Spot the Dots is a game for young children developed by Dr. Catherine D. Bruce of Trent University, with support from her research team including teachers in Ontario Canada.
Technical development: Devon Armstrong, University of Waterloo
For Ages: 3-7
Goal of the Game: Builds the ability to recognize quantity quickly at level 1. This ability to suddenly see a quantity is also known as subitizing.
At levels 2 and 3, the ability to add quickly makes the game more challenging and increases skills of adding quantities using visual clues such as rows of dots that can be added or sudden recognition of 5 on one square and adding-on from this 5 to the other squares.
Instructions for the Game: Figure out how many dots you see in total on the screen and tap that number as quickly as possible. Then press GO for the next set of dots.
For each correct answer, Spot the Dog gets a bone. When you have earned 20 bones for Spot, go to the next level.
At levels 2 and 3, you must add all the dots on the screen together. If one square has 5 dots and another has 4, then your answer is 9. Tap that number as quickly as possible. Then press GO for the next set of dots.
Once you have earned 20 bones for any level, you have completed that level.
You can see how many bones you have earned by clicking on the bone on the screen. Spot can eat the bones – just tap on a bone on the bones-earned screen!