Prev | Table Of Contents | Student User Guide » Frequently Asked Questions   Student User Guide Frequently Asked Questions What is cache and how does it affect my class? Cache is a high-speed mechanism of storing information in a browser's memory. When you access a page that has been viewed before, a browser will look in cache to see if it has stored the page, and if so, it will return that page very quickly. However, when using ETUDES, we don't want to find stored pages, we want only the very newest and latest information. So the browser needs to be set so that it doesn't store and return older information. There are instructions on the Gateway page (the log-in page before you log into your ETUDES site) for how to set your browser so it doesn't save pages in cache. If you always use the same computer for your class, you should only have to adjust these settings once. However, if you use a computer in a lab situation you'll need to configure your browser settings every time you access your ETUDES class before logging in. When configuring your cache settings, you must CLEAR THE EXISTING CACHE as well, and then restart the browser so that you start with a new session and no saved old cache. What is the maximum file size that students can upload in ETUDES? It's the same as that of faculty: 5MB. Is there a limit to the number of files I can attach to an ass gnment? No, there is NO limit to the number of files students can attach to an assignment. You can attach as many as required/asked by the instructor. The same file size limit Is there a limit to the number of attachments in Discuss ons? In the discussion tool, we have set the limit to 3 attachments max PER post. What types of files can I upload as attachments in the Discussion f um? This is a list of allowable file types in the Discussions & Private Messages forum. Your files must include the suffix in order to upload as an Image/Photo Media Document Utilities .jpg/.jpeg .mov .pdf .tar .gif .wav .xls .zip .png .mp3 .ppt .sit/.sitx .psd .pps .tiff .htm/.html .swf The following file types are NOT allowed: .exe, .bat, .pif, .bin. Is there a spell check feature for students? Like when I do an assignment or create a discussion posting, can I check spelling? Yes, if you use a PC and Internet Explorer as your browser. This is not available for the Mac. You can download ieSpell that comes with the FCK Editor used in most tools. It is a limited-checker, however. You can download ieSpell - A Spell Checker for Internet Explorer at the following sihttp://www.iespell.com/download.php It is not a bad idea for you to always type your work in Word, and save it, prior to posting it online, whether you are posting an assignment, a discussion post, or an answer to an exam question. Not only does this allows you to spe-check your work (always advised and desired by your instructors), but you'll always have a local If a module page does not open completely, but just show the titles, how come? You may need to disable your pop-up blocker. This is explained on our Gateway page, but it's easy to miss. Click on the linkComputer (PC and Mac) and Connectivity Requirements for details. Setting up cache, turning off-up blocker, and enabling cookies are three standards things that users should do. Allowing p-ups impacts opening documents in separate browser windows, opening the widgets and other parts of the software where help is provided to users in the form of -up windows. Depending on how paranoid users are with regard to security, other things may have to be changed (i.e. allow downloads). It is too hard to know everyone's local configurations.... The more restrictions folks put on their browsers, the more problems they will have. I have enrolled in a class that uses ETUDES, but when I log with my account, there is no way to get to that class. All I see is MyWorkspace. How come? Where it the tab to my course? It's gone It means that you have been dropped by Admissions & Records (perhaps due to non -payment) or by your instructor due to lack of activity, and you're no longer officially enrolled. Once you are dropped officially, your account becomes inactive for that course. Contact your instructor or Admissions for information on the change If you get reinstated officially, your account will be activated the morning after you are enrolled again. My teacher says that she has sent some announcements to us using email, but I didn't get them. Why ot? There are two issues here: The email account you use might not be the same one that ETUDES -NG is sending to. You can check this following these step : 1. Click on the Update Details button at the bottom of the page. Now email will be sent to the updated email address. 2. After you log into your ETUDES account, you'll be in MyWorkspace. Click on the Account link in the left nav menu. 3. Click on the Modify Details button at the bottom of the window. 4. On the Account Details page that appears, put your correct email address into the correct box. (Notice that you can also change your name and password here, too. But remember that this only affects your ETUDES account. You'll need to contact Admissions & Records to make changes scho-wide. It could be that you're receiving the emails, but your email program is automatically sorting the messages into your bulk/junk folder. This is particularly true if you're using hotmail or yahoo as your email account. You can try adding your ETUDES class email address to your address book so that it will be recognized as not junk, or just get into the habit of looking in your bulk/junk folder for class emails. My instructor said that I can resubmit an assignment, but when I try to, it won' accept it. Your computer cache is not set correctly. It needs to be set to "every visit to the page" and thus you are seeing old sessions. Go to the Gateway for information on how to set your browsers' cache. Also be sure to CLEAR any existing cache. I clicked on a graded assignment to see my grade, but now I can't get back to the screen that lists all currently available assignments. Click on the Jiffy Lube icon of a tool (top left corner of tools) to get back to the home page, or close what you opened (buttons at the bottom of open age). How can I see my scores for assignments, tests & quizzes You will be able to see your scores for assignments, tests &  quizzes in the Gradebook tool, unless the instructor has turned off this eature. My NG session keeps timing out. Every few mouse clicks I have to log back in. What's goin on? The most common culprit is working with two browser windows >open at the same time. This will cause one session to overwrite and time out the other. Work only with one browser window. Multiple tabs can also cause you to lose your sessions (request to log on). Another common cause is having cookies disabled. Even if you have cookies enabled in your browser, very often a-virus software (i.e. MacAffe is notorious for this) have javascript or cookies disabled by default. This will not allow you to maintain sticky sessions. Firewalls and intermittent connections can also cause issues There's something wrong with my essay. Some of the punctuation marks are altered by the website. If you want to retain formatting of your essays, you should submit them as attachments. Pasting into the editor may alter some characters, depending on the versions of software you are using. How do I get to the home page of a tool? I seem to get stuck in an open assignment or lesson and can't get out. That little icon to the left of each tool's title (looks like a jiffy lube) is a link back to that tool's beginning (table of contents) page. For example, if you are reading a lesson in the Modules area, you will return to the list of modules when you click on the icon. If you are reading a discussion posting, (By the way, we are calling it a Jiffy Lube icon because it is a curly arrow that looks like Jiffy Lube's logo. It's not really related to Jiffy Lube at all.) 07/14/07   Prev | Table Of Contents | Licensed under Creative Commons 2007 ETUDES Project | Gateway | ETUDES -NG | Foothill College | (c) 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Foothill College. All rights reserved. ETUDES - 2.3.x - Sakai 2.3.x - Server "athena69"