1/26/99 Read Me First
Thank you for purchasing The Geometry of Solids : A 3D Curriculum. Following are the directions to
get up and running quickly.
REQUIREMENTS
First, you should be sitting in front of a computer (Macintosh or Windows) that:
1. If Macintosh, is a PowerPC minimum 150 MHz. If Windows 95, is a minimum of 133 MHz.
2. Has a minimum of 32 Megabytes of RAM.
3. Has a CD-ROM.
4. Is connected to the Internet.
5. Before using The Geometry of Solids, three applications must reside on the hard drive of your computer:
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
. You will need this application to view or print the Teachers Guide and the Answers file contained in the Curriculum folder on the CD-ROM. Acrobat Reader
is freely available for download from the Internet at www.adobe.com. Follow the installation instructions.
- A Netscape Navigator browser. Navigator3.01-4 (or Communicator 4-4.5, which contains Navigator
) is recommended for Macintosh. Navigator 3.01-4 is recommended for Windows
95. You can download Navigator or Communicator 4 freely from the Internet at
www.netscape.com. (Go to DOWNLOAD then BROWSERS.) Follow the
installation
instructions. You can run Navigator on the same computer, even at the same time, as Internet
Explorer. NOTE TO MACINTOSH USERS: set the Minimum Size: Memory Requirement of
Netscape Navigator
to 20000 K in the Get Info window before using the curriculum.
- WorldView Plug-in. This enables use of the VRML virtual reality worlds. Version 2.0 for
Macintosh or Windows 95 is recommended. You can freely download
WorldView from the
Internet at www.vrlearning.com/download.html. NOTE: You must install Netscape Navigator
BEFORE you install WorldView because you must select the Netscape Navigator folder when
you install
WorldView.
INSTALLATION OF THE GEOMETRY OF SOLIDS
1. Place the CD-ROM that came with The Geometry of Solids book in the CD-ROM drive.
2. MACINTOSH USERS: Double click the "GOS" CD-ROM icon on
the desktop. Double click the "GOS.INS" icon. Follow the on screen instructions. After installation, the "gos" folder will appear on the desktop. WINDOWS 95 USERS: Go to My Computer. Double click on the "Gos"
CD-ROM icon. Double click the "Gos.exe" icon. Follow the on screen instructions. After installation, the "gos" folder will appear on the root of the hard drive you selected.
OPENING FOR THE FIRST TIME
Open
Netscape Navigator (or Communicator). REMEMBER: You must have the WorldView plug-in installed (see Requirement 5 above). Select Open File/Open Page from the Navigator
File menu. Navigate to the "gos" folder and open the "index.htm" file. An opening screen with buttons connecting to the lessons in TheGeometry of Solids
book will appear. Bookmark (add to your "favorites" list) this opening screen for future use.
PRINTING
Printing of student worksheets is intended to take place from your browser to a laser printer. If you use
another type of printer, the sketching worksheets may not align on a single sheet. The only alignment option in this case is to make the font smaller. Accomplish this in the Font Preference settings of your browser.
WORKSHEETS
There are two types of student worksheets in The Geometry of Solids: electronic and hard copy. Student worksheets 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 6-1, 8-2, 8-4, and 9-4 are electronic. Students type in their answers on the computer screen. After
completion of an electronic worksheet, students press the Submit button found at the bottom of the worksheet. You should decide in which form you want your students to save their work. If hard copy, your students should press the Print button
found at the top of the browser window. If to floppy diskette or to a folder on a server, your students should select Save As... under the File menu. This option saves the student worksheet as a text file.
All other student worksheets
require pencil sketching by the students on a hard copy. You may freely duplicate these worksheets from the book and distribute them to your students.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Why doesn't the opening page fit the screen?
The opening page was created to be used with the 640 X 480 monitor setting. If your resolution is set higher, only the opening page will appear smaller. All other pages will automatically
adjust to your resolution setting. If you want the opening screen to fill the page, make sure the monitor setting is 640 X 480 (MACINTOSH USERS: go to Contol Panels then Monitors and Sound; WINDOWS 95 USERS go to Control Panel, Display, then
Settings.)
- I've set my monitor to 640X480 and now the opening page is too large. What should I do?
1. Go to the Preferences of your browser. In the General/Appearance tab, set the Show Toolbar setting to Text Only.
2. Under the View menu, deselect the Location Toolbar to make it disappear.
3. WINDOWS 95 USERS: For more room, go to the View menu and Deselect the Personal Toolbar.
- The vrml world does not appear on the right side of the screen.
All I see is a broken pict icon.
WINDOWS 95 USERS: the WorldView plug-in was not installed in the correct folder (or wasn't installed at all). Reinstall WorldView
making sure you install it in the program folder of the browser you are currently using. MACINTOSH USERS: in your browser, open Preferences then Helpers/Applications. Scroll down until you see the x-world/x-vrml Description. The WorldView
Plug-in icon should appear in the Handled By column. If it DOES NOT appear, reinstall WorldView, making sure you install it in the program folder of the browser you are currently using. If the WorldView Plug-in icon DOES appear,
click on it once to select it. Now click the Edit... button. Make sure "wrl" is in the Suffixes window and the WorldView
plug-in radio button is selected. Click OK, then click OK again in the following window. Now click the Reload button. The vrml world should appear on the right side of the screen.
- I don't see the word "Polyhedron" on the back wall of the Exploring Solids world.
This seems to occur only on Macintosh computers. You probably have your monitor set to millions of colors. Reset it to Thousands in the Monitor
and Sound control panel. You may also have your monitor setting on 832 X 624. Reset it either to 640X480 or 1024 X 768 (if that is an option). The word "Polyhedron" should now appear on the back wall.
If you are in need of
further Sales Information or Support, contact the ESU #3 Technology Support Help Desk: 402-597-4848 or e-mail Bill Menousek at: menousek@esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us
We're here to help.
Thanks again.