Here are the answers to the most common questions. If your question isn't answered here, please contact us at customerservice@smartyants.com.
1. My child is learning to read at school, why do I need the Smarty Ants Reading World program?
Reading is a difficult concept for many children and Smarty Ants provides a personalized learning path that enables each child to learn to read at their own level and pace. Smarty Ants Reading World provides an easy to use platform to build upon and reinforce the reading concepts and skills your child is learning at school in a fun and engaging way.
2. Can my child use (or benefit from) Smarty Ants Reading World even if it is not used in their school?
Yes, Smarty Ants is available for home use and will provide the same benefits to your child even if it is not used at their school.
3. If my child is using Smarty Ants Reading World at home, how does it align with what they are being taught at school?
Smart yAnts is based on the same standards classroom teachers must meet to teach reading and incorporates the same skills and concepts used to teach reading in classrooms today.
4. I have an older computer, will my child be able to utilize the Smarty Ants Reading World program on this computer?
As long as your computer meets the minimum requirements below it can successfully run the program.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Flash 10.1+
IE 7+, Firefox 3.6+, Chrome (current), Safari 5+
WinXP/Vista/7
Mac OS 10.5+
5. Do I need high-speed internet access to use Smarty Ants Reading World at home?
Yes, a high-speed internet connection is needed to run the program effectively.
6. My child spends a good bit of time between 2 (or more) houses, do I need to purchase the Smarty Ants Reading World program for each house?
No. Your child can access their Smarty Ants Reading World account from any internet connected computer, whether at home or elsewhere.
7. I want my child to be an early reader. What is the youngest age they can begin using the Smarty Ants Reading World program?
Smarty Ants is designed for use beginning with Pre-Kindergarten age students.
8. My child is having fun and seems to be playing games while in the Smarty Ants Reading World, how can I be assured that learning is taking place?
Children do have fun while playing the interactive learning games in Smarty Ants Reading World! They are applying key reading skills and concepts in each game they play, so they are learning while having fun. You can monitor your child’s learning at any time through parent tools that allow you to view and track their progress in real time.
9. What computer skills does my child need to begin using Smarty Ants Reading World?
If your child knows how to use a mouse then they have all the computer skills they need to successfully use the Smarty Ants Reading World Program.
10. How does the Smarty Pup help support learning that happens in the Smarty Ants Reading World?
The Smarty Pup allows your child to download and play learning songs and stories from their current level in the Smarty Ants Reading World program. This allows your child to have access to these songs and stories while offline. As your child progresses through the Smarty Ants Reading World program, new learning songs and stories from the game become available for download to the Smarty Pup.
11. Does Smarty Ants Reading World work with a Mac Trackpad?
Yes, Smarty Ants is compatible with a Mac Trackpad. However, we do realize that because of its sensitivity and support for multi-touch gestures some children may have difficulty using it. Therefore we recommend disabling some multi-touch trackpad gestures that may accidentally interfere with game play, specifically the 2-finger "Swipe between pages" gesture. To disable this Trackpad gesture open Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Trackpad -> More Gestures and uncheck the "Swipe between pages" option.
