French 3 FAQsGetting started:On a PC
1. Insert the disc into your computer’s disc drive. 2. Your computer should automatically start French 3 running using AutoRun (go to 4.). 3. If someone has disabled AutoRun on your computer: (a) a window may open asking you what you want Windows to do (“Play using Windows Media Player”, “Print pictures” etc.)
click on the disc drive to view its contents then double-click on ‘pc-start.html’. 4. When the ‘pc-start.html' document opens, click the yellow button (see below) to start
(your PC may give a warning and ask permission to open the linked file). ***TOP TIP***To improve playback of films, copy the contents of the disc to a new folder on your hard drive. Under the terms of a Single User Licence, you may do this on ONE computer in your school
(also one computer in a teacher's home for lesson preparation). It should start similarly on a Mac:
1. Insert the disc into your computer’s disc drive. 2. Double-click the disc icon on the desktop, to view contents and use Acrobat® Reader to open ‘mac-start.pdf’. NOTE don't use Preview to open ‘mac-start.pdf’ as it does not offer the same functionality. 3. When the ‘mac-start.pdf’ document opens, follow the instructions for your Mac’s OS.
(a) Most newer Macs running Mac OS X v10.3.9 “Panther”up to v 10,6.x*:
If things don't happen like that…
Q1: I've put the disc in my computer and the videos open up automatically but I can't see any menus or flashcards.
A: Your computer has most likely been set to open all video and sound files automatically. Often this is in a programme such as Windows Media Player. To change this setting, you need to tell the computer to open the video files using QuickTime.
Q2: I click on ‘pc-start.htm’ or ‘mac-start.pdf’ but the file won't open.
A: To make the most of your Resources disc, you should have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. If this is not possible, click on the file “home.stk” (the one with a yellow icon) which will begin the introduction to the main menu.
Q3: My Resources disc starts but I get an error message.
A: If the error message is something like "HyperStudio has encountered a problem...", it may be because you don't have QuickTime installed on your computer. QuickTime is needed to to display pictures, sounds and movies from your Resources disc, and is a free player included on most computers.
Q4: I’ve started to use the Resources disc - the menu and electronic flashcards work but when I try to open the films all I see is a grey screen.
A: This is because you have an older version of QuickTime installed on your computer. Upgrade your QuickTime from the website below and that should solve the problem.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ Q5: I can play the films, but I can’t find any interactive activities or see a menu screen.
A: If you can only see the films, you have probably opened the files from the “Films” folder (located inside the “Resources” folder). This bypasses all the interactive activities and menus and does not take full advantage of the multimedia elements of the Resource disc.
The best way to start the Resources disc is to click on ‘pc-start.htm’ (or ‘mac-start.pdf’ for Mac computers). This will take you to a menu screen from which you can access all the films and the interactive activities. If you have tried this method without success, you may need to download or update QuickTime - the latest version is available from www.apple.com/quicktime Q6: Some of the films take a long time to load, and then play jerkily or without sound or picture.
A: Make sure you're computer is set to open .mov files using QuickTime (see Q1).
Some of the films are large files; your computer may have problems playing them if it does not have much RAM. Playback will be improved if you copy the contents of the disc to your computer’s hard drive (if you have a single user licence you are permitted to copy to one machine). It also might be helpful to make sure there are no other windows open when you are playing the films. Make sure the film you just watched closes after playing before opening another film or activity. Q7: The films don't open in full-screen.
A: When you click on the button to open a film, it is set to automatically open and fill the screen. If the films open in their own window, you can follow the on-screen instructions and make the film fill the screen by clicking the "Enter full screen" button on the movie controller.
Q8: I watched the film but now I want to get back to the menu.
A: The film should close automatically, after playing. If this doesn't happen, you can follow the on-screen instructions at the end of the film or press the Esc button on your keyboard to view the QuickTime player window.
You can then CLOSE this window. NOTE minimizing this window may affect playback of other films or activities (see Q6). Q9: I
have a Network user Licence - I’ve installed the software, and
everything plays on the server computer, but on the client computers
the films are very slow to load and play jerkily.
A: There may be a problem with your bandwidth. Some of the films are large files and need a lot of bandwidth to play smoothly. If you don’t have enough bandwidth available, installing the software directly on to the client computer will solve this problem.
Make sure the client computers have QuickTime and Acrobat® Reader. Q10: I’m
trying to play/install the Early Start software, but it’s asking
for a password. Where do I find the password?
Your password is on the paper insert inside your DVD case. If there’s no insert inside your DVD case, you could have been sent the wrong DVD. Please contact Early Start for a replacement.
What's on your Resources disc?This is a standard PC/Mac DVD-ROM that harnesses the capabilities of a new generation of multimedia computers to deliver high-quality video, images and sound as an aid to language learning. You will find over 4 hours of full-screen films, a carefully planned series of electronic flashcards, songs and presentations which support the chapters from the Teacher’s Manual. Prepare your lessons has pronunciation guides and printouts for teacher preparation.
Designed to be very simple to use, all the resources are accessible from one menu - no need to keep changing discs! What you need:
QuickTime – this is a free application from Apple. It is used to play the sounds, videos and flashcards. It is vital your computer has this in order to run the Resources disc; we also recommend having the most up-to-date version.
QuickTime can be downloaded directly: www.apple.com/quicktime Acrobat® Reader This programme is used throughout the Resources disc, to view and print activity sheets and can be downloaded for free: www.adobe.com HyperStudio Player Players for PC and Mac are included on the Resources disc supplied. If you need a different version (for example, for a newer computer system), download it for free from this website: http://www.mackiev.com/support_hs.html |