Flashcards - Addition
Virtual Homeschool International
Installation
To use Flashcards, you first have to download and install Macromedia Authorware Web Player. This sets up the "engine" that downloads and runs the application from this website. Note that the Authorware Web Player does not work with Flashcards on Macintosh computers.
Option 1: Download and Install Authorware Web Player If You Have Updated Windows XP and Internet Explorer
If you are using a recent, updated version of Internet Explorer on Windows XP, you may be able to go directly to the Flashcards page, and the Authorware Web Player will download automatically. If you try this download option, the page may seem to take a long time to download. This is normal. Once the Player is downloaded, Internet Explorer will show a yellow bar across the top of the browser window asking you to click on it to install. To finish the installation, click on the yellow bar (which will display a popup menu) and select "Install ActiveX Control." A dialog box should appear, where you can click the "Install" button. This should complete the installation and download and launch the Flashcards application.
Option 2: Older Windows Or Other Browsers
1) Download Authorware Web Player
This option may be necessary if you are using older versions of Windows or Internet Explorer, or you are using another browser, such as Netscape or Firefox. If going directly to the Flashcards page does not work, you can download the Player directly from Macromedia. Go to http://www.macromedia.com/go/getauthorwareplayer/ to download the player. The download should take two or three minutes on a dial-up connection. Note that the Authorware Player is not the same as Macromedia's Flash or Shockware Players.
2) Install Authorware Web Player
If you select "Open" in the dialog box when you download the Player, it automatically launches the installation procedure. Otherwise, you should save the download to a location where you can launch the file. Once the download is complete, you may be able to open the file from your browser's download dialog box, or you can find the file on your hard disk and double click on it to launch it.
Security
At some point during the installation, you may be shown a security warning dialog box asking if your computer should "trust" Macromedia.com or whether you should install software from this company. To complete the installation you will have to click on the Yes or Install button. However, you do not have to select "Always trust ... Macromedia, Inc." or "Always install software from Macromedia, Inc." Instead, "This time only" or "Ask me every time" is sufficient. This installs the Authorware Web Player for your browser and you will not have to install the Player the next time you use Flashcards.
Security and Saving Scores
Flashcards is capable of saving student scores. However, on modern, updated operating systems, this cannot be done unless you adjust your security settings. If your system is being managed, you should consult your IT manager before changing your security settings. Because of constantly changing Web technologies, especially those surrounding security, we have had trouble getting scores to save on all systems. The following instructions may not work on your system.
To save scores, Flashcards saves information to your local hard drive. However, these files are text files only and will pose no security threat to your system. The following instructions explain how you can adjust your browser security settings so that this application can save to your local drive.
First, navigate to the Flashcards page or reload the page. As you click on the link or Reload button, hold down the control key. This causes the page security dialog box to appear. (On non-Internet Explorer browsers, you may need to try this action several times to make it work.) If you click OK at the dialog box, the browser should allow you to save scores. On some systems, you may see a question in the security dialog box that asks if you want to trust this file. In this case, you would click Yes and OK.