Interactive Widgets

Who this is for

Teachers deciding which interactive widget fits a lesson best.

What this page answers

• Which widget family should I use?
• Where is the detailed reference for each kind of widget?
• When should I open the syntax appendix?

Prerequisites

• a lesson open in the editor

Interactive widgets fall into four practical groups:

• exercise widgets for assessment and targeted practice
• game-based widgets for reinforcement through play
• math & STEM widgets for equation practice, math crosswords, and interactive time-telling
• brain-break widgets for short energy resets in class

Use the widget docs by intent

Math & STEM Widgets

For Mathematics courses and STEM lessons, the editor provides dedicated interactive widgets alongside standard play-first activities:

• Teaching Clock: An interactive analog and digital clock widget. Drag the hour and minute hands to practice telling time collaboratively during live lessons or self-study exercises.
• Kids Equations: Visual arithmetic widgets where students fill in missing numbers or operation symbols with immediate validation.
• Math Crosswords (5×5 Arithmetic Grids): A dedicated 5×5 puzzle containing 6 intersecting equations (3 horizontal rows and 3 vertical columns).
  • Single-Grid Authoring: Teachers set custom number ranges (for example, 1–20 or 1–100), choose allowed operators (+, −, ×, ÷), and generate puzzles with one click. Use the Numbers / Blanks toggle to customize hidden cells.
  • Verification & Save Blockers: Real-time equation checking ensures every row and column is mathematically valid. The Save button in the editor remains disabled if any number cell is empty, if any horizontal or vertical equation is mathematically false, or if no cells have been toggled to Blanks.
  • Tiles Mode & Keypad Mode: In Tiles mode (default), students drag numbers and operator tiles from a tray onto blanks, with optional distractor tiles to test critical thinking. In Keypad mode, students enter digits via an on-screen keypad.
  • True-Solution Grading: Students are evaluated on mathematical accuracy across all 6 equations; any tile arrangement that makes all 3 rows and 3 columns mathematically true awards full credit.
• All Standard Games & Brain Breaks Available in Math: Word games (Memory Game, Word Search, Crossword, Word Scramble, Flashcards) and brain breaks (Drawing Board, Roulette, Breathing Timer, Would You Rather) are fully unlocked in Mathematics lessons. They help students master mathematical terminology, definitions, and geometric shapes, or take a quick mental reset between calculation problems.
• LaTeX Math Formula Rendering: Teachers can insert inline and block LaTeX equations (for example, \frac{a}{b}, \sqrt{x}, \sum_{i=1}^n) using standard formatting syntax for clear mathematical notation.

Widget Themes & Header Actions

Interactive exercise and game widgets feature a unified top header with an actions menu (⋯):

• Widget Actions Menu (⋯):
  • Edit: Opens the widget editing modal. The Save and Cancel buttons sit conveniently in the top header row right beside the Form / Text switcher.
  • Theme: Opens the visual theme selector featuring 21 themes, each marked with distinct color swatch dots to preview palette tones before selecting.
  • Backdrop: Select custom scenery, atmospheric textures, or gradient backgrounds.

The built-in default theme is Studio, while Classic provides a plain, exam-safe appearance without decorative graphics. The newly added Modern theme offers a flat, clean visual aesthetic with Ubuntu typography and no heavy shadows or gloss. Gamified themes add an immersive background scene, themed cards, distinct sound effects, and celebration animations (such as confetti) when the student completes the activity.

Supported widgets can use any of the 21 themes:

• Classic (plain, exam-safe)
• Studio (default)
• Modern (flat, clean styling with Ubuntu typography)
• Forest
• Halloween
• Space
• Magic
• Ocean
• City
• Blossom
• Aurora
• Dunes
• Candy
• Arcade
• Tropics
• Hearth
• Clockwork
• Sakura
• Christmas
• London
• Paris

School & Course Default Theme Inheritance

Schools and courses can establish consistent visual styling across lessons:

• School-Wide Default: Owners can set a school-wide default widget theme in School settings → Widget theme.
• Course-Level Override: Teachers can inherit the school default or override it for a specific course in Course Settings → Default widget theme.
• Inheritance Rules: Newly inserted or AI-generated widgets start in that configured default theme. Existing widgets in a lesson keep their assigned theme. Five playful widgets—Would You Rather, Breathing Timer, Roulette, Drawing Board, and Kids Equations—start in Forest unless changed.

To change an individual widget's theme, click ⋯ (Widget actions) in the widget header and select Theme.

When to use the syntax appendix

Open Widget Content Syntax only when you need the underlying content format, advanced troubleshooting, or precise AI prompting help.