Where Your Work Lives: Devices, Browsers, and Files Explained
Understanding what happens when you create, edit, or download work on educational websites without accounts or cloud databases.
The Five Familiar Places
When you use an office tool like Google Docs, every letter you type is sent over the internet and saved on cloud servers. Many tools on mrsutherland.net operate differently: they run inside your browser on your device for speed and privacy. Here is where work actually lives:
The Five Storage Locations
1. The Website
When you navigate to a page like Raynah Motion or Maths Command Station, your browser requests HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and audio assets. Once loaded, the interactive engine runs on your local computer.
Crucial Fact: Loading a tool into your web browser does not send student photos, answers, or drawings to our web servers.
2. Work Open Now (Active Memory / RAM)
When you drag a card in the Effects of Flooding Sorter or move clock hands in the Time Lesson, that temporary progress lives in the tab's active working memory. If you close the browser tab or restart your computer without an export, that working state disappears immediately.
3. This Browser (Internal Storage)
Modern browsers feature local databases such as IndexedDB and localStorage. Tools like Raynah Motion and Maths Command Station store projects and progress here so you don't lose your work if you accidentally refresh the page.
⚠️ The Browser Profile Boundary
This internal storage belongs to that specific web browser and profile on that specific computer. If you switch from Chrome to Edge, or move to another laptop, the new browser cannot see the other browser's internal database!
4. Your Saved Files (Downloads Folder)
When you click Export Project (.raynah.zip), Download Response (.json), or Certificate (.pdf), your browser writes a physical file to your computer's Downloads folder. This file is independent of the browser and can be moved to a USB drive or uploaded to your school cloud.
5. External & School Services
Data crosses outside your device only when you deliberately hand it over (e.g. uploading a downloaded response file to Google Classroom), or when you use a marked demonstration system like the CHARLOTTE Online Demo.
What Happens When You Take Action?
| Action | Work Open Now (RAM) | Browser Storage (IndexedDB) | Your Saved Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh page (F5) | Resets simple quizzes | Preserved automatically | Untouched |
| Close tab or browser | Resets simple quizzes | Preserved automatically | Untouched |
| Switch Chrome → Edge | Blank slate | Blank slate (stays in Chrome) | Accessible via File Explorer / Finder |
| Move to another computer | Blank slate | Blank slate (stays on Computer 1) | Only accessible if saved to USB / Cloud |
| Clear browser history & data | Reset | Deleted! | Untouched |
| Use Incognito / Private mode | Reset | Wiped when window closes! | Untouched (if downloaded) |