no timer, so it is a forgiving place to practise.
Zoom in if you need to. Hold Ctrl and press the plus key, or Cmd and plus on a Mac, to make the page larger. Ctrl and zero puts it back.
On a television
Many televisions have a web browser, and most laptops can be connected to one with a cable. A large screen across the room is good for a group: brothers and sisters, or a small party.
Give one person the job of choosing, and let everyone call out. Take turns to be the chooser.
Sit well back, and keep it short. A big bright screen is tiring for small children.
In a classroom
Several things about the games suit whole-class use.
They are silent. There is no music or narration to compete with you.
There is no timer. You can stop on any question for as long as you like and talk about it.
Wrong answers do no harm. A wrong choice fades and the question stays. That makes it safe for a child to come to the board and have a go in front of others.
Each game is eight questions. That fits a short starter or the last few minutes before break.
Some ways teachers might use them:
- Show me. Put a question on the board. Every child shows the answer on fingers or a small whiteboard before anyone taps.
- Explain it. One child chooses the answer. Another has to say why it is right.
- Predict the wrong answers. Before tapping, ask which of the choices someone might pick by mistake, and why. In Tell the Time, for example, one option always swaps o'clock and half past.
- One each. Eight questions, eight children.
On an interactive whiteboard the games respond to a touch or a pen in the same way as a tap. Low buttons can be hard for small children to reach on a high board, so a step or a pointer helps.
The star chart follows the device
Stars are saved by the web browser on the device you are using. They are not stored by us, and there are no accounts. So:
- Stars earned on the tablet will not appear on the laptop.
- On a shared classroom computer, the chart shows the best result on that machine, whoever was playing.
- Clearing the browser's data removes the stars.
- A private browsing window forgets them when it is closed.
For a class, that usually does not matter. If you want a fresh chart for a new group, clear the site's data in the browser settings.
Pictures look different on different devices
The games use the small pictures built into each device, the same ones used in text messages. An apple on one make of tablet is drawn a little differently from an apple on another, or on a laptop.
Nearly always this makes no difference. Occasionally a picture may be less clear on one device. If a child cannot tell what something is meant to be, tell them. The game is not testing whether they can recognise a drawing.
If something does not work
- Reload the page. This fixes most things.
- Update the browser. Very old browsers may not show the games properly.
- Check the school filter. Some school networks block unfamiliar sites. Your technician can allow it.
- Try another browser if one is misbehaving.
If a game still will not work, tell us which game, which device and which browser, using the address on the contact page.
Whichever screen you use
The advice is the same. Keep it short. Sit together. Read the questions aloud. And when the eight questions are done, close the screen and do the real thing: count the pencils, sort the bricks, look at the clock on the wall.