update 9/2000
 
 

Using Windows 2000 (very basic)	Formatting a diskette
Wordprocessing using WP 8	Wordprocessing and netsurfing in Japanese.... in Chinese
The International Keyboard	Using PC-Pine email
Using the World Wide Web, web audio/video	TEAM Puntos de Partida CD_ROM MHELT drills for FRE 1130-31 and SPN 1130-31 Neue Horizonte CD-ROM

If you have not used Windows 2000 before, spend a little while teaching yourself how to manipulate the desktop items and the various files. Open "My Computer" (or Start Windows Explorer) to see the various drives: A: for the floppy, C: for the hard disk on the individual computer, D: for the CD-ROM drive, and several other drives which are on the lab server (and which therefore all the computers in the lab have in common). The drives have folders containing files. Open some of these to see how the material on the computer is arranged. All of the programs you will need are in the  on the desktop, but should you need to save a file to the C: drive or copy it to diskette it is good to know what these drives look like. Also, you need to be sure that students are NOT attempting to download or copy files onto/from the hard drive! Note also that if you just click on a file name Windows 2000 will open that file, provided it can find a program that fits its 3-letter extender (for example, Netscape for .htm files, WordPerfect for .wpd files).
 

Dialogue boxes:

In many Windows programs, you will encounter "dialogue boxes" which ask you for information. Some of them may be as simple as yes/no, but others involve selecting, naming, or changing a file. For example, if you wish to save a program in WP 8, it will expect you to want to save it in the "MyFiles" folder on the C: drive, as a .wpd document, but you can use the arrow by the small window that says "MyFiles" to find your A: drive to save to diskette, and arrow by the "File type" to choose a different type of program.

Shutting down a program or the whole computer:

When a program has "frozen" and will not respond to the keyboard or mouse, press Ctrl. + Alt + Del once. A dialogue box will give you a number of options; select "Task manager" which will give you a list of the programs which are currently open. Highlight the one that is not working and select "end task" to close it. If this takes too long, press Ctrl. + Alt + Del two or more times to shut down the computer (if the computer does not respond, you can as a last resort turn it off using the mechanical button).

Resizing and moving windows on the Windows 2000 desktop:

When you open a program, its working window may take up the entire screen or only part of the screen. If you have a choice about the size of the program window, there are three clickable boxes at the top right of the screen, showing a minus sign ("minimize"), a square ("maximize") or two overlapping squares ("resize"), and an x ("close"). If you minimize the window, it disappears from the desktop but can be recovered intact by clicking on the appropriate item in the program bar at the bottom of the screen. If you maximize the window, it fills the entire screen. If you resize, the bottom right-hand corner of the window becomes sensitive to the cursor; move the cursor around over this corner of the window until it becomes a 2-sided arrow, and then you can make the window smaller or larger by holding down the left mouse button over the corner and moving the cursor to a place that gives the window the desired size and shape.

A window that is not "maximized" can be moved on the desktop. The "handle" for the window is the colored bar at the very top of the window; move the cursor over this bar, hold down the left mouse button, and the entire window will move with the cursor. Be careful about moving a window to a location where important controls are not accessible to the cursor.

When two windows overlap on the screen, you can alternate use simply by clicking on the window you wish to work in.

If the window is maximized, it will usually still show the bar of active programs at the bottom of the screen. You can switch from one open program to another by clicking on the item in this bar (for example, between Netscape and WordPerfect). If the program bar is not visible (for example, when running the Puntos CD-ROM), it can be seen by pressing the Ctrl and Esc keys at the same time.

"Edit" functions work from one Windows program to another. For example, if you "copy" an item in Netscape, you can "paste" it into WordPerfect or an email.
 
 

Formatting a diskette:

Insert the diskette in the a: drive. Double click on "My Computer" to open it and highlight the "3 ½ floppy A:" icon or name. Go to "File" on this window and you will see the choice "Format." Select this and you can quickly format your diskette.
 

Copying a student file from the computer to a diskette:

A student who does not have a diskette can save his or her work temporarily on the computer and then copy the file onto the instructor's or a friend's diskette. If, for example, the student saved the file in C:\MyFiles, this is the procedure: Insert the diskette in the A:\ drive. Double click on ``My Computer'' to open it and then on the C:\ drive and finally on the MyFiles folder, until you can see the file name. Move the windows so that you can see both of them; click on the file to be copied and hold down the left mouse button; the name and icon should move with the cursor. Move the cursor with the icon to the A:\ drive icon/name in the other window, and "drop" it there. You can double-click on the A:\ drive to be sure the file is listed among its contents.

Then, please delete the file from the C:\ drive.

You can also use the Windows Explorer program to copy files in this way.

The International keyboard allows easy typing of accented text in any Windows program. It is suitable for French, but does not produce certain characters (ß) readily.In WP 8, these can be accessed through the "Insert Symbol" menu and dialogue box. In composing email or a Netscape page, the ASCII codes can be used. We also also  have the Summer Institute of Languages International Phonetic Alphabet fonts and keyboard available. Instructors should learn to change the basic keyboard and teach their students to use the most useful one.

Typing and Wordprocessing

The Windows controls are set to the International keyboard, which allows easy typing of accented text in any Windows program. One types a code key first (` ' " ^ or ~) and then the vowel or n to be accented; to type the apostrophe, quotation mark, etc. before a vowel it is necessary to hit the space bar after the code key. It is suitable for French, but does not produce certain characters (ß, ¡, ¿ ) useful in typing German or Spanish. However, these and many other characters (for example, the International Phonetic Alphabet) are available in WordPerfect, either selected as fonts or by using the "Insert symbol" command.

WordPerfect 8 is our main word-processor. It allows the student to create a good-looking document either for printing or as a web page. The International keyboard allows easy accents; for other figures, look under Insert--Symbol in the menu.

You can "View" your work to be sure it is set up on the page just as you want it, by selecting "View-Two Pages." You can also select "View-Web Page" which will convert your document to a web version which can then be saved as an .html file, edited (color, images, etc. added) and uploaded to a web site.

Spellchecking in WP 8 : French, Spanish, Portuguese, German

To use these tools, you need to look under the Tools menu at the top of the screen. Two items are important:

"Proofread": if Spell-as-you-go is turned on, words which do not occur in the program's dictionary will be automatically underlined in red. If the dictionary can find a word that is a close match, it will show that word in a small window in the bottom row of the toolbar. If there are several possible words, you can see them by clicking on the arrow next to this word, and select one of them with the mouse–this will automatically change your misspelled word to the desired word.

    There is a similar program called "Grammar-as-you-go" but we have not tested this for the languages!

The other item of importance on the Tools menu is "Language."  First click the cursor at the top of the document you want to have proofread. Select "Settings" and set the language to the one you want to use. You can choose French, Spanish (either America or Spain), Portuguese (Brazil or Portugal), or German.

If part of your document is in one language and part in another, you can proofread in both languages by re-setting the language at the beginning and end of the second-language section. The language setting is active only from the point the cursor is at when the setting is selected.

Go to View, and select "Reveal Codes." This will give you a gray window at the bottom of the page showing the codes active in your document. The language code will appear as a block marked LAN. Move your cursor to the point just after the LAN block and use backspace to delete it. You can then turn off the "Reveal Codes" the same way you turned it on.

In the Wordprocessors folder are a Japanese Wordprocessor and NJStar Chinese wordprocessor. These allow one to produce the appropriate symbols by typing the syllables in normal spelling using the keyboard. Any problems that may occur should be mentioned to Judy or Michael.

In Netscape, a Japanese or Chinese page may be read by selecting the appropriate decoding (the instructor's guidance may be necessary). To select the encoding, look under View-"Encoding" and use the mouse to select the desired encoding method. The program will probably automatically choose a Japanese or Chinese font, though this can also be selected under Edit-"Preferences"-"Font."
 
 

Using PC-Pine Email  (and attaching files to an email)

Note: Students are used to using Netscape Mail in the CIRCA labs. Here they should use a Pine email program which can be found on the desktop.
 

To sign on:

Open email by clicking on Pine icon.

You will be asked for your gatorlink id and password. No other type of logon is allowed. For example, if you the instructor have a CLAS email account, you must still use the Gatorlink account.

You now move to a white logon screen. After a moment, you will be shown yourat the bottom of the screen  your email identity (the part that goes before the @ in your email address) as your "login name." Assuming this is correct, you can press the enter key and you will be asked for your password.

When you have entered your password, you will be able to read your email in your inbox by typing I (+ enter), or  compose a new message by typing C (+ enter). The "Main Menu" is the screen which allows you to select these functions, or to select Q for Quit. At the bottom of each page is a menu of letters you can use to change screens or manipulate the contents of your mailbox. When the letter is preceded by ^ you must press the Ctrl key at the same time as the letter to give the command (for example, ^C means "press Ctrl and the c key at the same time to cancel").

If you have trouble sending a piece of mail, just keep trying until it goes.
 

Attaching files to an email.

The recipient of a file attached to an email can open and use that file in the appropriate program on his/her local computer-a .jpg or .gif in Netscape or Paintshop, for example, an .htm file in Netscape, a .wpd file in a compatible WordPerfect. The sender may wish to ascertain that the recipient can read wordprocessed documents of this type on his/her home computer. The file to be shipped can be saved in formats (for example, MS Word or Rich Text) which may be easier to read but may lose some of the details of formatting-for example, footnotes!

To attach a file, open your email account in PC-Pine (see separate instructions), choose C to compose a message, and Ctrl-J (press the Ctrl key and J at the same time) to attach a file. At this point you can choose Ctrl-T and look for the file you wish to attach, for example on your A: drive. Address, write, and send the email as usual.

Using Netscape  to browse the Web

Plan your web-browsing class in advance, but allow for some spontaneity (and also for failures to connect to desirable sites). Have the students bring diskettes to a web class. That way, they can save interesting material or begin work on writing about it. This saves printing and also allows for easier and more accurate quotation of the material (by cutting and pasting).

Begin the  first class by pointing out some of the basic functions: the Back button, the Home button (to return to the main lab page), the "go" menu item, and the edit functions which allow the student to copy material and paste it into a wordprocessed document. Remind students that this material should be properly acknowledged and annotated, just as if it were a book or print article.

 It is best NOT to ask all the students to access the same website at the same time. Any website, no matter how large the computer handling it, will deliver material more slowly if too many people are trying to access it at once. The Little lab server has been adjusted to make it easier for all student to access the same page of text, but links, audio, and video will be slower the more students try to use them at once.

A good web exercise is a sort of treasure-hunt in which each person is supposed to find a different bit of information (for example, news from a different country) and write it up or discuss it in a conversation session. It may take you a bit of time to prepare an exercise of this sort, but it is rewarding as the whole class comes into contact with an array of materials in the language they are studying.

The computers have RealPlayer installed so that "streamed" audio/video sources, such as the French, German, and Spanish TV news, can be played.

Click here for a list of foreign-language "radio" news via RealPlayers. Test the links that look promising for your class, and if a different player is needed, let Michael Morgan know. These sites change frequently, so be sure to check the site before class even if you have used it before. Contact Judy Shoaf if you would like to add links or have found one that is useless; she maintains the page.

Technology Enhanced Accent Modification (TEAM)

To use TEAM

Check your headset to be sure microphone is on.

1. Open TEAM by clicking on the folder and then on the icon.
2. Sign-in:select bypass
3. Settings: select Gender and confirm that setting is appropriate.
4. Instructions: select: Topics and Activities.

Choose topic and level of activity.

To hear the model voice, click on loudspeaker icon.
To record your voice, click on microphone icon, wait for "go", and record into the microphone.
To play back either voice, click on the model or student voice graph, then on the loudspeaker icon.
You can re-record until you are pleased with your recording. Then score it by clicking on the check box (you can decide you did match or did not match the model).

Click on the green arrow to move to the next item.

For more information,  contact Kathy Kidder at Academic Spoken English.

Puntos de Partida software

The instructor should become familiar with the programs before using it in the class. The student watches short video clips using the vocabulary and concepts of the chapter. After watching, he or she can access the text of the video and play various word games, including writing email to the characters and recording dialogues with them. These are some points to keep in mind:

When the CD-ROM is accessed from the network, it takes a few moments to load. If the student does not realize this, he or she may continue to click on the icon and end up loading numerous copies of the CD on the computer. This slows down the computer.

The quickest solution to this problem of a computer clogged with several copies of Puntos CD is to restart that computer (Start-Shut Down-Restart or Ctrl + Alt + Del-Shut Down-Restart) and, if there is a computer not in use, move the student there.

The CD occupies the entire screen, obscuring the usual Windows menus. But the student can press Ctrl and Esc at the same time to access the active-programs menu at the bottom of the screen, to use another program at the same time.

Typing accented text poses a problem because the system used by the CD conflicts slightly with the International Keyboard installed in our Windows systems. Students should probably use the International Keyboard and then go back to erase extra apostrophes generated by the conflict!

Tell students to avoid the "BUZÓN."  The CD-ROM is designed to save the student's work at certain points (in the Buzón). If  they are not saving the exercise, they should take care to "cancel" the save dialogue box. If they do not, it will freeze the screen; but by pressing Ctrl + Esc the student can access the "Save" box again and cancel the save. Or they may need to press Ctrl + Alt + Del to access a Task Manager which will allow them to shut down the program, and start over.

Saving, Printing, or emailing the written exercises: The written exercises (notably the "correo" item where the student answers a letter from a foreign student) can be saved as .txt files, a very basic kind of text file which can be opened in most word-processing programs.
    The student can save the exercise to a floppy disk he/she has brought to class (a: drive). Or he/she can save it to a folder on the c: drive called c:\mydocs, though there is no guarantee the item will be there the next day.
    Once the exercise is saved, the student can open it using the Notepad or Wordpad programs (look under the Start menu--Programs--Accessories). The program can be further edited, if that is desired, and printed on the lab computers.
    The saved file can also be attached to an email and sent by the student to the instructor or to him/herself. See the instructions for email on this page.

Students can also use this disk in the Turlington lab or can purchase a copy for personal use.

Puntos on the Web: McGraw-Hill maintains a website which can be accessed by clicking on the spider icon in the CD-ROM. It is probably preferable to have students close the CD-ROM and open Netscape, where the Little Hall homepage has a link to this page (under SPN 1130-31). Should you need the address, it is at:
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/foreignlang/puntos/puntoss2.htm

Activities include:  ¡A buscar tesoro !, Actividades y la  internet, Horóscopo, De interés, Conversación (chat room for all elementary Spanish users; first-time users should obtain a user id),  Amigo por corespondencia, Repaso de vocabulario y gramática.  The activities can certainly be assigned as homework.

MHELT (McGraw-Hill Electronic Language Tutor)
 for Puntos de Partida, Deux Mondes, or Italiano in Diretta

This is a simple drill program, an interactive workbook. It does not work on our new server and operating system in the labs, but many students may be able to use it at home. It has no audio elements.

Students can use this program in the Turlington lab or obtain a copy for home use by bringing a correctly formatted diskette to the Turlington lab for overnight copying.

Neue Horizonte CD-ROM
–TLP, German Now!

This is the Transparent Language interface applied to the dialogues from the textbook.

The student can read the dialogues while clicking on difficult words or constructions to get definitions and grammatical information. Related words are highlighted to guide the reader in interpreting grammar. A set of games based on the reading allows the student to test him or herself on correct word order, vocabulary, and so on.

Students can also listen to the text read word by word or phrase by phrase, and practice recording their own voices and playing back both the model voice and their own.

The student opens the program and selects "choose a title." The titles are the chapters.

In the course of the reading, there are little quizzes and tests that can be accessed. There is however currently no way of saving the answers

There is a copy of this CD in the Turlington lab, and students may also purchase it through the bookstore.

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