1. Can instructors get accounts and if so what is the difference between a student account and instructor account?
2. Will SMARTHINKING e-structors give students answers to homework problems?
3. Can more than one student work with an e-structor in a live classroom whiteboard at the SAME time?
4. If a student logs on and he/she wants to go to a live classroom but it is "occupied" how long does he/she have to wait?
5. What if many students log on at the same time and there is a backlog?
6. Will the e-structors be "versed" in all of the Houghton books involved in this program?
7. Can interested instructors use a whiteboard with his/her students while they are online?
8. I'm worried about my students having technical problems and I also have some students who are a bit challenged when they use technology. So what kind of technical and other support is SMARTHINKING ready to offer them?
9. Can interested instructors become e-structors for SMARTHINKING?
10. How does SMARTHINKING handle privacy issues?

1. Can instructors get accounts and if so what is the difference between a student account and instructor account?
   The registration process is different for instructors and students. Ask your Houghton Mifflin sales rep for details on how to set up an instructor account.
   
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2. Will SMARTHINKING e-structors give students answers to homework problems?
   ABSOLUTELY NOT. The e-structors instead help students to formulate problem solving strategies and help them develop their own reasoning and mathematical skills. E-structors do NOT do homework, correct papers, or predict grades.
   
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3. Can more than one student work with an e-structor in a live classroom whiteboard at the SAME time?
   Yes. There are two modes the student can use. The first is live chat. In this mode, multiple students can all interact with each other and the tutor. The second is live tutorial. In this mode, students may submit questions to the tutor one by one, but cannot communicate with each other. All of the students in the tutorial can see the submitted question, and can watch the tutor's response. Important Note: Most of SMARTHINKING's student-tutor interactions are one-to-one. A student can be involved in group study sessions only if he/she prefers, thus ensuring the undivided attention of the tutor.
   
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4. If a student logs on and he/she wants to go to a live classroom but it is "occupied" how long does he/she have to wait?
   This will be a function the amount of tutors SMARTHINKING has available at any given time. SMARTHINKING is taking all measures to ensure that there are enough tutors (especially during periods of high volume) to help students with minimal wait.
   
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5. What if many students log on at the same time and there is a backlog?
   A: SMARTHINKING will be allocating more tutors during periods of high volume. This way, any minor delays will be kept to a minimum. So far SMARTHINKING has been successful handling this. Also SMARTHINKING constantly monitors student usage and wait times very closely, and if it appears that a significant backlog exists, more tutors can be added. Furthermore, if a student does experience a backlog, s/he could always submit a question asynchronously for a response within 24 hours.
   
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6. Will the e-structors be "versed" in all of the Houghton books involved in this program?
   We are very confident that SMARTHINKING e-structors will be able to answer all of the questions from these textbooks, spanning from Arithmetic to Calculus. Given their high qualifications and teaching background, all of the e-structors are all very well versed in the subjects.
   
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7. Can interested instructors use a whiteboard with his/her students while they are online?
   No. Instructors interested in this should contact SMARTHINKING directly via their web site. The whiteboard technology developed for the site is a licensed product and is available to interested faculty or institutions through SMARTHINKING only and not through the Houghton Mifflin/SMARTHINKING online tutoring partnership which is designed to provide free tutoring from e-structors to students purchasing HMCo math texts.
   
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8. I'm worried about my students having technical problems and I also have some students who are a bit challenged when they use technology. So what kind of technical and other support is SMARTHINKING ready to offer them?
   SMARTHINKING realizes that faculty members do not want to bother with technical issues, or any other issues the student is having with this service. For this reason, SMARTHINKING has developed a team of customer service specialists waiting to help students having trouble logging in, forgotten passwords, browser issues, or anything other issues. Thus, instructors will never have to worry about technical issues with SMARTHINKING. Students can call SMARTHINKING customer specialists at 1-888-688-7560, Extension 4. Alternatively, the student can email our team at support@smarthinking.com. All of this information is accessible from the SMARTHINKING web site, under the listing "Customer Support”.
   
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9. Can interested instructors become e-structors for SMARTHINKING?
   Interested instructors should visit the SMARTHINKING web site for more information about the disciplines in which SMARTHINKING is currently hiring, and, if interested in applying, send a cover letter and resume to jobs@smarthinking.com.
   
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10. How does SMARTHINKING handle privacy issues?
    SMARTHINKING takes all reasonable steps to ensure the privacy of students using our service. We realize that our partner schools are bound by FERPA and SMARTHINKING discloses only aggregate and trend data to ensure the privacy of our students and e-structors. We do not sell personal data to third parties.
    
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Technical FAQs

Basic Setup

1. What type of computer do I need?
2. What type of browser should I use?
   
3. What are Java and the Java runtime environment? Do I need Java enabled?
   
4. What is JavaScript? Do I need JavaScript enabled?
   
5. What is ActiveX? Do I need ActiveX enabled (IE users)?
   
6. What are cookies? Do I need cookies enabled?
   
7. What kind of Java runtime environment do I need?
   
8. How fast does my Internet connection need to be?
   
9. I'm using Netscape. Are there any other settings my browser needs?
   
10. Will the SMARTHINKING site work with AOL?

Troubleshooting

11. I have a Linksys or Netgear network card and the whiteboard keeps freezing up on me. What's the problem?
12. When I open the whiteboard, it closes with an error or makes my machine hang. What's wrong?
13. When I open the whiteboard, I get a message similar to "IE caused an illegal operation in module jit.dll" or "IE caused general protection fault in module unknown". What's wrong?
14. How do I reach technical support?
15. No one was there to help me with my question.
16. I received the message "Either your session has timed out or you have caused an access error. Please Click Here to Login."
17. I am unable to create a new account.
18. I can't see some of the text and features of the SMARTHINKING site or they look distorted. What should I do?
19. I'm behind a firewall. Will I be able to use all of the site's features?

Tips (steps detailed here may vary slightly from version to version)

20. How do I check the JVM (Java Runtime Environment) version on Windows?
21. How do I check the MRJ (Macintosh Runtime for Java) version on Apple Mac?
22. How do I enable cookies?
23. How do I enable Java, JavaScript (& ActiveX for IE) on Windows?
24. How do I enable Java on Apple Mac?

1. What type of computer do I need?
   
   Operating System and Processor
   
   • Windows PC with 100MHz processor or greater
   • Apple Mac OS with 100MHz or greater
   
   Total System Memory
   
   • 64MB (minimum)
   • 96MB (recommended)
   
   Available Memory for application
   
   • Windows PC = 16MB
   • Apple Mac OS = 32MB
   
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2. What type of browser should I use?
   
   Windows PC users need:
   • Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher
   • Netscape Communicator 4.07 or higher
   
   Apple Mac OS users need:
   
   • Internet Explorer 4.5 or higher
   • Netscape browsers on the Apple Mac OS platform are not currently supported with the SMARTHINKING application.
   
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3. What are Java and the Java runtime environment? Do I need Java enabled?
   Yes, you will need Java enabled. The SMARTHINKING site uses a java applet as part of its application. An applet is a small program. Java is the language that the whiteboard applet uses to perform its functions. The Java runtime environment is a program your browser uses to run the whiteboard applet on your machine.
   
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4. What is JavaScript? Do I need JavaScript enabled?
   Yes, you will need JavaScript enabled. JavaScript is a language that web sites use to assist in processing and displaying information. The SMARTHINKING application uses JavaScript in many areas.
   
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5. What is ActiveX? Do I need ActiveX enabled (IE users)?
   Yes, if you are running Internet Explorer, you will need ActiveX enabled to take advantage of some screen capture functionality in use with our whiteboard application. ActiveX refers to a type of program that can be run by the browser to perform tasks on your machine.
   
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6. What are cookies? Do I need cookies enabled?
   Yes, you will need session cookies enabled. Cookies are small pieces of information that a web site writes to your machine to track information. In order for your logged in session on our site to work properly, our application will need to write several cookies to your machine. However, SMARTHINKING does not write any cookies that last longer than the life of a particular logged in session you have with our site. The information contained in these cookies is only viewable by SMARTHINKING servers.
   
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7. What kind of Java runtime environment do I need?
   
   • PC/Windows users using Internet Explorer need to have Microsoft JVM (Java Virtual Machine) version 5.00.3167 or greater installed. For optimal performance, we recommend that you use the latest JVM version. Visit http://www.microsoft.com/java/download.htm for updates to your JVM. See below for steps on checking your current JVM version.
   • PC/Windows users using Netscape 4.7x or earlier can update the Java runtime environment by upgrading the version of the browser itself or by installing the Sun Java Plug-in. Please NOTE: The Sun Java Plug-in is currently not 100% compatible with the whiteboard application in use on the SMARTHINKING site.
   • PC/Windows users using Netscape 6.x or higher will need to use the Sun Java Plug-in since no built-in JVM is available for those Netscape versions. Upgrades to the Plug-in are periodically available from Sun at http://java.sun.com/getjava/download.html.
   • Apple Mac OS users need to have MRJ (Macintosh Runtime for Java) version 2.2 or greater. For optimal performance, we recommend that you use the latest MRJ version compatible with your Mac OS version. Visit http://www.info.apple.com/support/downloads.html for updates to your MRJ. See below for steps on checking your current MRJ version.
   
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8. How fast does my Internet connection need to be?
   While we recommend at least a 56K modem, a 28.8K modem will also work without major problems.
   
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9. I'm using Netscape. Are there any other settings my browser needs?
   If you have the Sun Java Plug-in installed and enabled, several features of our whiteboard software will not function properly. However, most of the whiteboard functionality will be available. For users of Netscape 6.x, the Sun Java Plug-in is their only option for running java applets. For these users, you will need to keep the Plug-in enabled to use the whiteboard. Users of all other Netscape versions can choose to disable the Plug-in.
   
   To disable the feature:
   
   • In Netscape Navigator, click on Edit menu/ Preferences / Advanced
   • Make sure that Enable Java Plug-in is unchecked
   • If it is checked, uncheck it, close Netscape, and restart the application
   
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10. Will the SMARTHINKING site work with AOL?
    The SMARTHINKING site will function with AOL versions of 5.0 and greater provided the browser it calls (Internet Explorer or Netscape) is compatible with our application.
    
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11. I have a Linksys or Netgear network card and the whiteboard keeps freezing up on me. What's the problem?
    We have had several complaints about Linksys network cards causing problems with the java applet technology on our site and other sites. Updating the drivers has not helped any of the users affected by this. The only solution we have identified so far is to replace the card with another brand of network card. We continue to look for other fixes. We have also heard of problems with several types of Netgear network cards but have no solid confirmation of problems with this brand.
    
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12. When I open the whiteboard it closes with an error or makes my machine hang. What's wrong?
    One reason may be the version of Java runtime environment you have running on your computer. Java is the language that the whiteboard uses to perform its functions. The Java runtime environment is a program your browser uses to run the whiteboard on your machine. Older versions of this program can cause problems. It is important to have a recent version of this program so the whiteboard works well. For more information, see the FAQ: What kind of Java runtime environment do I need?
    
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13. When I open the whiteboard, I get a message similar to "IE caused an illegal operation in module jit.dll" or "IE caused general protection fault in module unknown". What's wrong?
    
    This is caused by some older versions of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM is what your browser uses to run the whiteboard. The JIT compiler is part of the JVM. To overcome this issue, you can either disable the JIT compiler feature or update the JVM to the latest version. We recommend updating your JVM. For more information on doing so, see the FAQ: What kind of Java runtime environment do I need?
    
    If you would like to disable the JIT compiler instead, follow these steps:
    • In Internet Explorer, click on Tools menu/ Internet options / Advanced
    • Scroll down until you see "Java script" or "Java VM"
    • Remove the check from "JIT compiler for virtual machine enabled."
    
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14. How do I reach technical support?
    SMARTHINKING offers comprehensive technical support via e-mail. For more information, click here.
    
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15. No one was there to help me with my question.
    If tutors are not scheduled to be on-duty, you can always submit your question and writing. Just choose your subject, and click "Submit your Writing" or "Submit a Question." You will receive a response within 24 hours.
    
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16. I received the message "Either your session has timed out or you caused an access error. Click here to login again."
    
    If you are using Netscape Communicator 4.07, close it down and open it again. Clear the cache and make sure the browser is set to accept cookies. To clear cache and check cookies settings:
    1. Open Netscape Communicator
    2. Click on "Edit"
    3. Click on "Preferences"
    4. Click on the word "Advanced" on the left side under the Category column
    5. Look on the right side and make sure there is a dot next to "Accept all Cookies" under the Cookies section
    6. On the left side, click on the plus sign (+) next to "Advanced"
    7. Click on "Cache" under the plus sign and look on the right side
    8. Click on "Clear Disk Cache" button
    9. Click "OK" when you have completed these steps
    10. Login to your SMARTHINKING account
    If you are using Internet Explorer, refresh the screen and login again. Contact Customer Support at support@smarthinking.com if you continue to experience the same problem.
    
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17. I am unable to create a new account.
    If you received login information from your school or a textbook and you are getting a "bad" username or password message, make sure the login information is correct by either contacting your school or Customer Support.
    
    Contact Customer Support if you get any other error message. Email the exact text of the error message to support@smarthinking.com or call us at (888) 430-7429, ext. 4.
    
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18. I can't see some of the text and features of the SMARTHINKING site or they look distorted. What should I do?
    
    When the text size in your browser is set to a smaller value than the default, our application may not capture all login characters you type in. It could also affect the display of some features of the SMARTHINKING web site. You can avoid this inconvenience by resetting the text size in your browser to a higher or default value.
    
    Internet Explorer users
    
    • Open Internet Explorer
    • Click on "view" at the top on the menu bar
    • Select "Text Size"
    • There are 5 choices, ranging from smallest to largest
    • Click on "Medium" or any a bigger size (Medium is the default value)
    
    Netscape 6
    
    • From the menu bar at the top, pull down the "Edit" menu.
    • Select "Preferences".
    • Click on "Fonts", which is listed under "Appearances".
    • Choose a font size from the options listed.
    • Click on the desired font size from the pull-down menu.
    • Click "OK".
    • You have many options when it comes to font size. Try increasing the font size steadily until you find the size that is best for your screen.
    
    Netscape 4 series
    
    • From the menu bar at the top, pull down the "Edit" menu.
    • Select Preferences.
    • Double-click on Fonts, which is listed under "Appearances". (If Fonts does not appear, double-click on "Appearances", which should bring up Fonts).
    • Use the pull-down "Variable Fixed Font" menu to change font style.
    • Use the Size menu next to it to change font size.
    • Once you've arrived at a comfortable solution, select the first radio button: "Use My Default Fonts, Overriding Document-Specified Fonts."
    
    AOL 4.0
    
    • Under "My AOL" in the AOL Toolbar, select "Preferences".
    • Then click on the "WWW" icon in the scrolling list on the left.
    • On the right, click on "Advanced Settings". A dialog box will appear with a collecting of controls on the right and a column of options on the left.
    • Select the option called "Browser Display" on the left.
    • You can set the "Text Size" to "Large" or "Largest" for more comfortable reading.
    • Click the "OK" button in the Advanced Settings dialog box and then click the "OK" button in the Preferences dialog box to make your new settings take effect.
    
    AOL 6.0
    
    • Click on "Setting", select "Preferences"
    • Click on "WWW Internet Properties"
    • Click on "Font", "Text & Graphic Preferences"
    • Click on the drop down menu "Text Size" and select a higher number
    • You will see a sample in the box below
    • Adjust the size for more comfortable reading.
    
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19. I'm behind a firewall. Will I be able to use all of the site's features?
    If you are behind a firewall, you should still be able to use all of the site's features including the whiteboard. However, some firewall configurations can prevent access to some features. For example, firewalls will need to permit the passing through of java applets in order to use the whiteboard application. In addition, to take advantage of the "cut and paste functionality" of the whiteboard application, firewalls will need to permit the passing of either an Active-X object or a plug-in depending on the browser type.
    
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20. How do I check the JVM version on Windows?
    
    
    1. Click on Start > Run > type command.com and click ok
    2. Type jview at the prompt and hit the enter key
    3. The version of Java on the machine will be on the first line
    
    Note: If you are using Windows NT or 2000 you should type cmd in the Run dialog box
    
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21. How do I check the MRJ version on Apple Mac?
    
    
    1. Do a search for MRJ
    2. Select it and click on get info on the menu bar
    
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22. How do I enable cookies?
    
    All browsers should be set to accept cookies.
    
    For Internet Explorer
    
    1. Click on Tools > Internet Options > Security tab
    2. Make sure the Internet icon is highlighted
    3. Click on Custom Level
    4. Scroll down and locate the Cookies section
    5. Make sure enable session cookies is checked or set to enable
    
    For Netscape
    
    1. Click on Edit > Preferences
    2. Under Category click on Advanced
    3. Check Accept all cookies on the right side.
    
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23. How do I enable Java, JavaScript (& ActiveX for IE) on Windows?
    
    For Internet Explorer
    1. Click on Tools > Internet Options > Security tab
    2. Make sure the Internet icon is highlighted
    3. Click on Custom Level
    4. Scroll down to the ActiveX section
    5. Make sure Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins is enabled
    6. Scroll down and locate the Microsoft VM section
    7. Make sure Java permissions is set to anything BUT disabled
    8. Scroll down and locate the Scripting section
    9. Make sure Active Scripting is enabled
    10. Make sure Scripting of Java Applets is enabled
    
    For Netscape
    1. Click on Edit > Preferences
    2. Under Category click on Advanced
    3. Put a check next to Enable Java and Enable JavaScript
    
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24. How do I enable Java on Apple Mac?
    
    For Internet Explorer (with IE opened)
    1. Select Edit > Preferences
    2. Select Java from the left pane
    3. Make sure Enable Java is checked
    
    NOTE: Unless you have disabled JavaScript, it should be enabled with default settings.
    
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