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What is the Discover Science Online Library?

Comprehensive Science for Grades 6-12

The Discover! Science Library provides science content in the following areas:

Earth and Space
Life and Environment
Physical and Chemical

The Discover! Science Library satisfies all the learning outcomes for all sciences for middle school, most of the learning outcomes for integrated (general) science for high school, and all the earth and space science outcomes for high school and first year university. The Discover! Science Library satisfies this wide range by offering multiple layers of educational materials.

Each unit contains a tutorial with a variable number of chapters and appendices, a 30 minute video documentary, and a menu of all interactive exercises in the unit. Each chapter includes a quiz with questions randomly selected from a large test bank.

Interactive

The Interactive Multimedia Tutorial component provides most of the educational content in this Library. It includes 15 study units with 82 chapters and 25 appendices, comprising 1,100 lessons, each with text and illustrations. Most chapters have two levels of narrated text. There are 350 video clips and 100 interactive exercises (most also with narration) and hundreds of definition pop-up windows included throughout the main chapters.

The 3D Virtual Lab provides the first release of the unique game-like research laboratory that engages students in truly constructive science inquiry as they formulate hypotheses, take measurements and analyze data.

The Online Library is also available on DVD for installation on a local computer or network.

Minimum requirements

Minimum Recommended Requirements:

Macintosh

Hardware:

500 MHz PowerPC G3 128MB RAM

Operating System

OSX 10.1 or greater

Browsers

Safari

Browser plugins

Macromedia Flash 8
Macromedia Shockwave 10.1

PC (Windows)

Hardware

Windows - 450 MHz Intel Pentium II processor 128MB RAM

Operating System

Windows 98
Windows ME
Windows 2000
Windows 2003 Server
Windows XP

Browsers

Internet Explorer version 5.0+ Firefox 1.0+

Browser plugins

Macromedia Flash 8
Macromedia Shockwave 10.1

Plugin Help

Required Plugins

The following browser plugins are required in order to use the Discover! Science Online Library:

Macromedia Flash 8
Macromedia Shockwave 10.1

Plugin FAQs

What is a plugin?
Do I need plugins?
How do I know if I have the plugins I need?
How do I install the Macromedia Flash Player plugin?
How do I install the Macromedia Shockwave plugin?
What if I install a plugin but the detection shows that it is not installed?
What if the plugin detection hangs on "Scanning for plugins"?

What is a plugin?

Plugins are helper applications that your browser uses to display or play special files. Music and movies are two types of special files that need plugins to play. When your browser encounters a special file the plugin for that type of file starts up and allows your browser to use the file.

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Do I need plugins?

Without the right plugin, your browser cannot play or use special media files. In order to view videos, listen to music, or use Flash applications like the Discover! Science Online Library, the appropriate plugin must be installed.

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How do I know if I have the plugins I need?

On the Discover! Science Online Library home page you will see a Plugins section with 3 icons. These represent the three required plugins. If the plugin is present, there will be a green check mark beneath it. If a plugin is missing, there will be a red X beneath it.

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How do I install the Macromedia Flash Player plugin?

Click the following link to the Macromedia Flash Player Download Center, and follow the' instructions you find there.
http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/
download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash.

If you cannot connect to the internet, and are running Discover Science Libarary from a DVD, you can find the installer in the Plugins folder on the DVD.

Before installing the Flash Player please ensure that you have the following settings correctly configured:

Internet Explorer ActiveX settings

Although your browser security settings should be chosen by you or your system Administrator, the "Medium: Default Level" will allow you to view Macromedia Flash content. For any Custom Level, ensure that "Download Signed ActiveX controls" and "Run ActiveX controls and plugins" are both enabled (set to Enable).

To view your Security Level do the following:

Open Internet Explorer.
Choose Tools then Internet Options.
Select the Security tab.
Choose Internet.
Ensure that "Download Signed ActiveX controls" and "Run ActiveX controls and plugins" are not disabled.

If you are having trouble installing make certain that your Internet Explorer security level is not set to High or at a custom level which does not allow viewing of ActiveX controls.

Computer user permissions

User permissions determine whether or not you are allowed to install ActiveX controls or plugins. If you don't have Administrator access to your Windows NT, 2000, or XP equipped computer, you may not be able to install the Flash Player successfully. Permissions can be tricky but, in general, you should be able to install and use the Macromedia Flash Player if your system Administrator has provided full access to the Macromed directory (C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\).

Macintosh OS X users must also have proper access to run the Flash Player on Netscape 6. If you have problems with this configuration, follow the link below for instructions proper installation.

http://www.macromedia.com/go/tn_16214.

All web browsers must be closed

When installing Flash Player with the standalone installer, all of your web browser windows must be closed. You will also need to close any application that makes any HTTP requests using the browser. Examples of this type of software include but are not limited to; weather applications, messenger services, or audio or video media players.

Remove previous versions of Macromedia Flash Player

Uninstall any previous version of Flash Player before using the standalone installer. For instructions on removing the player, please see How to uninstall the Macromedia Flash Player plugin and ActiveX control (TN 14157).

Install the Flash Player

After these settings are in place, you are ready to download and/or install the Flash Player. Once the installer has downloaded, double click the icon to run the installer.

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How do I install the Macromedia Shockwave plugin?

Click the following link to the Shockwave Download Center, and follow the instructions you find there.
http://sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?.

If you cannot connect to the internet, and are running Discover Science Libarary from a DVD, you can find the installer in the Plugins folder on the DVD.

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What if I install a plugin but the detection shows that it is not installed?

Run the application, go to Astronomy: Earth and the Inner Solar System, Chapter 1 (The Sun and the Solar System), Lesson 6 (Views of the Solar System). Click the hand icon button to launch the exercise. If the exercise opens, then all your plugins are working properly, and you can ignore the detection routine.

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The plugin detection is not working, or I can't launch the library

Some Ad Blocking software (eg ZoneAlarm) works by filtering inbound traffic from the web, and modifying content that it does not trust. This can cause problems with the library. One symptom of this is that the plugin detection on the Home Page may remain in scanning mode, rather than indicating that the plugin has either been successfully detected, or cannot be found. To resolve this issue in ZoneAlarm, open up the ZoneAlarm Security Center, and select the Privacy category. Make sure that the Ad Blocking protection is turned down to Medium, and this should resolve the issue. If you are using a different program, temporarily disabling the program will allow the library to function correctly if you are unable to find the specific setting that is the source of the problem.

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Troubleshooting - DVD

The Discover! Science Library displays content on an Internet browser, even if you are not connected to the Internet. It is especially designed to work well with Internet Explorer and Firefox on Windows and Safari on Mac (it may also work on others). There are a few settings that you may have in your browser configuration that could prevent proper functioning of the Library, but you can change these settings. There are troubleshooting FAQs on the DVD and online in the Main Page of the Library. If you are having problems, and if you can’t find help here or on the DVD FAQ, check the latest updates at http://discover.scienceschoolhouse.com for more information.

The issues and solutions are the following:

Plugins for Flash and Shockwave are required. These must be installed in your computer. The Library Main Page checks to see if they are installed. If you need one, you can use the installers from the plugins folder in the DVD.
If you have installed the plugins, and either still get an X for the Flash plugin saying that you haven’t, then you may have to go the Macromedia Flash website to change the security settings to allow the DVD content. This is described in the FAQ.
Javascript must be enabled. This may affect scanning for the plugins from the Main Page. Also, within the lessons if you click on the “hand” icons for some of the exercises and nothing happens, it is because javascript is disabled. Go into the privacy or security preferences or options of your browser to enable javascript.
In Windows XP Internet Explorer there is a setting in the Tools/Internet Options/Advanced/Security section to enable or disabled “active content” from a CD or from a “files on My Computer”. Enable these.

If you still have problems, even after you checked the FAQs on the DVD and on the Online Library, please contact us at techinfo@scienceschoolhouse.com or call 888-MOON-362.

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Troubleshooting - Online

The plugin detection is not working, or I can't launch the library

Internet

DVD

This problem can occur when running the DSL from a DVD using Internet Explorer on Windows XP.

Select Tools, then Internet Options from the Internet Explorer menu.
Click on the Advanced tab. You will see a list with check boxes next to each item.
Scroll down until you see the Security section of the list. There is an icon of a padlock next to the word Security.
Find the option “Allow active content from CDs to run on My Computer”.
If you do not see a check mark, click on the check box.
Click OK.

Click the Refresh button on the Internet Explorer tool bar, and the plugin check should show either a green check mark or a red X on each plugin icon.

I can't launch exercises.

Step 1

Ensure that the Macromedia Shockwave plugin is installed. Is there a green check mark next to the Shockwave icon on the home page?

Step 2

If the plugin is installed, check your browser to ensure that the plugin is enabled.

Firefox 1.5

From the menu, select "Tools", then select "Options", this will open a dialog box.
Select the "Downloads" icon, and then click the "View & Edit Actions" button.
Another dialog box will open, showing a list of download actions.
In the Extension column scroll down until you find "Dir".
If the "Action" column does not say Open with Shockwave for Director, then select this row, and click the "Change Action" button.
A new dialog box will appear. Select the "Use this Plugin" option.
Click "OK".

Older versions of Firefox

From the menu, select "Tools", then select "Options", this will open a dialog box.
Select the "Downloads" icon, and then click the "Plugins..." button.
Another dialog box will open, showing a list of installed plugins.
In the File type column find "Macromedia Director Movie", and ensure there is a check mark next to it in the Enabled column. If there is a dot, the plugin is not enabled.
Click the dot to enable the plugin. The dot will be replaced with a check mark.
Click "OK".

Internet Explorer 6.0+ on Windows XP Service Pack 2 / Windows 2003

From the menu select "Tools", then select "Internet Options".
Select the "Programs" tab.
Select "Manage Add-ons".
Find "Shockwave ActiveX Control" in the list and click on it.
Below the list, click the "Enabled" option.
Click "OK".

Internet Explorer on Windows 95, 98 or 2000

Users do not have the option to disable plugins. Installed plugins are always enabled.

Safari

Users do not have the option to disable plugins. Installed plugins are always enabled.

Step 3

If the plugin is present and enabled, check your Flash player settings.

Click on the link below.
Select the “Global Security Settings” tab.
Select the “Always Allow” option.
Close and reopen your browser.

Go to the Flash Player settings manager now.

When I launch the Discover! Science Library, I see a puzzle piece in my Netscape 6.2, running on OS X.

On OS X, Netscape 6.2 will not be able to use the Macromedia Flash Player 6 plugin if it is installed by a user who is logged on without administrative permissions. Click this link and follow the instructions - Macromedia Flash Player TechNote 16214.

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Tips and Tricks

Full Screen

You can make your browser cover your entire screen. Pressing the F11 key at the top of your keyboard will cause your browser to fill your screen. Click F11 again to return your browser to normal.

Browser Window Size

When you launch the program, it will open in a new browser window. Depending upon the defaults set up on your system, this window may not be big enough to see the whole screen. If this is the case, maximizing it will allow you to see the whole screen, but will require that you maximize it each time you run it. If you manually resize the window without maximizing, your system will save this as the new default, and next time you launch the program, it will launch in an appropriately sized window.

Test Banks

The Discover Science Library includes test banks for each unit as a further resource for teachers. These documents do not contain answer keys. Teachers or parents can obtain answer keys by e-mailing us at answers@eoascientific.com

Online

If you are using Discover Science on-line, you can download all the test banks in a ZIP file. Click the link below to download the file. Then unzip the file to access the test banks.
Download test banks.

DVD

Browse the DVD to find the folder "Test Banks" on the root of the disk.