Launchball educators’ guide

Educator's access code: news814bevy

What is Launchball?

Launchball is an addictive and fantastically fun educational game that brings the principles and phenomena of the Launchpad gallery online and into your classroom.

Curriculum linked: It supports five of the six KS2 and KS3 curriculum areas covered in the Launchpad gallery: Light, Forces & Motion, Energy Transfer, Electricity & Magnetism and Materials. The game has a real physics engine which means all the forces and materials represented in the game act on screen as they would do in the real world.

Experimental: Think of it as a classroom interactive activity or a virtual science lab that has been designed to enable open-ended investigation and problem-solving and uses a game format which your students will love.

Simple but challenging: If your last experience of computer games was Space Invaders on your Atari then don’t be put off. Launchball is very simple (it’s been tested successfully with children as young as seven), but you do need to try it out and discover its potential for yourself (see Launchball Helpful Hints).

Why use Launchball?

Launchball is a valuable free learning resource which can be used in a variety of ways to support your teaching (see Launchball and the National Curriculum).

ideas and concepts you have already covered in class can be reinforced through the simulated interactions on screen – for example, heat conducting.
students can use the game for open ended investigations of new concepts – such as electromagnetism or turbines.
students can use problem solving skills and science skills to work through the existing levels and new challenges created by you or themselves.

How you can use Launchball?

Using Launchball couldn’t be simpler; just open the Launchball web page and start playing on your PC or interactive whiteboard (see help setting up the game).

Launchball has been designed to use in any number of ways. Cnce you’ve got started, you’ll soon find out how it works best for you (and when you do, please be sure to tell us). In the meantime, here are some ideas to get you started:

In the classroom

On the interactive whiteboard as an introduction or plenary to practical work.
Together with the classroom activities in the Launchpad educators’ resource or choose from a list of selected levels to support curriculum areas.
Use it in your IT suite, introducing a challenge on the interactive whiteboard then setting the students the task to solve the problems on their computers.

As a homework challenge

Get students to solve a set level for homework. Print off the sheet showing the starting point of each game and get the students to complete it online (at home or at school).
Ask students to draw their solutions on the sheet, the blocks used and the path of the ball, with a short description explaining what happened to assess how well they have understand the concepts.

In your Science Club

This works especially well if it is used in conjunction with the Launchpad classroom activities or a trip to the Science Museum’s Launchpad gallery.