FAQs_Technical Issues

Questions:

• 1. Where can I purchase a headset for my computer?
• 2. How come the link from the CTER page to my ePortfolio is now "broken" ?

• 3. Am I eligible to purchase software through the University at a discount? I bought something last year but can't remember what documentation I provided. Can you help me clarify?

• 4. What usernames and passwords do students need to know for a CTER course? Who should I check with if I don't know my username and password?

• 5. What servers do students need to interact with to take part in a CTER course?

• 6. Who can handle server problems?

• 7. Why do I have problems accessing course Web pages / Moodle? What kinds of connection problems do students typically have?

Answers:

1. Where can I purchase a headset for my computer?

At some point in your CTER education you'll need a headset for your computer. We've collected the following list of online vendors who sell headsets for Windows and Macintosh. Headsets are also available from the UIUC Micro Order Center, from national electronics retailers such as Circuit City and Best Buy, and from your local computer dealer.

In general you get what you pay for with headsets. While you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a headset to get good sound, the $4.95 models will probably produce unsatisfactory results.

If you routinely switch between Mac and PC, you probably want to get a USB headset. This will work on either platform.

Disclaimer: appearing on this list does not imply that any vendor is endorsed by CTER or the University of Illinois.

* Newegg.com * Buy.com * Outpost.com * Compusa.com * Circuit City * Best Buy

If you change the name of a file in your Web server folder or move it (for example, create a subfolder and move it there), that will break all the Web links that other people have to the file. So, once a file is linked from other places, don't rename it or move it.

3. Am I eligible to purchase software through the University at a discount? I bought something last year but can't remember what documentation I provided. Can you help me clarify?

All the info is in the micro order Web page: * http://www.cstores.uiuc.edu/moc/moc.html .

You can see that if you already order something in the past, you only need to call them to place a new order: * http://www.cstores.uiuc.edu/moc/order.html

You can check to see if you meet the elegibility requirements: * http://www.cstores.uiuc.edu/moc/cert.html

4. What usernames and passwords do students need to know for a CTER course? Who should I check with if I don't know my username and password?

At the beginning of your CTER coursework, you will be provided with a summary of usernames and passwords that have been set up for you. You also need to keep detailed records about what passwords you have set up for yourself, and what changes you have made to supplied passwords. The following resources have some form of password protection on them:

• Course Web pages - Generally, the class share a single username and password to access these documents. Check with your teacher or classmates if you need a reminder.
• Uploading student Web pages - If you use NetFiles Web folders provided by CITES, your username will the same as your NetID and your password will be your Active Directory (AD) account password. CITES Helpdesk can help you with problems related to NetFiles. You can access http://accounts.ad.uiuc.edu to reset your Active Directory password. You'll need your NetID password to access this page.
• Moodle - You create your own user account and password for Moodle. The CTER Technical Support Team can reset your password if necessary.

5. What servers do students need to interact with to take part in a CTER course?

• CTER maintains the CTER Portal server, which has provides up-to-date information on events, course scheduling, and information about the CTER program.
• CTER also maintains the Moodle server, which you will most likely interact with on a regular basis. The Moodle server is a resource for students and teachers. Teachers deliver their course content through Moodle and provide course material, assignments, and discussion boards so that students and teachers can effectively communicate with each other. Students submit their homework through Moodle as well.
• In addition, course content is presented on Web pages which are hosted on the College of Education Web server (http://www.ed.uiuc.edu). The address http://cter.ed.uiuc.edu is actually an alias to a directory on the College of Education server; you can reach the same point via http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/ed-online/cter.
• It's important to remember that you will have a different password, and perhaps even a different username, on each of the servers. Also, remember that if you change a password on any of these servers, your other passwords will not be affected.
  
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6. Who can handle server problems?

The CTER Technical Support team is your single point of contact for server problems. If the problem's at the server end, email to cter-tech-L@listserv.illinois.edu or a call to (217)244-3510 should be your first step. We'll clear up whatever we can, and communicate with you about how we can work together to put the rest right.

7. Why do I have problems accessing course web pages on the College of Education server? What kinds of connection problems do students typically have?

• First, there may be a problem with your individual computer or network connection.
• If possible, try to access from a second machine or a different network connection, to see if the problem still exists.
• Second, there is the possibility that the server itself may be down (especially likely if you are connecting with a computer you have used successfully with this connection in the past).
• Certain course web pages are served from the College of Education web server (http://www.ed.uiuc.edu). If you cannot access your course Web pages and have not received a message about an outage, you can send email to the COE Webmaster: webmaster@mail.ed.uiuc.edu, with a copy to the CTER Tech Support team: cter-tech-L@listserv.illinois.edu.
• CTER Tech Support maintains the Moodle server, where many teachers and students interact. Problems with the Moodle server should be reported to the CTER Tech Support team: cter-tech-L@listserv.illinois.edu
• Third, you may not have a required plugin or other resource.
• For multimedia content delivered over the Web, browser plugins are often required. For example, you need an up-to-date copy of RealPlayer, available for free from www.real.com and also on the CTER CD-ROM, in order to hear and see audio and video files streamed in the Real (.rm or .ra) format. The QuickTime Player plugin is needed to view streaming multimedia created in the QuickTime format. Let CTER Tech Support know if you have trouble finding or installing a plugin you need; we'll be happy to help you get it running.
• Fourth, "firewalls" can be a problem.
• Most commercial internet providers do not utilize them, but many schools and districts do. Some of CTER's supplemental resources require connections to be made to an Internet port other than the standard Port 80. Some of our Web-enabled databases, for instance, make use of Port 591, as is evident from addresses like http://lrsdb.ed.uiuc.edu:591/ipp and http://lrsdb2.ed.uiuc.edu:591. Streaming multimedia also makes use of non-standard port addresses. If your provider has a firewall which disallows connections via the ports you need, you won't get through. Anyone with this problem either needs to get their provider to open up the necessary ports, or needs to find another way out to the Internet via a different provider.