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Technical Information and Help

For any technical help, send an email to customer.service@speekee.co.uk - we aim to respond to all queries within 3 working days.

Pre-requisites

In order to use the online Scheme of Work and resources, you need the following:

A Licence and Login Details

When you buy the scheme of work we will send you a licence key and instructions explaining how to login to the Speekee website. You can login from any computer, subject to the requirements described below. So if you wish, you can login at home, to prepare, and also login in the classroom.

Computer with Web-browser

The website has been tested with the following operating systems and web-browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Mozilla Firefox 2 on Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Opera 9 on Windows XP Service Pack 2

Note: Your web-browser must have JavaScript enabled.

To play the audio clips your computer will need to have a sound card and loud-speakers or headphones.

Internet connection

The scheme of work is an online resource, so to use it you need an internet connection. We recommend you use a broadband speed connection. A slower connection will work, but will be too slow if you want to use the audio or video clips.

Printer (optional)

The scheme of work includes many downloadable resources such as printable worksheets and flashcards. To print these you will need a printer. Black & White is fine for most of these resources; some do benefit from being printed in colour.

Interactive whiteboard (optional)

If you intend to use the interactive whiteboard games and video clips in the classroom, then these are best displayed on an interactive whiteboard. The Speekee resources are not limited to any particular brand of whiteboard.

DVD player (optional)

If you want to play the DVDs then you will need a DVD player. You could use a DVD player in your computer (you need to have DVD codecs installed for this to work. You can check by trying to play any other DVD video disc), or a standalone DVD player.

CD player (optional)

If you want to play the audio CD then you will need a CD player. You could use a CD player in your computer, or a standalone CD player.

Playing Sound and Video

In order to play sound and video on the website, you must have installed the (free) Adobe Flash Player. To do this, visit http://www.adobe.com and click on the "Get Adobe Flash Player" button.

Minimum hardware specification for playing the video clips

For playing the online video clips in your Windows web-browser, the following minimum hardware specification is suggested:

Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz processor (or equivalent). 128MB RAM. 64MB VRAM.

See the Adobe website http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/productinfo/systemreqs/ for more details.

Problem after upgrading the Flash Player?

If you use Internet Explorer 7 and were previously able to play video on the Speekee website, but can no longer do so, this may be the result of an error when the Flash Player was recently automatically updated on your system.

In this case, the problem can usually be resolved by following these instructions on the Adobe website: http://www.adobe.com/go/tn_14157

The instructions are reproduced here for your convenience:

1. Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
   • Windows: uninstall_flash_player.exe (162 KB) (updated 12/3/07) Note: If you have a Windows Flash Player uninstaller downloaded prior to December 3, 2007 on your desktop, then please delete it and download the latest version.
   • Mac OS X: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (278 KB) (updated 12/3/07)
   • Mac OS 8.x, 9.x: uninstall_flash_player.hqx (33 KB)
2. Save the file to your system, choosing a location where you can find it (for example, your desktop). Macintosh users may need to open or unstuff the .hqx file.
3. Quit ALL running applications, including all Internet Explorer or other browser windows, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, or other Messengers. Check the Windows system tray carefully to make certain no applications which might possibly use Flash Player are still in memory.
4. Run the uninstaller. This will remove Adobe Flash Player from all browsers on the system. Note: The uninstaller cannot remove files currently in use.

If you have any instances of the player open in your web browsers, instant messaging clients, stand-alone SWFs, or projectors, then the uninstaller will complete but some files may not be deleted. If this occurs, then close all of your applications and run the uninstaller again to ensure that all files are removed.

Note: Internet Explorer users may have to reboot to clear all uninstalled Flash Player ActiveX control files. If you're not certain, select the "Show Details" button in the Flash Player uninstaller. If there are any log lines that begin with "Delete on Reboot..." then you'll need to reboot BEFORE running the Flash Player installer again.

Adobe Reader

Many of the downloadable resources are in .pdf format. To read these you need the (free) Adobe Reader. If you don't already have this installed, you can download it from the Adobe website. Simply visit http://www.adobe.com and click on the "Get Adobe Reader" button.

Microsoft Word

One downloadable resource is in Microsoft Word format. If you don't have access to Microsoft Word then please email us (customer.service@speekee.co.uk) and we will provide the file in a format that is suitable for you.