Even the youngest school-age children are generally comfortable enough with computers and tablets to use our My Math Academy, My Reading Academy, and My Reading Academy Español programs without any issues.
One use case, however, does trip up some students who are using a laptop or Chromebook that requires using the built-in trackpad and not a mouse: drag-and-drop activities.
Many activities in our program require students to click on the right number, shape, letter, or word, but others ask students to click and drag the number, letter, syllable, or word into the right order or drag to sort them into categories.
Since children use their fingers to push things around in the real world, these activities seem easiest to do with tablets. Using a mouse takes a little practice to associate your hand moving in one place and having it interact with the on-screen program.
But children—especially the youngest ones, ones with the smallest hands, or those who have never used a trackpad—tend to struggle a bit more with trackpads, especially some models that require a bit more force/skill to click the pad fully and hold it down as they move their hand or finger.
The most common ways children struggle with trackpads:
- They just click on an object instead of trying to drag/move it (some activities do work with just a click).
- They just move the cursor with the trackpad from one place to another without clicking and holding down the trackpad first.
- They click the object with the trackpad but don't hold it down as they move the cursor.
What you can do to help:
- Give them a quick refresher on how their laptop or Chromebook works that includes a demonstration of the trackpad; then watch them do it. Have them show you they can drag something with it.
- Let them know that for some My Math Academy and My Reading Academy activities, they will need to click, drag, and drop things like numbers, shapes, letters, and words to sort them or put them in order.
- Watch them as they use these programs, looking out for difficulties dragging and dropping using the trackpad.
- If one is available, you might offer a struggling child a mouse to use instead and see if that works better for them.
Three ways to drag and drop:
- One finger: Using one finger (pointer or middle finger is usually easiest), position the cursor over the object on-screen, press that finger down and keep it pressed down as you move your finger and object to the correct place before releasing your finger. (Some trackpads will make a faint clicking sound when you press down fully, but not all do.)
- Thumb and finger: Position the cursor over the object on-screen, press your thumb down and keep it pressed down as you move the object with your pointer or middle finger on the same hand.
- Two hands: Position the cursor over the object on-screen, and press down on the trackpad with a finger on one hand (left is easier for right-handed children) and hold it down while you move the object on screen with a finger from the other hand (right, in this case).