How to play a Live game [for teachers]
In this guide we will show you how to play 99math's Live game as teacher. If you are new to 99math then we also have an introduction tutorial on how to get started with 99math.
What is a Live game?
Live game is a game mode where students play together in a classroom or in a video call. It's also our most engaging experience. If you can, start the game experience for you and your students with a Live game!
It is possible to start a Live game with all the topics that 99math offers. You can read more about the topics from the how to get started guide. You can also configure the length of a live game. By default it's 3 rounds and 30 seconds. Configuration options for the rounds are between 1 and 5 rounds and for the length of the round it's between 10 seconds to 2 minute per round.
How to play a Live game?
You always need to have players in the game to start the game, so we encourage you to try your first game with students! We have heard from other teachers that this a geat way of learning the platform together.
The overall process of how to play a live game:
Create a Live game with the topic that you want to practice
Share the game code to your students
Students join the game on their device with the game code
You (teacher) start the game
Students play the game with excitement
You control the game and start next rounds
Game ends and you as a teacher see game results. Students see their own results
You get a game report to analyze how each student did and what was the overall class skill level
Now that we understand the overall process, let's go more into details.
Inviting students to the game as a teacher
Once you have selected your topic and configured the game to match your exact needs you will reach the code screen. If you need help before this step please see our getting started guide and then come back once you reach this screen.
99math doesn't require students to have their own accounts, so we use the game code concept. Each game has it's own unique game code that gives access to students to the game that you created.
Easiest option to share the game code is also to show the code screen view to students either in a video call or in the classroom with a projector, since this screen displays all the info needed to join. If this is not possible you can simply write or tell the instructions out loud.
In the screenshot above you can see that the game code is 297401 and that students need to go to join.99math.com to enter the game code.
How do students join the Live game?
Students use their device to go to join.99math.com in a browser and then enter the game code that you gave them. After that they are asked to enter a name. This can either be a nickname, their first name or how ever you will be able to recognize the student. And after that the student is in the game and ready to play.
After successfully joining the game, students are shown the game information and told to wait for the game to start.
And you as a teacher also see each student as they join the game
Starting the game
Now once you have all your students joined and are ready to proceed then you can click "Start game" which will lead to the pregame view.
Here you (and the students if you are sharing your screen) will see the game info one last time before you start the first round. You will see the topic, how long the game will be and also the fact that for each correct answer student will get +10 points and for each incorrect answer -10 points. These points will later decide who got the best score in the game. But the teacher also sees who made no mistakes or who made a lot of mistakes.
After pressing the "Start round" button, a 3-2-1 countdown is shown to both the teacher and students. After that the game begins. Each student will be shown questions in their own device and they need to type in their answer. For the teacher there is also an option to view the live leader board during the rounds to see how everyone are doing.
What the teacher sees during a round:
What student sees during a round:
And this how excited students are to practice math:
After each round the round results are shown
Teacher sees the Top 5 players, each student sees their personal top 5 based on their ranking.
Teacher starts all the next rounds after seeing round results by simply clicking "Next round". Then again the 3-2-1 countdown is shown and a new round of the game begins.
After the game
Once the game finishes, you as a teacher see the Podium and you can celebrate the results together with the class. This screen will show you the top 5 players in the game. You can also analyze the mistakes of the entire class. The mistakes are anonymous, so it's great to review them together.
Students see their own point total and can also view their personal top 5 ranking again to see how they did.
Game report
After the game, teacher also gets access to the report (and the access is only for the teacher who created the game).
Report shows you how each student did in the game. What is their skill level in the topic and what mistakes they made in the specific game. Also you get a skill level score for the entire class.
Skill level considers player accuracy and speed. Each right answer gives +1 for skill level and wrong answer gives -1 for skill level. Example: 5 right answers and 2 wrong give 3 in skill level.
Now you are ready to practice regularly
We have seen an average of 50% increase in students skill level in just 2 weeks. The games are designed to be engaging for children on any level in math, because playing with friends makes practicing math more fun! Leaderboards, badges and other gamification elements are fine-tuned to get kids eager to advance.
Start a Live game here: 99math.com/host
If you have any questions, ideas or problems feel free to reach out to us via email hello@99math.com or through our Facebook page.