Getting Started
The Picta Dicta platform is designed to be simple for both students and teacher to use, but it requires a little setup. Follow the step by step guide below to set up student accounts.
Step-by-Step Guide
I. Purchase Access
Purchase access to a Picta Dicta course. We will add the classroom license to your account for you (if you don't have an account yet, we will make one for you and email you the login details.) You can check what licenses you have and how many seats your classroom license includes in the "Access" tab.
If you choose not to assign at home work for your students, then you are all done! The account is ready to present in class - just press the Play button on the top task bar.
II. Create a Class
Assigning at-home work on the app is optional; if you choose to do so, you will need to make accounts for your students. Once you've received your seats, you can make student accounts.
The first step is make a class for your students, which groups them all into on spot and makes it easy to enroll several students in the same course. To create a class, click the "Class" button on the left side of the dashboard.
III. Create Student Profiles
Next you will need to fill that class with your students. Click on the class to open it up, then click the "Add Learner" button to make a student profile. (If the Add Learner button doesn't work at first, try clicking the refresh button.)
IV. Fill out user information
Now you will need to create usernames and passwords for each students. For usernames, it is usually easiest to do an easy-to-remember combination of their name and the school's initials. Example: johndoe-pd
Usernames act just like emails - no two can be the same on the app. We find that adding school initials helps to prevent repeats. If you get the error "User already exists" try a variation on your desired username. (Note: Do not include symbols such as #, $, or % in usernames.)
Since only the master account can change passwords, we recommend giving students simple, easy to remember passwords, and keeping track of all passwords and usernames in a document.
V. Enroll classes
Once you have added all your learners, you can enroll the class by pressing the plus button just below the class name.
You will be prompted to choose which course to enroll your students in. Note: if the number of students in the class is greater than the number of seats available on your classroom license, you will not be able to enroll the class.
VI. Select campaigns
After you have selected your desired course, you will be prompted to choose a campaign. Each has a brief description. In general, Classroom campaigns are designed for teachers to present in a classroom. There are also student campaigns for independent study and for shorter homework assignments.
VII. Play as a teacher
Now you are ready to begin your Picta Dicta course! Normally, we will enroll your master account in exercises for you. Click "Play" on the top task bar to begin exercises. You can switch to different courses by clicking the course titles.
VIII. Play as Another Learner
If you would like to play as a student learner, you can do so by clicking the ball icon next to the student username.
A student learner must log in separately with the username and password given by the teacher account holder. It is a good idea to save the username and password, so a child does not have to remember it every time.
As soon as another learner logs in with their username and password, they will go straight to the play menu with the courses you have set up for them. Hit Next to begin the first game!