Languages Online - Technical Information

Requirements for ready made activities

Playing interactive tasks

All activities require Flash Player 8 or later to run. If the computer does not have this, a prompt should automatically appear. Or click on the link below to download the latest flash player. Download is free.

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Audio requirements

Languages Online uses sounds extensively. These are contained in the Flash activities. To hear the sounds you must have headphones or speakers attached to your computer, and the 'playback volume' must be adjusted correctly. You can access the Playback Volume by clicking on the small speaker icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Make sure the slider is all the way to the top, and that the 'mute' boxed is not checked. The playback volume control panel can also be accessed through the control panels (Select 'Sounds and audio devices')

Headphones are a good idea in computer labs.

If your students work in pairs, you can use two headphones on each computer by using audio splitters (like a double adaptor for the audio socket). These allow two sets of headphones to be plugged into each computer. These are available from electronics shops and cost a few dollars each. Ask for a '3.5mm stereo audio splitter'.

Document downloads

All downloadable documents on the site have the file type listed in brackets following the link, as well as the size of the file. For example 'Worksheet 1 (PDF 35kb)'.

The following types of documents can be downloaded from Languages Online:

pdf (Portable Document Format). To view and print PDF files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Most computers will have this. If your computer does not have the reader a prompt will appear to download the reader, or you can download from: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
doc (Microsoft Word) To view, edit and print these documents you will need Microsoft Word.
ppt (Microsoft Power Point) To view, edit and print these documents you will need Microsoft Powerpoint.
mp3 Songs downloads are mp3 files. To download an mp3, RIGHT click on the link and select 'Save target as...'. You will then be prompted for the location where the file will be saved. Mp3s can be opened and played by your computer''s 'media player'. They can also be saved and played on most mobile devices. Mp3s can also be 'burnt' to CDs and played on standard CD players.
mp4 Video downloads are mp4s. To download an mp4 RIGHT click on the link and select 'Save target as...'. You will then be prompted for the location where the file will be saved. Mp4s can be opened and played with your computer''s 'media player'. They can also be saved and played on many mobile devices.

Typing Accented Characters

Some French, German or Italian activities require you to type an 'accented letter' (an é or ß for example). In these activities an Accent keys button will appear on the menu at the top of the activity. To type an accented letter:

Click the Accent keys to open the accent letter panel.
Place the curser in the location you want type the accented character.
Click on the letter on the panel and it will appear at the cursor location.

NOTE:

Move the Accent key panel by clicking on the top bar and dragging it.
Close the Accent key panel by clicking on the cross on the top right.

Typing in Macedonian

In the Macedonian activities that require you to type the answer you must change the 'input method' to Macedonian. Do this by adding Macedonian through the Regions and Language settings in your control panel. If you are unsure how to do this ask your IT support to help, check your systems help files, or search online for 'Changing the input method on XP' (or Vist or Windows 7).

Some schools hide control panels from users. If this is the case ask your IT support for help.

NOTE: Selecting a 'Macedonian' font will not work! You must change the text 'input method'.

Technical requirements for Languages Online software

System requirements for applications

Technical requirements for the applications are listed on each download pages. Each application also includes detailed help files.

Default save paths

When creating games, two default save paths are used. They are:

The user 'temp' folder is used to save temporary sound recordings. These are deleted when the game is completed and saved.
The user 'My Documents' is the default path to save completed games.

In both instances the program looks for these folders with the users profile.

If the 'temp' or 'My Documents' directories are not available it may cause an error. A system administrator can change these default paths by doing the following:

Open a new text file.
On the first line of the text document, type the path for the folder to be used to save temporary sound files.(Leave the first line blank to keep the Game Makers default setting)
On the second line of the text document, type the path for the folder to be used as the default save folder for completed games. (Leave the second line blank to keep the Game Makers default setting)
The file should look like this:

C:\temp
D:\LOTE\Games
Save the this file in the Game Makers Program folder (i.e. 'C:\Program Files\DEET\Languages Online - Tetris Game Maker 1.0\') and call it 'default.lot'

The Game Maker will then use these addresses as the default save paths. If you delete the file the program will revert to it pre-defined default paths.

Further Help & Information

For any further technical information or help contact the Languages Online team at languages.online@edumail.vic.gov.au

Contact: Languages Online Team (languages.online@edumail.vic.gov.au)
Created on: Thursday, 18th March, 2004 | Page last updated: Friday, May 26th, 2011
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