Introduction & Summary
Twinkl Spelling for Web is an exciting and engaging browser-based game environment for the practice of spelling rules. It was released in August 2022 and uses Twinkl's Learner Logins to allow access for account holders and Learners. This article covers some basic technical requirements of Twinkl Spelling for Web and why they exist.
As a general summary, Twinkl Spelling for Web will work great for you if you are using:
- A modern desktop, laptop or tablet device (not mobile phone!), with a...
- Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater, and is...
- Running a supported and up-to-date operating system, and...
- A supported and up-to-date Web Browser, that is...
- Not in "Incognito" or "Private Browsing" mode, on...
- An active and stable internet connection.
Most users will not have any issues with the above, but you can find out more details about each of these requirements below if you need to:
Twinkl Spelling for Web requires a modern and supported desktop, laptop or tablet device (not mobile phone!) running an up-to-date and supported Web Broswer:
Twinkl Spelling for Web is built using modern software libraries that require an up-to-date and supported "Operating System" (E.G. Windows 10 and 11, MacOS 10.15+) and "Browser" (MS Edge*, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox) software to run correctly, and with good performance. A smooth experience is essential for you and your learners and we've done our best to use coding techniques that give you this.
Internet Explorer and the older version of Microsoft Edge based on EdgeHTML are not modern, supported browsers. If in doubt, try the latest available version of Google Chrome.
Twinkl Spelling for Web is not designed or supported for a mobile phone (like an iPhone) and probably won't work correctly at all. We'd suggest looking at our fully offline compatible Twinkl Spelling for iOS app, if you only have a mobile phone available.
Twinkl Spelling for Web requires a minimum usable screen resolution of 1024 x 768:
Twinkl Spelling for Web is designed to work on devices (desktops, laptops and tablets) with a minimum usable screen resolution of 1024 x 768. If you don't meet this minimum requirement, or you are using screen scaling/zoom features that limit the usable resolution then the layout of Twinkl Spelling might look poor or not work for you; you will be shown an in-game message warning you of this if this is the case.
For example: if you are using an iPad in portrait mode, things may not fit on the screen and the game will be unusable - just rotate your device!
Again; Twinkl Spelling for Web is not designed or supported for a mobile phone (like an iPhone) and probably won't work correctly at all. We'd suggest looking at our fully offline compatible Twinkl Spelling for iOS app, if you only have a mobile phone available.
Twinkl Spelling for Web may not work correctly in Incognito / Private Browsing Mode
Modern web browsers offer users the ability to use a higher privacy way of browsing the internet which reduces the amount of tracking websites can do. Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome call this "Incognito mode", Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari call it "Private Browsing" mode. It is available on Desktop, Laptop and Tablet devices and sometimes you might be using it without realising you are.
Twinkl Spelling for Web uses some features to save content to your local device to improve the speed and performance of the game. For example, we buffer audio files so there is minimum delay in playing them when needed, this is especially important for letter and word audio, otherwise the game experience would be very poor and seem "laggy".
Chrome and MS Edge currently allow Twinkl Spelling for Web to store this audio in regular and incognito mode and should work whichever mode is used; but will perform best in regular browsing mode.
Unfortunately, Safari and Firefox do not allow storing this audio in Private Browsing mode and Twinkl Spelling for Web will only work non-Private Browsing mode when using Safari or Firefox.
You will see a message shown to you if you are using a browsing mode that means Twinkl Spelling can't work correctly.
Find out more about Private Browsing mode for Safari on macOS and iPadOS, and Firefox.
Twinkl Spelling for Web requires an active and stable internet connection
Twinkl Spelling for Web is a web-based game, it requires an active and stable internet connection to load the game content and store user progress. Without an active or stable internet connection, the game might not load, might seem slow and/or Learner progress might not be saved properly.
We'd suggest looking at our fully offline compatible Twinkl Spelling for iOS app, if you have trouble with internet connectivity for any reason.
We hope this FAQ was helpful, why not check out our Twinkl Spelling for Web landing page to get started, or read our FAQs and Walkthrough Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 guides to get ready to use Twinkl Spelling in your educational context.