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Fill in the Blanks: what it is and how to make one
We are committed to continuously improving your experience; some elements of the video interface may not match the current one.
What it is
In Fill in the Blanks, players fill in the blank spaces in a text. Depending on the mode, the blanks are filled by dragging words from a bank, choosing from a menu or typing.
Each screen can be accompanied by a prompt with text, an image, audio or video.
Game modes
Fill in the Blanks has three modes for filling in the blank spaces:
- Select: words are dragged from a bank to the matching blank.
- Dropdown: the correct word is chosen from a dropdown menu.
- Type: the word is typed into each blank.
Examples of use
- Languages: grammar, vocabulary and prepositions in another language.
- Language and literature: excerpts from literary texts, poems, grammar rules.
- Science: scientific definitions or descriptions of processes.
- History: texts with key names, dates or places.
- Primary education: vocabulary and reading comprehension with simple sentences.
- Vocational training: protocols, regulations or technical instructions.
How to create a Fill in the Blanks with Ray
- Click Create game and select Fill in the Blanks.
- Enter a topic, add instructions and/or attach a file with the content.
- Ray automatically generates a game ready to publish (with a title and description). You can review and change anything you like before publishing it.
Ray's advanced options
The gear icon gives you options to configure how Ray generates the game. Some are common to all game types:
- Output content: choose text only, or text plus automatically generated speech. Speech is capped at 1,000 characters in total per account on the Basic and Advanced plans; on the Academic plan and Commercial plan it is unlimited.
- Output language: the language of the game content. If you don't specify it, Ray detects it from the prompt or the file.
- Difficulty: easy, medium (default), hard, or a custom level (for example, “for primary school students”).
Fill in the Blanks also has specific options:
- Texts: how many to create (1 by default). Each text works as an independent screen.
- Text length: short (20-40 words), medium (60-100), long (150-200) or Other (manual).
- Game mode: select, dropdown or type.
- Incorrect answers: whether Ray should add distractors (words that don't match any blank).
Source library
With the Sources button you can upload files to Ray (PDF, Word, images…) or select your own games for it to use as content for the new one. For example, generate a Fill in the Blanks about organs from the PDF of a teaching unit, or turn a Dictation into a Fill in the Blanks.
How to create a Fill in the Blanks without Ray
- Click Create game and select Fill in the Blanks.
- Close the Ray window.
- Choose the game mode (select, dropdown or type).
- Enter the text and select the words that will become blanks in the lower panel.
- If you want, add Incorrect answers below each block to include distractors.
- Click Add block to create more screens.
In Dropdown mode, each blank needs at least one distractor (down-arrow icon). Otherwise, the dropdown wouldn't make sense.
You can create blanks made up of more than one word: select adjacent words and click the dotted line between them to join them.
Each block can have a prompt with text, an image, audio or video.
Game options
- Lives: the maximum number of mistakes (unlimited by default).
- Time: the time limit (unlimited by default).
With an Advanced plan you can remove the ads, add a background image, change the visibility (Public or Hidden), configure player identification (Optional, Required or no method), hide elements of the interface (Ranking, Restart, Social media or Correct answers) and add a custom final message.
With an Academic plan you can restrict the visibility to your guests or to the integrations you create (Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas…), and remove the player identification link.
With a Commercial plan you can also customize the game with your logo and corporate footer, choose the colors and hide the Educaplay brand.
Information and publishing
On the Information tab you set up what your player will see before and during the game. Ray automatically generates the Title and Description; if you created the game without Ray, you add them yourself. Here you also choose the Language of the game interface (you can present the game to your players in any of the 27 available languages, regardless of the language of the content), set the Education level and add Tags so your game is easier to find in the search engine. Before publishing, use Preview to check that everything looks the way you want.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the three game modes?
In Select, words are dragged from a bank; in Dropdown, they're chosen from a dropdown; in Type, they're typed directly. Select is the most visual, Dropdown offers reference options and Type is the most demanding.
Can I create blanks with more than one word?
Yes. Select adjacent words and click the dotted line that appears between them to join them into a single blank.
Why doesn't my game work in Dropdown mode?
Most likely you have a blank with no distractors. In this mode, each blank needs at least one; otherwise the dropdown wouldn't make sense (it would only contain the correct answer).
Can I add distractors as incorrect answers?
Yes, in Incorrect answers below each block you can add words that don't match any blank.
Can I import a text I've already written?
Yes. Paste or attach your text in the Ray box or with the Sources button. Ray detects the blank markers or generates them from your instructions.
Is it worth splitting the game across several screens?
Yes, especially if the texts are long or have many blanks. Click Add block to create a new screen.
Can I change the language of the game interface?
Yes. On the Information tab you can choose from the 27 available languages: Afrikaans, Aragonese, Asturian, Basque, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. The interface language is independent from the content language: you can have a game written in English and show the interface in Japanese for your Japanese students, for example.
Which features require a paid plan?
With the Advanced plan you remove the ads, add a background image, manage visibility and player identification, hide interface elements and add a final message. With the Academic plan you can also restrict access to your guests or to your integrations (Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas…). With the Commercial plan you customize the game with your logo, corporate colors and hide the Educaplay brand.
