To run Explore! you need:
Web Requirements:
In order to run Explore! courses over the Web, you will need to download the Macromedia Authorware Player. The Macromedia Authorware Web Player, formerly Shockwave Authorware, allows users to create and deliver high-performance, fully interactive, streaming rich-media across intranets and high-bandwidth Internet links. The Authorware Web Player provides compression and streaming of sounds, animations, graphics, and text that lets authors deliver engaging online learning applications. By downloading the free Authorware Web Player, you are able to view Authorware applications, such as Explore!, online. Downloading the program is easy. Simply follow this link to the Macromedia Web site and follow the steps outlined there to download the player.
Video/Audio/Multimedia Questions
Player Functionality Questions
Web Version Questions
Tracking Questions
Content-related Questions
Windows Content Questions
Video/Audio/Multimedia Questions
Q. There is a green tinged box surrounding the character in some of the videos. How do I get rid of it?
A. On certain machines, where the display settings are 800x600 screen resolution and a color palette set to High Color, a box will appear around the character in a video. To change your color palette, follow these steps:
Q. I've selected "audio off" in the Options menu, but I still hear audio in certain places.
A. Though the page by page narration will be turned off when you select "audio off" in the Options menu, the audio will still play in videos, animations, and certain hotspot graphics.
Q. Sometimes the audio is not timed properly with the video, or I have difficulty launching the multimedia components. How can I fix this?
A. First try to reboot your computer. If that does not work, you should try running Explore! on another computer or taking Explore! over the Web. Another option is to try changing your color settings to True Color by following these steps:
- Click Start and point to Settings.
- Click Control Panel.
- Double-click the Display icon.
- Click the Settings tab.
- Choose "True Color" from the drop-down box.
Q. Why are there no videos in the Web version of Explore!?
A. To improve performance of the course over a Web connection, we have substituted all videos with stills and audio narration.
Q. How do I move around within a course?
A. Although we recommend that you proceed in the order that the course presents itself to you, you can move around various sections using the menu button. When you click the menu button, a dialog box appears listing all the individual sections within the objective you are currently in. If you wish to choose another objective or another tutorial, click on those links at the bottom of the menu box.
Q. Why are some buttons, such as the next page or menu button, grayed out at certain points in Explore!?
A. Explore! is designed so that the learner is controlling his own learning process. If these buttons are grayed out, Explore! is waiting for you to perform a task on the screen or to click a link in the navigation box.
Q. After I launch the CD and the compass animation runs, I receive an error message. I am then kicked out to the exit screen and the program exits.
A. You may need to install the required Access drivers. Navigate to the Explore! CD in Windows Explorer, open the "Access" folder, and double-click setup.exe. Follow the screens within the installation for further instructions, and try running the CD again. The program should run as usual.
Q. I received an unexpected error message or the navigation box shrank beyond the controls, and I became "stuck" in the program. How can I exit and still save my tracking information?
A. When using Explore!, we recommend that you avoid opening other extraneous programs or clicking the "Show Desktop" button (unless Explore! indicates that you should do this). Errors like this are rare, but if they do happen, close the program by pressing Cntrl+Q on your keyboard with your tracking disk still in the drive. All of your information for this session will be saved, and you can start Explore! again as you would normally when you are ready to continue.
Q. Sometimes when I am jumping around in the course, I come to a screen with a gray background, although the navigation box is still visible. How should I proceed through the course?
A. Click the "Show/Hide" button in the navigation box (the third button from the left) and continue as you would normally.
Q. What do the "Show Demonstrations when paging forward" and "Auto Advance" options in the option box mean?
A. Explore! is designed so that the program will not demonstrate a task until you make an attempt at the task, so changing the "Show Demonstrations when paging forward" option will not affect your experience with Explore! Auto Advance simply means that there are certain pages within Explore! that will move forward without you having to perform a task. We recommend you leave these settings in their default mode.
Q. I pressed the Previous Page button and received a dialog box giving me three choices: to Restart the Sequence, Go Back One Frame, or Cancel. What should I do?
A. You either just watched an animation or auto-advanced through at least three pages in a row. If you wish to go to the very beginning of the animation or auto advancing pages, click "Restart the Sequence." If you wish to see the last action in the animation or the last page you were on, click "Go Back One Frame." If you wish to remain on the page that you are on, click "Cancel."
Q. I cannot open one of the link out slide shows. Every time I click on the link, nothing seems to happen.
A. You probably have another PowerPoint slide show open from a link that you clicked on earlier in the course. You need to press Alt-Tab to navigate back to the active PowerPoint window and finish the current slide show by clicking the mouse. The other slide show that you clicked on will launch at this point.
Q. Why are there no videos in the Web version?
A. To improve performance of the course over a Web connection, we have substituted all videos with stills and audio narration.
Q. I received an error message from Windows, and I'm concerned that I will lose my tracking data if I quit. What should I do?
A. If you see any computer error message (such as a CPU or low memory error) that causes you to worry about losing tracking data, press "CTRL-Q" on your keyboard.
Q. What if I lose my tracking disk?
A. Students are encouraged not to lose their tracking disk, however if it is lost, they can create a new one the next time they enter the course. When creating a new tracking disk, if a student chooses to enter his profile information using the same student ID as had been used for the lost tracking disk, then previously-completed data collected by the instructor could be overwritten by the instructor's consolidation program. To avoid losing record of previous work, a new student ID for the tracking disk could be used. It is also recommended that Explore! users (students and instructors), make regular backup copies of student tracking files. That way, a student can always revert back to the most recently saved backup file, thus losing only minimal tracking data and still being able to use the original student ID.
Q. What do you mean by "unique" student ID?
A. Your instructor will tell you what to use for your student ID (for example, your student number or a combination of the letters of your first and last names), but in order for your results to be reported accurately, you must be the only student in your instructor's classes with this student ID.
Q. How is my tracking data sent to my instructor?
A. Your quiz results and progress reports for Explore! are encrypted and encoded in a text file on your tracking disk. You can e-mail this file to your instructor or send him the tracking disk.
Q. How long does a typical Explore! tutorial take?
A. Explore! tutorials can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete, not including the Portfolio project and depending on the complexity of the tutorial. For longer tutorials, the program will indicate when a good time is to take a break.
Q. Is the content on the Web version the same as the content on the CD?
A. All of Explore!'s instructional content is exactly the same in the Web version (WBT) as it is on the CD version (CBT), but the videos on the WBT have been substituted with still graphics to improve performance.
Q. If I already know the topics and concepts in the beginning of a tutorial, why do I need to proceed through it in the order of the objectives?
A.The lessons will make more sense if you go in the order of the tutorial because Explore! is a case-based product. Additionally, because you are moving in and out of the live application in certain tutorials, it ensures that your project files are at the right stage for that lesson.
Q. How many times can I take a Quick Check Quiz?
A. If you are tracking your progress, your recorded quiz score will be the first time you complete all questions in the quiz. If you wish to review the quiz, you can do so at any time. If you choose not to track your progress, you can retake the quiz every time you launch Explore!
Q. I'm using the Windows 2000 course, but I have Windows 95 (or 98). What differences can I expect in the course?
A. Although it is assumed that students are using a computer with the Windows 2000 operating system, the course can be used successfully with earlier versions of Windows. Specific instances where students using either Windows 98 or Windows 95 will find differences are detailed here.