FAQ

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General Questions

WaterWays is an immersive digital science curriculum supplement aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards for elementary school students in grades 3 to 5. In WaterWays, students are ecologists studying human health and environmental health in the fictional community of Chimhe City. Students use a personalized digital science journal and augmented reality or webVR on a computer or tablet to access the interactive activities. As ecologists, students tackle problems to improve human and environmental health. They observe phenomena, gather data, answer questions, construct models, and develop and test their hypotheses.

Some students have used WaterWays in Spanish by using Chrome's translate feature. To use this, students can right-click on the page and select "Translate to language...". The first time this feature is used, it may say "Translate to English", which once you click on will give you options to select other languages.

You can send an e-mail to info@killersnails.com. We also encourage you to fill out this message form to help us record detailed responses.

Hardware Requirements

A computer, Chromebook or tablet with a current browser for the online digital journal.

For the AR experiences, you will need either:

  • An Android or iOS smartphone or iPad that supports AR.
  • A laptop, tablet or Chromebook with a current web browser (optimized for Chrome, but will also work in Safari). Links to each web AR experience will be in the digital science journal
    • If students are using a tablet and have permission to download apps, we recommend they download the free WaterWays AR app and use that

Teachers will need to register for an account on Killer Snails Accounts and create a classroom for their students.

For an Android device, it must be running Android 7.0 or newer and supports ARCore. You can check the device by seeing if you can install Google Play Services for AR.

For iOS devices, it requires iOS 11.0 or later and an iOS device with an A9 or later processor. iPod touch devices and iPhone 7 or older are not supported. iPads need to be 5th gen or newer.

The device also needs to be wi-fi enabled.

Note:

  • Smartphones just need the ability to connect to the internet with wifi, they do not require an active voice or data plan.

To access WaterWays and Killer Snails Account, you will need a computer or mobile device with a current web browser with Javascript and Cookies enabled. We recommend recent versions of Chrome or Safari. For WebGL AR, Safari 13+ is required.

NOTE: Safari 9 or less and all versions of Internet Explorer are NOT supported.

1 Mbps or better (broadband recommended). AR devices will need internet access via Wi-fi in order to connect to Killer Snails Accounts and the product being used.

WaterWays Troubleshooting

In order for WaterWays to function properly, you must have Javascipt enabled in you browser.

To enable Javascript in your browser:

  • For Chrome browsers:
    • Click the Chrome menu More in the top right hand corner of your browser
    • Select Settings
    • Scroll down and click on Advanced
    • Under the Privacy and security section, click the Content settings button
    • In the Javascript section, select "Allow (recommended)"
  • For Safari on Mac:
    • Go to the menu Safari -> Preferences
    • Select Security
    • Click on Web Content: Enable Javascript
  • For Safari on iOS:
    • Open up Settings
    • Select Safari
    • Under Security slide Javascript to "on"
  • For Firefox browsers:
    • In the address bar, type about:config, and press Enter.
    • Click I'll be careful, I promise
    • In the search bar, search for javascript.enabled.
    • Right click the result named javascript.enabled and click Toggle. JavaScript is now disabled.

For more information you can also check out Enable JavaScript.

Most browsers have spell checking enabled by default, but in order to check:

  • For Chrome browsers:
    • Click the Chrome menu More in the top right hand corner of your browser
    • Select Settings
    • Scroll down and click on Advanced
    • Under the Languages section, make sure Spell check is turned on
    • On Mac OS, you may also have to see if the menu item Chrome -> Edit-> Spelling and Grammar -> Check Spelling While Typing is checked.
  • For Safari on Mac:
    • Go to the menu Safari -> Edit -> Spelling and Grammar
    • Make sure the Check Spelling While Typing is checked
  • For Firefox browsers:
    • Click the menu button and then choose Preferences.
    • Under the General panel, go to the Language section.
    • Make sure the Check your spelling as you type is selected.

For more information you can also check out Enable JavaScript.

To make the text larger, enlarge the page to the full screen. You can also enlarge the text by using the Zoom feature in your current browser.

In order to avoid phone overheating, make sure to close out of all other apps and to turn off text messaging before going into AR mode.

Students will be addressed with the names they used in their Killer Snails account.

Please check with your school or district’s IT department to ensure that they unblock the following domain:

killersnails.com

They should not limit it to just the www prefix (ie: www.killersnails.com) since other subdomains will also be accessed by different products. For instance, to login to Killer Snails Account, you will need access to accounts.killersnails.com. For WaterWays, you will also need access to waterways.killersnails.com.

We would be happy to speak with your IT department to help assist with this process- please contact us at info@killersnails.com

Killer Snails Accounts Management

Using Your Killer Snails Accounts

Standards Alignment

WaterWays is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards:

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Idea Crosscutting Concepts
  • Developing and Using Models
  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
  • Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
  • LS1.A Structure and Function
  • LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • LS2.B Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
  • LS2.C Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
  • LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
  • ETS1.A Defining Engineering Problems
  • ETS1.B Designing Solutions to Engineering Problems
  • ETS1.C Optimizing the Design Solution
  • ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems
  • ESS3.B Natural Hazards
  • ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth Systems
  • Systems and System Models
  • Cause and Effect
  • Patterns
  • Energy and Matter
  • Scale Proportion and Quantity

  • Connections to Excellence in Environmental Education - Guidelines for Learning (K-12)

    • Strand 1 (Analysis and Interpretation Skills): A, B, C, E, F, G
    • Strand 2 (Environmental Processes and Systems): 2.1 A, B. 2.2 A, C, D. 2.3 A, B, D, 2.4 A, E
    • Strand 3 (Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues): 3.1 A, B, C, 3.2 A, B, C, D
    • Strand 4 (Personal and Civic Responsibility): B, C