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Copyright ã 1998-2000 The American Education Corporation. All Rights Reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL NOTES..................................................................................................1 A+LS OVERVIEW...................................................................................................2 NAVIGATING IN A+LS BASICS...........................................................................6 COMMON ICONS ...................................................................................................7 USING A+LS LOGGING ON.........................................................................................8 FOR ADMINISTRATOR, TEACHERS, & GUEST: THE MAIN MENU.........................9 LAUNCHING A LESSON PROGRAM.............................................................10 THE LESSON MENU......................................................................................12 FOR STUDENTS: THE MAIN MENU.....................................................................14 LAUNCHING A LESSON PROGRAM.............................................................15 THE LESSON MENU......................................................................................18 AUTHORING A+LS LESSONS GLOBAL vs. LOCAL LESSONS........................19 ADDING, EDITING, AND DELETING LESSONS....................................................22 ADDING, EDITING, AND DELETINGSUBJECTS..................................................24 LETTER LIGHTNING ENTERING LETTER LIGHTNING ..........................26 PLAYING LETTER LIGHTNING ........................................28 ENDING LETTER LIGHTNING...............................31 A+LS HELP CONTEXT-SENSITIVE HELP (The A+LS Information Blackboard).......32 VOICED HELP (ALiSe) ...........................................................................................34 ON-SCREEN HELP ................................................................................................34 INDEX..............................................................................................................35. GENERAL NOTES Page 1 MANUAL CONVENTIONS The following are conventions used throughout this manual. Instructions showing what a user types are shown in italics. The symbol ¿ means to press the Enter or Return key.Information pointed to by the symbol is particularly important and should not be overlooked.Information pointed to by the symbol represents useful tips and suggestions.Many screens in the Manual have circled numbers on them. These have been added to make the Manual easier to understand. The accompanying text will also have circled numbers ( , , , etc.) that describes the highlighted area of the screen.The term "default" means a choice that will be automatically made by A+LS in the absence of specific instructions to the contrary.. Page 2 A+LS PROGRAMS The A+dvanced Learning System, or A+LS, consists of four major programs which run in conjunction with each other. Additional programs can be added to these fou r as your needs dictate. The four programs are: The A+LS Shell This program is the one that is executed when you click on the A+LS icon on the Windows Program Manager. It handles log-on functions, the main menu, and the student assignment lists. It passes information such as the user's record number and class number to the other A+LS programs. The A+LS Management System This program is executed when teachers or Administrator click on the MANAGER Button on the Main Menu. Students and Guest do not have access to the A+LS Management System. Letter Lightning Letter Lightning is a reinforcement game designed to reward students for lesson mastery, develop cognitive thinking skills, motivate students to master their lessons, and have fun! Letter Lightning can be accessed by teachers, Administrator, and students by selecting the GAME Button on the Main Menu, or by mastering a lesson. The ability of students to access Letter Lightning from the Main Menu is controlled by their teachers through the A+L S Management System. Lesson Programs Lesson Programs in A+LS contain the software that "plays back" Study Guides, Tests, and Essay questions for all subject matter. They also allow teachers and Administrator to author all A+LS curriculum.Lesson Programs in A+LS come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Different curriculum areas require different ways of presenting information to students, different ways of testing them on it, and, as a result, different methods of authoring. Consequently, A+LS has a number of different Lesson Programs. These are: A+ Lessons, which plays back curriculum in the areas of The Sciences (grades 1-8) and Social Studies; ALS Writing, which plays back lessons from the Grammar & Writing series; ALS Language, which plays back lessons in the Spelling series; ALS Lessons, which plays back lessons in the Mathematics, Reading, Building Vocabulary and Language Usage series, and all High School titles; ALS MediaWeaver, which plays back lessons in the ALS MediaWeaver series; and, A+NET, which plays back A+LS Internet curriculum..A+LS OVERVIEW, Page 3 You don't have to worry about which Lesson Program you have. When you installed your A+LS title, the right program to run the curriculum was installed. You will, however, see one or more of the program names listed above on lists in the A+LS Shell and the A+LS Management System.What they mean and what to do when you do see them is described in the A+LS Lesson Program Manuals. Because of the continuing growth and expansion of A+LS, new Lesson Programs will be added in the future. Be sure to watch your registered user mailings and visit our Web site (http://www.amered.com) to learn of the latest programs available. THIRD-PARTY PROGRAMS A+LS can launch virtually any Third-party Program for use as a Lesson Program. Third-party programs which are not lesson programs and should not be accessed by students (for example, grade books) can also be launched from A+LS. Instructions on how to set up Third-party Programs so A+LS can launch them are found in the A+LS Administrator’s Manual. When a Third-party Program is set up for A+LS, it will appear on program lists throughout A+LS in the same places where the A+LS Lesson Programs listed above appear. How to use them when they appear is discussed in the appropriate sections of your A+LS Manuals. A+LS USERS There are four types of users in A+LS: Administrator: Administrator is a special user who has certain A+LS functions only he/she can perform. These are: the adding, editing, and deleting of other users; the establishment, editing, and deleting of classes, and assignment of teachers to them; identification of Third-party Programs for inclusion in A+LS; printing of a variety of reports showing A+LS users and their usage of the system; and, the creation, editing, and deleting of all A+LS curriculum so that such curriculum is available to all A+LS users, and printing of that curriculum. Administrator is also considered a teacher, so that classes can be assigned to Administrator and he/she can perform the teacher functions outlined below with respect to those classes. Administrator also has access to all A+LS student functions, although no results of his/her activity are recorded. Teachers: Teachers are set up in A+LS by Administrator, and can perform the following functions: assignment of students to their classes; creation of Managed Lesson Sequences for their classes and/or individual students; printing of a variety of reports showing class and individual student progress; and, the creation, editing, and deleting of all A+LS curriculum, and printing of that curriculum.. Page 4 Teachers can add, edit, or delete data that pertains to classes to which they have been assigned only. Similarly, teachers can review and print student performance records for their own classes only. Teachers also have access to all A+LS student functions, although no results of their activity are recorded. Students: Students are set up in A+LS by Administrator, and are assigned to classes by teachers. Students have access to A+LS Lesson Programs and any Third-party Programs assigned to them by their teachers. In most cases, student access to lesson material will be limited to that assigned by their teacher and incorporated in Man aged Lesson Sequences. Students can also have access to Letter Lightning, if allowed by their teacher. All student usage of A+LS is recorded.Students in A+LS can be assigned to more than one class. Guest: Guest is a special A+LS user who need not be added by Administrator and cannot be edited or deleted by him/her. Guest has access to lesson material only, and no activity for Guest is recorded. All A+LS users except Guest are identified by a First Name, Last Name, and Log-on Name. Only the Log-on Name needs to be unique. Additionally, each user may have a Password assigned by Administrator. If a user has a password, A+LS will require the user to enter it correctly before the user can log on. If a user does not have a password assigned by Administrator, A+LS will not ask for one. All new A+LS installations are shipped with a user database containing one user, called System Administrator. System Administrator is the Administrator. This u ser's log-on name and password can be found in your A+LS Administrator’s Manual. A+LS CLASSES The use of classes in A+LS is a way to both segregate student data and to enhance system and data security. Classes are set up by Administrator, and are defined by a Class Name and a teacher.The combination of the two must be unique. The teacher is assigned to a class by Administrator when he/she creates or edits the class record. The teacher assigned to a class by Administrator can then assign students to the class. Administrator can be assigned to a class as a teacher.All student data in A+LS is segregated by class. In the event a student is assigned to more than one class, A+LS will ask the student which class he/she is entering A+LS for before any data is recorded. Thus each class has an independent set of student performance records separate from that of any other class. Teachers have access only to data for their classes. The creation of class rosters, development of Managed Lesson Sequences, and eporting can be performed by teachers only for classes to which they are assigned.. Page 5 MANAGED LESSON SEQUENCES Every A+LS installation will contain many lessons for students to use, and in most cases many different subjects as well. The heart of the A+LS Student Management System is the "Managed Lesson Sequence." A Managed Lesson Sequence, also referred to as an "Assignment List" or "Lesson Plan," specifies which lessons students are to do, and, at the teacher's option, in what order. An Assignment List is composed of Assignment Groups and, within them, Assignments. For example, an Assignment List may be composed of three Assignment Groups, with each group containing 10 Assignments. A+LS has two simple rules with respect to Assignment Groups: all of the Assignments in one group must be mastered before the student can do Assignments in the next group; and, the teacher decides whether individual Assignments within an Assignment Group must be done in order (the default is that the Assignments do not have to be done in order). Each individual Assignment can have the following attributes: an A+LS lesson or Third-party Program which will be launched when the student enters the assignment; a mastery level between 0 and 100; a message that is displayed to the student immediately before the student enters the Assignment; and, an Assignment Title independent of the lesson title.All of these attributes for each Assignment can be established and edited by the teacher. Special Assignment Lists called "Default Assignment Lists" are installed with each A+LS title. How to use these to develop an Assignment List for every student in the class and/or individual Assignment Lists for individual students is discussed in the A+LS Teacher’s Manual.. NAVIGATING IN A+LS Page 6 BASICS A+LS is designed for simple and easy use with a mouse. A single mouse click will select virtually any object in A+LS. For example, to access a function represented by a button, simply click on that button. Exceptions are picklists. These are lists of, say, students, programs, lessons, etc., from which a selection is to be made. For example, the following picklist shows a list of programs. The teacher needs to select which one to run. In this example, the program "A+ Lessons" is selected. The teacher can select another program by pressing the , , Page Up, Page Down, Home, or End keys, or by clicking on one of the other programs on the list. The teacher can then launch the selected program by pressing ¿, double-clicking on the highlighted item, or by clicking on GO LIGHT. If no item on the list is selected, the teacher can click on any of them to highlight one. Then the keys mentioned will function as described above. Some picklists in A+LS allow multiple selection; more than one item on them can be highlighted at once. On these picklists, clicking on the items to be selected will select them. A selected item can be deselected in the same way.. Page 7 COMMON ICONS There are a number of common icons used throughout A+LS. These icons and their meaning are as follows. The EXIT WINDOW will take users out of what they are doing. In most cases, this will take them to the previous screen. In others, it signifies the completion of a task, such as taking a test. The GO LIGHT will take users to the next screen, with whatever selections the user has made effective. The QMARK will take the user to the A+LS Information Blackboard for context-sensitive help (see the "A+LS Help" section of this Manual). This is ALiSe ("Alice"). Most screens which a student can access have an ALiSe Icon. Clicking on it will play voiced help files that describe the screen and what to do on it (see the "A+LSHelp" section of this Manual). The EAR Icon will appear when there is a sound available to hear; clicking on it will cause the sound to be played. The EAR Icon also appears on authoring screens where sound files can be inserted. The VIDEO Icon will appear when there is a video file to play; clicking on it will cause the video to be played. The VIDEO Icon also appears on authoring screens where video files can be inserted..USING A+LS Page 8 To launch A+LS, select Programs, then A+LS, and finally A+dvanced Learning System from the Start Menu (Windows 95 and 98), or double-click on the A+LS icon on the Program Manager (Windows 3.11). The A+LS Welcome Screen will appear briefly while A+LS loads the necessary files. When loading is complete, the Log-on Screen will appear. LOGGING ON Type your log-on name here and press ¿ or Tab. If you have a password, the cursor will jump to this box. Type your password and press ¿. Passwords are case-sensitive; users must type their passwords exactly as they were entered by Administrator. After installation, the registered name of your school will appear here. If you are using A+LS for the very first time, see your A+LS Administrator’s Manual for the log-on name and password to use. After a user has successfully logged on, A+LS will determine whether the user is Administrator, a teacher, or a student. Administrator and teachers options are described on the next page. Student options are described on page 14. A+LS keeps track of which users are logged onto it, and will not allow the same user to log on twice at the same time. In the event of a system crash, power failure, or simple failure by a user to log off before turning off the machine, A+LS will think users who did not log off are still logged on, and will not let them log on again. To deal with this situation, press F3 after the user has typed his/her Log -on Name.. Page 9 THE MAIN MENU - ADMINISTRATOR, TEACHERS, & GUEST After Administrator or a teacher has successfully logged on, he/she will see the Main Menu Screen. The MANAGER Button will take you to the A+LS Management System, with Administrator’s or teacher’s functions enabled (see your A+LS Administrator’s Manual or your A+LS Teacher’s Manual). The LESSONS Button will take you to all A+LS lessons and to Third-party Programs (see the next page). The GAME Button will take you to the Letter Lightning game (see page 26). The name and type of user that is logged on will always display at the bottom of the screen. When a teacher assigned to more than one class selects LESSONS from the Main Menu, the SELECT A CLASS Picklist will appear. Because all A+LS Lesson Programs have lesson authoring capability, and because a teacher's lesson authoring will apply only to one class, A+LS needs to know with which class the teacher wants to work. If the user is Administrator, A+LS will need to know if the edits made by Administrator should apply to a class assigned to Administrator, or to all users. By selecting the class name "Default Lessons," Administrator’s edits will apply to all A+LS users. The teacher should select the class with which he/she wants to work. After the selection is made,A+LS will go to the Select A Program picklist. Page 10 LAUNCHING A LESSON PROGRAM - ADMINISTRATOR, TEACHERS, & GUEST When any A+LS user selects the LESSONS Button from the Main Menu, A+LS must determine two things. First, which program should it run (A+LS Lesson Program or Third-party Program)? Second, which subject and lesson should it use? The answers to these questions are selected by Administrator and teachers at run time.Administrator and teachers will see the Program Picklist immediately after selecting LESSONSon the Main Menu. If Administrator is assigned to a class, or if a teacher is assigned to more than one class, they will see the Program Picklist after selecting a class. The first four programs in this example are A+LS Lesson Programs. Any Third-party Programs on your system will be listed as well. Select the program you want to use. NOTES: Any program on your system can be launched from this picklist, regardless of whether it is a "Lesson" program.Administrative software, word processors, grade books, etc.can all be set up in A+LS and launched from this picklist. Operation of the A+LS Lesson Programs is covered in a separate manual for each. Consult your A+LS Lesson Program manual for information about use of the A+LS Lesson Program you select from this picklist..USING A+LS, Page 11 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK.USING A+LS, cont. Page 12 THE LESSON MENU - ADMINISTRATOR, TEACHERS, & GUEST When Administrator, teachers, or Guest enter an A+LS Lesson Program, they will be taken to the Lesson Menu.. Page 13 On this screen, the SUBJECTS List shows all of the subjects on the system that use the Lesson Program shown on the upper left . The LESSONS List shows all of the lessons in the subject highlighted on the SUBJECTS List. The contents of the LESSONS List will change when the highlight bar on the SUBJECTS List moves. In this example, the LESSONS List shows all of the lessons in the subject "READING V." Subjects shown on the SUBJECTS List in all lower-case letters are "local" subjects (see page 19). The MODE Box allows the user to select which student activity he/she wants to use (STUDY the Material, PRACTICE the Test, Take the TEST, or write an ESSAY). To make a selection in the MODE Box, click on the circle next to the activity you want. TO SELECT AND ENTER A LESSON: · Select the subject that contains the lesson you want on the SUBJECTS List . · Select the lesson you want on the LESSONS List . · Select the activity you want in the MODE Box . · Click on the GO LIGHT or press S. Click on the Pencil&Paper Icon to switch to the A+LS Authoring System (see page 19). Guest will not have this option available. Click on the EXIT WINDOW or press Esc to exit the Lesson Program and return to the Program Picklist.. Page 14 THE MAIN MENU - STUDENTS Students will get the same Main Menu Screen as Administrator and teachers, but will have different menu options. The Main Menu options for students are: The PROGRESS Button will allow students to see a display of their work in A+LS, test scores, time on task, and the like. The display is very much like the Student Progress Report (see your A+LS Teacher’s Manual), but students cannot print it. The LESSONS Buttons will take a student to his/her Assignment List, or to the Program Picklist shown on page 10 if both the student and the student’s class do not have an Assignment List. The GAME Button will allow students to play Letter Lightning, but only if allowed by their teacher.When a student who is assigned to more than one class makes a selection from the Main Menu, A+LS needs to know which class the A+LS session is for. Because A+LS keeps student performance records by class, it needs to know the class for which the student's records should be displayed when the student selects PROGRESS. Similarly, A+LS needs to know the class in order to obey the teacher's instructions when LESSONS or GAME is selected. When a student assigned to more than one class makes a Main Menu selection, the student will be presented with the SELECT A CLASS Picklist shown on page 9. When the student makes a selection from the SELECT A CLASS Picklist, A+LS will then go to the Progress Screen, Letter Lightning, or the Student Assignment Screen as described in the next section.. Page 15 LAUNCHING A LESSON PROGRAM - STUDENTS Most students in A+LS will have an Assignment List. When a student selects LESSONS from the Main Menu, A+LS uses the following logic: First, it determines if the student has an individual Student Assignment List for the class to which he/she is assigned. If the student does, A+LS will use that Student Assignment List and move to the SELECT AN ASSIGNMENT Screen. If the student does not have an individual Student Assignment List, A+LS will determine if there is a Class Assignment List for the class to which the student is assigned. If there is, A+LS will use the Class Assignment List and go to the SELECT AN ASSIGNMENT Screen, and will copy the Class Assignment List to a newly-created individual Student Assignment List. The student will therefore have an individual Student Assignment List in future sessions. If there is neither an individual Student Assignment List nor a Class Assignment List, the student will go to the Program List as would Administrator or a teacher (although the student will not have access to A+LS Lesson Authoring capability).If the student does not have an Assignment List and the student’s class does not have a Class Assignment List, the student will make a selection from the Program Picklist (see page 10).. Page 16 When a student who has an individual Student Assignment List or whose class has a Class Assignment List selects LESSONS on the Main Menu, the SELECT AN ASSIGNMENT Screen will appear.This screen shows an Assignment List with two groups, with five Assignments in each group. The only logic imposed by A+LS is that the student must master all of the Assignments in the first group before proceeding to any Assignments in the second. Whether the Assignments within any group must be done in order is up to the teacher. In this case, the Assignments in Group I do not have to be done in order. If they did, the text "Do assignments in order" would appear in the upper right. "Do in order" means that the first Assignment must be mastered before the second one can be accessed, the second must be mastered before the third can be accessed, and so on.. Page 17 An Assignment entitled "Recognizing Main Ideas 1" is highlighted on this screen. Pressing ¿, clicking on the GO LIGHT, or double-clicking on this Assignment will launch the Assignment. The student can select another Assignment as described in the "Navigating in A+LS" section of this Manual.Assignment Groups are shown in capital letters. The Assignments that comprise each group are shown under the group name. The "X" indicates that the Assignment entitled "Predicting Outcomes 1" has been mastered by the student. The student can still enter this Assignment to attempt to get a higher score, reread the Study Material, or answer an Essay Question. This bar indicates the percentage of Assignments that the student has mastered. This indicates the mastery level set by the teacher for the highlighted Assignment. This text will change as the student scrolls through the Assignment List. For clarity of display, the student can "collapse" an Assignment Group to remove the display of the Assignments in the group by clicking on the hollow minus sign to the left of the group name. In this example, the student has clicked on the hollow minus sign next to "GROUP I." By clicking on the hollow plus sign next to "GROUP I," the student can restore the display of the Assignments in GROUP I. For A+LS lessons, "mastery" means that the student has taken the test for the lesson and achieved a score equal to or higher than the mastery level set by the teacher. All A+LS lessons are scored on a range of 0 to 100. If the teacher does not set a mastery level, a default mastery level of 70 will be used. As most third-party programs do not keep meaningful scores and cannot communicate them to A+LS in any event, A+LS will consider an Assignment using a third -party program to be "mastered" if the student enters it from this screen. Occasionally, student mastery of a lesson will not be accurately reflected by a n "X" on the student's Assignment List. If you or the student suspects that this is the case, you can update the "X"s by pressing F5 when the student is on the SELECT AN ASSIGNMENT Screen.. Page 18 THE LESSON MENU - STUDENTS In almost all cases, students will be entering an A+LS Lesson Program from the A+LS SELECT AN ASSIGNMENT Screen. In these cases, the subject and lesson will be selected for the student by A+LS, and the student will be taken to the Student Lesson Menu. On this screen, the student need only select the activity he/she wants in the MODE Box , and then click on the GO LIGHT . Note that the subject, lesson number, and lesson title are displayed on the bottom left of the screen .In the event that a student enters an A+LS Lesson Program from the A+LS SELECT A PROGRAM Picklist, because neither the student nor his/her class was given an Assignment Li st by the teacher, the student will get a LESSON Menu exactly like that of Administrator, teachers, and Guest, with the exception that students will not have the option to go to A+LS Authoring Systems. If one of the four activities does not exist for the lesson, it will not appear on the Student Lesson Menu.. AUTHORING A+LS LESSONS Page 19 Each A+LS Lesson Program has its own authoring system which gives teachers and administrators a powerful tool for changing curriculum and adding their own. Any aspect of a n A+LS lesson, including the lesson's title, all of the questions, answers, feedback, Study Material, and Essays can be changed or added. Furthermore, pictures, sounds, and video can be added to any lesson directly from the authoring system. Curriculum changes made by teachers or by Administrator who selected a class on the Select A Class picklist will apply only to their classes, while changes made by Administrator who selected “Default Lessons” on the Select a Picklist will apply to all users (see page 9). GLOBAL VS. LOCAL SUBJECTS The distinction between "global" and "local" subjects does not apply to the A+NET Lesson Program; all subjects in it are "global," regardless of whether they are authored by the System Administrator or by a teacher. There are two types of subjects in A+LS; "global" and "local." "Global subjects" are available to all users of the system. They are created in one of two ways, by installation of a subject purchased from The American Education Corporation, or through the addition of a subject by Administrator. A "local subject" is unique to a class, and can be accessed only by students and the teacher assigned to the class. Local subjects are created by the teacher, either by adding a new subject or by editing lessons in a global subject. Global lessons are always shown in capital letters on picklists and menus. Local lessons are always shown in lower case. In this example, all of the subjects available to the teacher are global except "reading i," the selected subject. This subject was either added by the teacher, or was automatically created when the teacher edited a lesson in the global subject "READING I." A+LS uses simple logic when launching a lesson. If a copy of the lesson exists for the class to which the student or teacher is assigned (in other words, if it is a lesson in a local subject), A+LS will use it.If the lesson is not in a local subject, A+LS will use the global copy. Remember that when a teacher or student who is assigned to more than one class enters A+LS, he/she will be asked to identify the class he/she wants to work in. It is this class that will be used in determining whether a local lesson exists. When Administrator adds, edits, or deletes any curriculum, the changes are made to the global subject. Because local subjects are, by definition, only for use by teachers and their classes, Administrator will not see them listed on menus. The following page shows what happens when a teacher adds, edits, or deletes curriculum.. Page 20 · When a Global Subject and Lesson are highlighted and the teacher selects: Selection What Happens Add Subject a local subject is added Edit Subject not allowed Delete Subject not allowed Add Lesson not allowed Edit Lesson a local subject with same title as the highlighted global subject is created (if it doesn't already exist), and the edited lesson i s saved to the local subject Delete Lesson not allowed · When a Local Subject and Lesson are highlighted and the teacher selects: Selection What Happens Add Subject a local subject added Edit Subject the title of the highlighted local subject is edited Delete Subject the highlighted local subject is deleted Add Lesson a new lesson is added to the highlighted local subject Edit Lesson the highlighted local lesson is edited Delete Lesson the highlighted local lesson is deleted For example, if the global subject "THE SCIENCES III" and the global lesson #21, "Animal Adaptations,"are highlighted when the teacher selects EDIT LESSON, the result will be the creation of a new local subject called "the sciences iii" which contains one lesson, "Animal Adaptations" (which will still be Lesson #21). Suppose that is the only curriculum change that has been made on the system. In this example, when students in the teacher's class enter an assignment for THE SCIENCES III, Lesson #21, A+LS will look for "the sciences iii, lesson #21" (a local lesson), will find it, and will use that lesson. Thus the students in the teacher's class will see the lesson as edited by the teacher. When these same students enter an assignment for THE SCIENCES III, Lesson #22, A+LS will look for "the sciences iii, lesson #22" (a local lesson), but won't find it. A+LS will then use THE SCIENCES III, Lesson #22 (the unedited, global lesson).. Page 21 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK.AUTHORING A+LS LESSONS, cont. Page 22 ADDING, EDITING, AND DELETING LESSONS When Administrator or a teacher enters an A+LS Lesson Program and then clicks on the Pencil&Paper Icon the Lesson Menu, the Author Menu appears. With the exception of the MODE Box, Face Icon , and Printer Icon , this menu looks and operates just like the Lesson Menu (see page 12). Click on the Face Icon to return to the Lesson Menu. To print curriculum, click on the Printer Icon (see the Manual for the A+LS Lesson Program shown on the screen ). Click on the SUBJECT Button to add, edit, and delete subjects (see page 24).. Page 23 TO ADD A LESSON: · select the subject to which you want to add the lesson on the SUBJECTS List; · select ADD LESSON in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT. · You will be prompted for the name and number of the new lesson. A+ LS will suggest a lesson number for the new lesson. It is best to accept this suggesti on as it will avoid any confusion over lesson numbers. If you are adding a lesson to a local subject which has the same name as a global subject, A+LS will insist that the lesson number for the new lesson be 501 or higher. Thi s is to prevent internal conflicts between lesson numbers for global and local lessons. Adding a lesson merely creates a lesson title and establishes the lesson as part of the subject. It does not create Tests, Study Material, or Essays. To add content to the new lesson, edit it as described below. TO EDIT A LESSON: · select the subject which contains the lesson you want to edit on the SUBJECTS List ; · select the lesson you want to edit on the LESSONS List; · select EDIT LESSON in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT or press S. · You will then go to the Authoring System for the Lesson Program shown on the upper left (see the appropriate A+LS Lesson Program Manual). TO DELETE A LESSON: · select the subject from which you want to delete the lesson on the SUBJECTS List; · select the lesson you want to delete on the LESSONS List; · select DELETE LESSON in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT or press S. · You will be asked to confirm the deletion before the lesson is actually erased.. Page 24 ADDING, EDITING, AND DELETING SUBJECTS When you click on the SUBJECT Button in the MODE Box on the Author Menu, the Mode Box will show subject authoring options. Click on the LESSON Button to add, edit, or delete lessons.. Page 25 TO ADD A SUBJECT: · select ADD SUBJECT in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT or press S. · You will be prompted for the name of the new subject. When you add a subject, you have created a subject name and reserved space for lessons in the subject. You have not created any lessons. You must add lessons to the subject in order for the subject to be accessible to the students (see page 22). Subjects purchased from The American Education Corporation must be added through the normal installation process. TO EDIT A SUBJECT: · select the subject you want to edit on the SUBJECTS List; · select EDIT SUBJECT in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT or press S. · You will be prompted for the new subject name. Editing a subject changes only the name of the subject. To change the curriculum content in the subject, you must edit the lessons in the subject (see page 24). TO DELETE A SUBJECT: · select the subject you want to delete on the SUBJECTS LIST; · select DELETE SUBJECT in the MODE Box; then, · click on the GO LIGHT or press S. · You will be asked to confirm the deletion before the subject is actually erased. BE CAREFUL!!! Deleting a subject will delete the subject and all the lessons in it.. LETTER LIGHTNING Page 26 Letter Lightning is a game that requires the student to use memory, deductive reasoning, logic, and a little luck to solve a word puzzle. All Letter Lightning puzzles are related to A+LS lesson content. ENTERING LETTER LIGHTNING A+LS users can enter Letter Lightning by clicking on the GAME Button on the Main Menu. Administrator and teachers will always have access to the game. Student access to Letter Lightning is limited in two ways. First, students must have "game tickets," which they earn by mastering most A+LS lessons (one ticket for each lesson mastered). Second, teachers can prevent student access to Letter Lightning by selecting "Game off" on the Class Roster Screen (see your A+LS Teacher’s Manual). Some A+LS Lesson Programs will allow students to play Letter Lightning immediately upon mastery of a lesson. Consult the manual on your A+LS Lesson Program for details. When users select the GAME Button on the Main Menu, the first screen they will see is the Top Ten Screen. This screen shows the ten highest scores and the first and last initial of the students who earned them. These scores are accumulated, and only students are shown (scores for Administrator and teachers are not recorded). Click on the GO LIGHT to proceed. Because students can enter Letter Lightning only by mastering lessons, competition for the highest scores has proven to be a factor that can greatly motivate s tudents to complete A+LS assignments.. Page 27 Students who have no game tickets or whose teacher has disallowed game playing will then see one of the following messages. Clicking on the OK Button on either window will return the student to the Main Menu.Users who did not receive one of the preceding messages will then be shown his/her game tickets and asked if he/she wants to play. The number in the Letter Lightning Box is the number of game tickets the user has. Click on the GO LIGHT to enter Letter Lightning. This will decrement the number of game tickets by one. Click on the EXIT WINDOW to return to the Main Menu.. Page 28 PLAYING LETTER LIGHTNING The user will then enter Letter Lightning. Puzzles are randomly selected from a file that includes a broad range of puzzles that are closely related to A+LS curriculum. The puzzle clue is shown at the top of the screen. The puzzle solution area begins with blank spaces, one for each letter in the solution. All players begin with 400 points (the current point total is always shown on the screen ). The object of the game is to solve the puzzle by spinning for three letters, and then guessing if one of the letters is in the solution. Spinning and guessing each cost 50 points, and a player gets 50 points for each occurrence of a letter he/she guesses in the solution. But memory is crucial; guessing a letter that has already been guessed will cost points, not earn them!. Page 29 Players spin for letters by clicking on the GO LIGHT or pressing G. IT COSTS 50 POINTS TO SPIN FOR LETTERS. This will cause three letters to appear in the Letter Lightning Box . The player can then guess one of these letters by clicking on it or by typing it on the keyboard. The player will RECEIVE 50 POINTS for every occurrence of the letter in the solution (provided he/she hasn't already guessed that letter), and the letter will fill in the appropriate blanks in the solution area . The player will LOSE 50 POINTS if the letter guessed is not in the solution (or if it has already been guessed). A spin can result in a pleasant surprise - the question mark. Every once in a while, Letter Lightning will select two letters and a question mark after a spin. TH IS EARNS 50 POINTS. Less frequently, Letter Lightning will select one letter and two question marks. THIS EARNS 200 POINTS. In rare cases, Letter Lightning will select three question marks - an AUTOMATIC WIN! When a player gets one or two question marks after a spin, he/she has to make a decision. The player can either spin again and keep the points received by getting a question mark (50 or 200), or click on the question mark and guess any letter he/she wants. If the player does the latter, the GUESS A LETTER Window will appear. This will cause the player to lose the points received by getting the question mark(s). However, it does give the player the opportunity to get closer to the solution and earn 50 points for each occurrence of the letter guessed on this window. To guess a letter, type it in this window and then press ¿. To turn off Letter Lightning sounds, click on the SOUND Icon or press X. An X over the icon indicates that the sound is off (this is the default). Click on the icon with an X or press X to remove it.Your point total will always be presented graphically will lightning bolts and A+ icons, each of which represents 50 points. When points are earned by guessing a letter that is in the solution, or by getting a question mark after a spin, A+ icons will appear. These will turn into lightning bolts upon the next spin.. Page 30 An example of the Letter Lightning Screen after a spin and a guess is shown below.In this case, the player spun once, reducing the point total from 400 to 350. This is indicated by the seven lightning bolts . The player got the letters L, K, and Q, as shown in the Letter Lightning Box . The player then guessed the letter L, and received 50 points because there was one occurrence of the letter L in the solution. The 50 points are indicated by the A+ , and the letter has been filled in in the appropriate blank in the solution area . The point total has been updated to 400, graphically shown with seven lightning bolts and one A+. The A+ will turn into a lightning bolt when the player next spins.. Page 31 ENDING LETTER LIGHTNING When you think you know the solution to the puzzle, click on the WRITING HAND or press S. The SOLVE THE PUZZLE Window will appear. Type the solution in the answer box, and then press ¿, or press ¿ without typing to return to the game. Solutions must be typed exactly correctly, INCLUDING PUNCTUATION.However, solutions typed are not case-sensitive;A+LS will ignore capital letters. After a solution is entered, the player will get one of two messages. Select OK on either window to return to the Main Menu. When the solution is correct, the player will receive whatever the point total was when the solution was entered. Letter Lightning can also end in five other ways: · when the player gets three question marks after a spin (this will give the player 1,000 points); · when the player guesses a letter that completes the solution; · when the player reaches or exceeds 1,000 points after a spin or guess; · when the player reaches or goes below 0 points after a guess; and, · when the player clicks on the EXIT WINDOW or presses Esc..A+LS HELP Page 32 A+LS contains three on-line help methods designed to assist users in using A+LS. CONTEXT-SENSITIVE HELP Every A+LS Screen contains the QMARK. Clicking on it will cause the A+LS Information Blackboard to appear.. Page 33 The text area of the blackboard contains help for the screen you were on when you clicked on the QMARK. The portions of the text that do not fit on the blackboard, if any, can be viewed by using the slidebar , or by using the , , Page Down, and Page Up keys. To use the slidebar, click on the Button at the bottom of the slidebar to scroll down the text and on the Button at the top of the slidebar to scroll up the text. Click anywhere on the portion of the slidebar below the Slide Button to scroll down the text a page at a time. Click anywhere on the portion of the slidebar above the Slide Button to scroll up the text a page at a time. To quickly scroll through and vie w the text, click on the Slide Button and hold the mouse button down while moving the Slide Button up or down the slidebar. Let up on the mouse button when the part of the text you want to view is shown on the blackboard. Click on the PRINTER Icon to print the help text in the blackboard. A+LS help text is organized by topic. You can see a list of help topics for the A+LS program you are using by clicking on the GET TOPICS MENU Button . This will change the contents of the blackboard from the help text to the topics list, as shown on the following page. You can scroll through the topics list as described previously. When the highlight bar is on the topic you want to view, click on the VIEW HIGHLIGHTED TOPIC Button. The contents of the blackboard will then change to the help text for the selected topic.. Page 34 The topics presented on the topics list will depend on the user. Administ rator will have topics available that concern Administrator functions, teachers will have topics for teacher functions, and students will have topics for only those functions they can perform. Click on the EXIT WINDOW to return to the screen from which yo u accessed A+LS Help. VOICED HELP Most A+LS screens that can be accessed by students have ALiSe. Clicking on ALiSe will cause A+LS to play voiced sound help for the screen. This help will des cribe how to use the screen and what the various icons on it do. ON-SCREEN HELP Most screens in A+LS have a “help text” area reserved for text to display. As you move the mouse cursor around the screen and hold the cursor on an area of the screen, button, or icon for three seconds, the text in the “help text” area will tell you what the screen area, button, or icon is for. Moving the mouse cursor will cause this help text to disappear. .INDEX Page 35 |