Technical-Issues

=​Technical Observations, Issues, and Fixes=

- As can be seen on page 6 of the Teacher's Guide, the default location to which the software installs is the desktop of the user who is logged in during the installation. (I chose to install in the Programs Files folder instead.) - The shortcuts were placed only on the desktop of the user who is logged in during installation. After moving the shortcuts to the desktop of All Users and then logging in as another user, the shortcuts did not work and the TeacherMate program was not listed in the Start>Programs list. However, the program could be launched by navigating to the TeacherMate folder and launching it from the .exe file. - When Teachermates are connected to computer (either individually or in the sync box), they try to "grab" drive letters in order beginning with E. This can be an issue if there are any mapped drives already assigned drive letters E - K. Reassigning each TeacherMate to a different drive does not "stick". The temporary solution is to train the teachers to disconnect the existing mapped drives before syncing the TeacherMates. They will then need to log out and back in to re-establish the mapping to the network drives. A possible solution would be to change the mapping of the network drives, but first there needs to be an evaluation of what effect that will have on other networked programs. That evaluation needs to be done carefully and could be time consuming. - The security settings on the TeacherMate folder had to be set so that everyone had abilities to modify the items in the folder. - Based on my understanding from Cary Zakon's email, any devices received need to have the firmware upgraded (per his instructions and provided software).
 * RRISD - Observations during "test" installation (9-3-09 and 9-4-09)**

Three TeacherMate devices (A1, A2, A18) remained "ON" even when the on/off switch was moved to the "OFF" position. Moving the switch again did not solve the problem. The issue was resolved by pushing a paperclip end into the reset button found on the back of the device in the lower left corner. (A1 had the same problem again on 11/24/2009 - would not turn off and had to be reset with a paperclip.) Update 12-02-2009 Three TeacherMate devices would not turn ON, even though they should have been fully charged. The issue was resolved by pushing a paperclip end into the reset button found on the back of the device in the lower left corner.
 * RRISD - Union Hill- Edwards 11-17-2009**

- At least one USB cable is defective - At least one TeacherMates need to be returned as bad
 * RRISD - Implementation as of 11-10-09**

** Question: ** Can you choose to do Reading or Math when the students startup the TeacherMate?
 * RRISD - Initial Sync 11/2009** //(Hintz)//
 * Answer: ** In the modify options section, the first choice is reading or math. Make sure than item is checked, then synch.


 * Question: ** Sync issue, I synced all 6 teachermates, and it only found 2. Also I get a "USB power overload" message when I plug in the box with teachermates on. Is This Normal?
 * Answer: ** No that is not normal. We have found that some computers do not handle the case well and loading 6 USB drives at once. I would recommend and clean reboot and try to synch 2 or 3 teachermates in the case to see if that helps.
 * Question: ** Every time I create a student, it creates 2 of them. I try to delete one, and both disappear. I restarted my machine. I did 15 students last week and it was fine. Today when I add kids, they get twins.
 * Answer: ** Delete the teachermatecms.sqlite file. It will delete all the data. Close CMS and it should create a new file when you restart CMS.

**Question:** It won’t find the TeacherMate **Answer:** Be sure to sync the teachermate first, then it will have a list of the serial numbers for each teachermate that you can assign students too. If it won’t find the Teachermate at all, update the firmware. After reformatting the TeacherMates this year, assigning them to students,and setting all of the units, four of them come up with a different initial menu. Whereas other devices have the student name and give a choice for reading or math, these have the following instructions: "Use the white buttons to change which item is highlighted on the screen. Use the blue button to select the highlighted item. Introduction, Activities Menu, Use as a Student " I've tried resetting, resynching, and a number of other options. What do you suggest? ** Answer: ** With the TeacherMate turned on and connected via usb, go into the root directory of the TeacherMate. Delete the file variable.xml. Turn the TeacherMate off while connected then on.
 * Question: ** I’m having issues with my initial Synch:
 * Answer: ** When installing a few classrooms. The process I like best is to do the work on your office pc which is probably a good one. Input a class roster and synch. Once completed copy the teachermatecms.sqlite off the teachers machine to replace their file. There after that teacher’s pc only needs to synch small amounts.
 * Question: ** Initial Menu Error message

**Question:** The class roster does not show up when "Sync TeacherMates" menu is chosen, but the student lists are available in the "Assign TeacherMates," "Add or Change Groups," or "Add or Change Students" menus. **Answer:** Make sure that basal titles and all selections are made for both MATH and READING for the menu option "Set Math and Reading Units" for the CLASS. Selections had been made for each GROUP, but the selections had to be made for the CLASS.
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 11/24/2009**

**Question:** The TeacherMates will not read the story to the students or allow them to record. The sample story works fine, but when the selected story comes up, the TeacherMate does nothing. **Answer:** Check the menu for "Modify Options." If "Story Primary Language" is set for English, then Story Support language CANNOT also be set to English - it must be set to NONE. A conflict is created when primary and support languages are the same. After making the changes, all of the devices must then be re-synced in order for the changes to take effect.s
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 12/08/2009**

RRISD- Gattis (Hintz) 12/17/2009 ** Tried: ** They should be able to click the red button to exit. But If it is exiting and coming back to it, there may be a different issue that has not been reported, or seen yet. Is it possible to confirm that Max Rewards starts, they’ve tried the red button as the next step, and its either stuck or exits and re-enters. (tried this, it didn’t work).
 * Question, Gets Stuck on Rewards: **When the students are playing with their "Max" they often get stuck on Max's Rewards and we cannot get off of it. We do what it tells us to try and exit but it continues to go back to it. I have tried to reset the "Max," turn it off and on again, hold the red button, etc... Nothing works.

RRISD- Gattis (Hintz) 12/17/2009 ** Problem: ** I have 3 Dell Optiplex 755, new 2 years ago. Have an error message when pluggin in a teachermate either individually or in the case. I have swapped out the cable and the teachermate, and still doesn’t work. Should be able to handle it, they can certainly handle flip cams, cameras and flash drives. They are getting the error message “Power Surge On Hub Port” and can’t be found by the CPU. Tried: uninstall and reinstall the USB driver. Traded cables. Teachermate did sync on another machine and it worked. Solution : Update the Bios!

PROBLEM: In the Mann/Scharf class, 3 students showed up as duplicates. ** When one of the duplicates is deleted, both are removed. When Carol tried re-entering one of the duplicate names, she again got duplicates. Carol eventually just re-entered all of the class data and students names. Here's an email response from Cary: "That’s good though the deleting the 3 duplicates and adding them back worked on my end. We are keeping this issue open for when our programmer has more time to review."
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 01/2010

PROBLEM: The student recorded audio files were not available in the reports menu after the TeacherMates were synced. ** Cary provided a replacement audio file (admin_chart_audio.swf) to replace the existing file in the installs.
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 01/2010

Now the student recordings are showing up in the reports menu. However, there are multiple files for each student, and they are not dated. How will teachers know when the audio was recorded? Also, some (many?) of the files have no audio. Is this because the students pushed the record button but did not read?

PROBLEM: There are continuing issues with the length of time some of the TeacherMates stay charged. ** We have replaced two units that would not hold a charge (neither could be used for a full 20 minutes, even after being completely charged.) However, there are issues with several additional TeacherMates, and we are trying to isolate the problems now. We have replaced one power unit for the blue boxes, as the cord had to be placed "just so" in order to power the blue boxes. If it was moved at all, power was lost. With a different set, we are now trying to figure out if the power cord unit is the issue or if there is one blue box that is simply not charging the TeacherMates. The teachers will document charge issues during use this week.
 * RRISD - Union HIll (Edwards) 02/08/2010

**PROBLEM: We need help understanding how changes the teachers make in assignments actually show up on the TeacherMates.** For example, in "Set Math and Reading Units," "12. counting money" was set, along with the lesson "12.1 Money: Values of penny and nickel." These changes were made for most groups in one class, and the TeacherMates were synced on Friday after the changes were made. Today, none of the students had any money activities when they used TeacherMates. How do the TeacherMates cycle through topics? When will the students see the changes that were made?
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 02/08/2010**

I asked my participating teachers for feedback
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 02/08/2010**

Issues: the machines keep freezing up and we have to hit the red button to unfreeze and then we have to start the game all over, the volume is low and the students have trouble hearing their own voice reading the story, and when the computer reads, it is so choppy that it isn't a good model of how to read with fluency. Positives: About 80% of the students are still enjoying it each day. They get excited when we have downloaded new games and stories. Carol's Note: I just created a simple spreadsheet that teachers can use to quickly jot down any problems with the TeacherMates. I am hopeful that this will make it easier to spot trends and identify specific TeacherMates with issues more quickly.
 * First grade teacher:**



When I am recording a story the machine cuts it off and doesn't record everything I have said. It skips pages in the book I am reading. It keeps freezing on me and I have to pick a new story. The headphone cushion keeps falling off. I love all the games. My Max Reward points keep disappearing and I haven't bought anything. I like that the reading stories have a quiz at the end.
 * First grade student comments:**

** PROBLEM: The student audio recordings are not being uploaded from the TeacherMates to the the TeacherMate teacher PC when they are synced, despite the installation of the replacement audio file (admin_chart_audio.swf) that Cary sent. ** Set A - audio transferred on one sync but not on subsequent ones Set B - no audio transferred at all Set C - have not been synced since the initial sync, as the students have just begun using them Set D - no audio transferred at all
 * RRISD - Union Hill (Edwards) 02/16/2010**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Conference Call with RRISD 12-18-09 (Notes)