Login & Dashboard
Open your browser and navigate to lms.siminds.net.
At the login screen, enter your registered teacher email and password.
Click "SIGN IN" to access your dashboard.
Once logged in, you will see a dashboard showing statistics and insights for your courses, including:
• Number of Students and Assignments
• Charts for Student's Grades, Course Completion, and Assignment Success rates
You can switch between different courses using the drop-down menu in the top right.
Creating & Configuring Courses
1. Click on the 'Courses' tab in the left-hand sidebar.
2. Click the (+) icon in the top right corner to open the creation modal.
3. Fill in the required fields under the General Information tab: Name, Short Name, Subject (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or General), and Description.
4. Set the Start and End dates for the entire course duration.
When configuring a course, you can enable the following operational modes:
• View Only — The simulation plays itself without user input. Locked if Exercise/Assessment trials are active.
• Exercise — Requires real-life Arduino connections. Includes 3 trials. Disables 'All-Virtual' mode.
• All-Virtual — The system provides readings automatically, but the user must still interact with the simulation.
• Accessibility — Tailored for students with disabilities. Enables Voice Commands and Tobii eye-tracking.
• Assessment — Challenging experiments with vague instructions and Arduino requirements. Includes 3 trials. Can be configured to unlock only after an 80% score in Exercise mode.
Courses can include coding skill assessments at three difficulty levels:
• Easy — 5 multiple-choice questions regarding Arduino code.
• Medium — 3 scratch-style block stacking questions.
• Hard — 5 free-response questions requiring the student to write specific code lines.
Managing Experiments
Under the 'Experiments' tab, teachers can browse, filter (by Subject, Type, System, or Grades), and add specific experiments to the course.
Use the search and filter tools to quickly find experiments relevant to your curriculum.
Use the 'Configure' button on any assigned experiment to customize its settings:
• Set specific Start/End dates for that individual task.
• Define the Estimated Time (in minutes) for each active mode (Assessment, Exercise, Virtual).
These settings override the course-level defaults for that specific experiment.
Teachers can manage 'PostQuiz Questions' for each experiment from the experiment configuration view.
Quizzes help assess student understanding after completing a simulation.
Student Enrollment
1. Navigate to the 'Students' tab within the course settings.
2. Browse the 'All Students' list to find the students you wish to enroll.
3. Click 'Add' next to a student's name to enroll them in the course.
Once added, students will appear in the 'Assigned Students' table at the top of the page.
You can remove students from the course at any time by clicking the 'Remove' action.
Login & Course Access
1. Open your browser and navigate to lms.siminds.net.
2. Enter your registered email address and password.
3. Optionally check 'Remember me' to stay logged in.
4. Click the 'SIGN IN' button to access the platform.
After logging in, you will see the 'Courses' screen showing all your enrolled courses.
To enter a course, press the 'VIEW DETAILS' button on the course card.
The Course Overview displays General Information including the course Name, Subject, and Start/End Dates.
Launching Experiments
Inside a course, you will see a list of available experiments.
Press the 'play' button on the left of each experiment entry to launch it.
Examples of experiments include: COâ‚‚ In Photosynthesis, Effect Of Temperature On Enzyme Activity, Heart Rate in Rest/Exertion, and many more.
If this is your first time launching an experiment, you may see an 'Application Download' popup.
The message will say: 'It seems like the required Application is not installed on your system... please download and install our application.'
Click 'DOWNLOAD NOW' to download and install the required application.
After installation, you can launch experiments directly from the browser.
If installed correctly, the application opens to a Home screen with options for 'START', 'SETTINGS', and 'EXIT'.
Click 'START' to begin the experiment.
Downloading Resources
You can download experiment manuals for reference while performing experiments.
Click the three vertical dots (â‹®) on the right side of an experiment entry.
Select the 'Manuals' option to download the relevant documentation.
Enabling Accessibility Options
Teachers can enable accessibility options for students in the 'General Information' screen for a course at lms.siminds.net.
Available accessibility options include:
• Voice Commands — Allows students to control the simulation using voice input.
• Eye Tracking — Enables Tobii eye-tracking hardware for hands-free interaction.
• Both — Combines Voice Commands and Eye Tracking for maximum accessibility.
Tobii Eye Tracking Setup
Tobii Eye Tracking is available on Windows only.
You will need a Tobii Eye Tracker 5 hardware device connected via USB.
1. Connect the Tobii hardware device to your computer via USB.
2. Download and install Tobii Experience from gaming.tobii.com/getstarted/.
3. Select the Tobii Eye Tracker 5 hardware and download the appropriate driver.
4. Download and install Tobii Ghost for visual feedback.
5. Enable Tobii Experience, set up the display configuration, and start calibration.
6. In Tobii Ghost settings, enable Tobii Ghost and the preview mode.
Voice Commands
Once voice commands are enabled, starting a simulation will display a screen showing the available voice commands.
The Voice Commands menu is organized into tabs: General, Avatar, and Questions.
Command categories include:
• Action Commands — Control simulation actions like start, stop, and reset.
• Avatar — Control your in-simulation avatar movement.
• Calculator — Open and interact with the in-simulation calculator.
• Component Selection — Select and interact with lab components.
• GamePlay Top Bar — Navigate the top toolbar options.
• Heads-Up Display — Toggle HUD elements on and off.
System Requirements
Before installing, ensure your system meets the following requirements:
• Hardware — Desktop or laptop with minimum 8GB RAM (Windows/Mac) or 4GB RAM (Chromebook), with medium to high graphic specifications.
• Operating System — Windows 10 or higher, or macOS Monterey or higher.
• Browser — Chrome, Edge, or Safari (latest version recommended).
• Network — A fast and stable internet connection.
macOS Installation Steps
Download the .pkg installer file from the top menu of the LabsForHome platform, or use the direct download link provided by your instructor.
1. Open the downloaded .pkg file.
2. If blocked by macOS as an 'unidentified developer', follow the Security Bypass steps below.
3. Follow the installer prompts until the installation is complete.
4. Close the installer window when finished.
macOS may block the installer because it's from an unidentified developer. To resolve this:
1. Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
2. Look for the message about 'siminds_installer.pkg' being blocked.
3. Click 'Open Anyway' next to the warning message.
4. Click 'Open' on the confirmation popup to proceed with the installation.
Arduino Integration
Some experiments require a physical Arduino microcontroller for real hardware interaction.
1. Start the experiment that requires Arduino integration within the simulation.
2. The simulation will initiate the Arduino connection process.
3. The game will minimize, and a command prompt will appear to verify the connection and install the Arduino CLI.
1. Wait for the command prompt to finish verifying the connection.
2. Return to the game window once the prompt completes.
3. If the Arduino is not detected, a screen will appear asking you to connect it.
4. Connect the Arduino device to your computer via USB and press 'Retry'.
1. Once connected, a screen will appear asking to upload the experiment code.
2. Press 'Upload' to begin the code transfer.
3. The game will minimize again while the command prompt uploads the code and necessary libraries.
4. Return to the game to continue the experiment with the Arduino fully initialized.
Still have questions?
Contact our support team at support@labsforhome.org for additional help, or visit our FAQ page for quick answers.