Activate Platform

Technical reference for the Activate platform. This covers the APIs and integration points for developers building custom content.

For guidance on creating Activate projects in the CMS, see Using Activate.

Overview

Activate is a lightweight platform for standalone learning activities. Key characteristics:

Session-based — Progress tracked within the session only
No team management — Individual learner experience
Quick deployment — Minimal setup required
Embeddable — Easy to embed in other applications

PostMessage API

Games and screens communicate with the Activate platform using the PostMessage API.

Sending messages

From within an iframe, send messages to Activate:

window.parent.postMessage({
  message: "messageType",
  // ... additional data
}, "*")

Message types

`finish` / `finished`

Marks the current activity as completed and advances to the next.

window.parent.postMessage({ message: "finish" }, "*")
// or
window.parent.postMessage({ message: "finished" }, "*")

`start`

Signals that the activity has started.

window.parent.postMessage({ message: "start" }, "*")

`end`

Signals that the activity has ended.

window.parent.postMessage({ message: "end" }, "*")

`start_round`

Signals the start of a round within an activity.

window.parent.postMessage({ message: "start_round" }, "*")

`end_round`

Signals the end of a round within an activity.

window.parent.postMessage({ message: "end_round" }, "*")

`updateScore`

Updates the score for the current activity.

window.parent.postMessage({
  message: "updateScore",
  value: 50,              // Points earned
  choice: "option_a",     // Identifier for the choice
  type: "NORMAL"          // Optional: "NORMAL" or "BONUS"
}, "*")

`requestForNextPage`

Requests navigation to the next page/activity.

window.parent.postMessage({
  message: "requestForNextPage",
  score: 50,              // Score for current activity
  totalGameScore: 150,    // Total score so far
  gameId: "quiz-1",       // Current activity identifier
  page: 1                 // Current page number
}, "*")

`goBack`

Requests navigation to the previous page/activity.

window.parent.postMessage({
  message: "goBack",
  score: 50,
  totalGameScore: 150,
  gameId: "quiz-1",
  page: 1
}, "*")

Listening for messages

Handle messages from Activate in your custom content:

window.addEventListener("message", (event) => {
  let data = event.data
  
  // Handle string or object data
  if (typeof data === "string") {
    try {
      data = JSON.parse(data)
    } catch (e) {
      return
    }
  }
  
  if (data && data.message) {
    switch (data.message) {
      case "start":
        // Activity should start
        initGame()
        break
      case "finish":
        // Activity should finish
        cleanup()
        break
    }
  }
})

TypeScript types

type FinishedMessage = { message: "finished" }
type FinishMessage = { message: "finish" }
type StartMessage = { message: "start" }
type StartRoundMessage = { message: "start_round" }
type EndRoundMessage = { message: "end_round" }
type EndMessage = { message: "end" }

type UpdateScoreMessage = {
  message: "updateScore"
  value: number
  choice: string
  type?: string
}

type RequestForNextPageMessage = {
  message: "requestForNextPage"
  score: number
  totalGameScore: number
  gameId: string | number
  page: string | number
}

type GoBackMessage = {
  message: "goBack"
  score: number
  gameId: string | number
  totalGameScore: number
  page: string | number
}

type PostMessage =
  | FinishedMessage
  | FinishMessage
  | StartMessage
  | StartRoundMessage
  | EndRoundMessage
  | EndMessage
  | UpdateScoreMessage
  | RequestForNextPageMessage
  | GoBackMessage

Project structure

Activate projects follow a level-based file structure:

project/
├── Start/
│   ├── app-config/
│   │   └── appConfig.json
│   ├── index.html
│   └── assets/
├── Level1/
│   ├── app-config/
│   │   └── appConfig.json
│   ├── index.html
│   └── assets/
├── Level2/
│   └── ...
└── End/
    ├── app-config/
    │   └── appConfig.json
    └── index.html

Level contents

Each level folder contains:

File/Folder	Description
`app-config/appConfig.json`	Configuration for the activity
`index.html`	Entry point for the activity
`assets/`	JavaScript, CSS, and other assets
`img/`	Images
`sfx/`	Sound effects
`videos/`	Video files
`lotties/`	Lottie animation JSON files

Comparison with Meet

Feature	Activate	Meet
Team registration	No	Yes
Leaderboard	No	Yes
Score persistence	Session only	Database
Admin dashboard	Basic	Full
Custom admin screens	No	Yes
Teams API	No	Yes
Best for	Quick activities	Live events