1 Introduction ************** Congratulations on your purchase of the H-ITT system! We make the best audience response system on the market. No one can beat our price or feature set. This manual is a comprehensive overview of the entire H-ITT system, including both the software and the hardware. In our drive to be agile and responsive to our customers this document, along with our hardware and software, is continually being updated to meet our customers needs. We enjoy hearing new ideas and suggestions from our customers, so please don't hesitate to contact us. Your satisfaction is our top priority. 1.1 How the H-ITT system works ============================== The H-ITT audience response system works very simply. Each student purchases a hand-held transmitter similar to a TV remote control, which has a unique ID number. With the remote control, each student responds to the instructor's multiple-choice questions by aiming it at wall-mounted receivers. The receivers collect the signals and send them to a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC through the USB port that is running the H-ITT acquisition program. A sophisticated, secure, two-way, multi-level-redundant, error-correcting communication protocol is employed to ensure that no class time is wasted during response collection and that no responses are lost. The transmitters use either IR (infra-red) transmissions or radio frequency (RF). The IR system will not interfere with: wireless ethernet (Wi-Fi, 803.11a, 803.11b), bluetooth, cell phones, pagers, cordless microphones, cordless phones, or any other wireless technology that uses RF (radio frequency) signals. The light on the students remote will turn green if their response has been successfully recorded. In addition, the H-ITT acquisition program displays a box on the computer screen for each student's remote. This allows the instructor to verify that the response has been recorded. The location of each box remains the same for the entire semester and the color of each box is determined by the last digit of the remote ID number. The H-ITT acquisition program instantaneously summarizes the data and displays the class responses in histogram form. This instantaneous assessment of student comprehension enables the instructor to confidently move forward with the material or step back and review, closely tailoring the lecture to the students' needs. The software also allows the students to work at their own pace on a series of questions similar to an exam. It automatically saves the students responses to a compressed, binary file to save space. In addition, it can save the responses in industry standard, human readable CSV and XML format. It can even e-mail the files to the instructor so they are in the instructor's in-box when returning to the office. In the office, a separate program called the H-ITT analyzer associates student names with the remote ID numbers and grades the responses instantly. It allows the instructor to assign point values to each answer for each question. The time and cost associated with manually grading, tallying, and summarizing typical hard-copy quizzes is eliminated. This leaves more opportunities for planning lectures and providing one-on-one help to students outside of class. The software also allows a list of student names with point totals to be quickly exported via the familiar "cut-and-paste" operation into any spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or WebCT. The analyzer has several powerful tools which help you automatically build the roster file for you through e-mail. In addition, it allows the instructor to communicate with the students by automatically e-mailing a response report to each student. In addition to all these great features, H-ITT strives to keeps its systems economical. In fact our software is FREE! So download it today from our website www.H-ITT.com (http://www.H-ITT.com) and try it. 1.2 Complete H-ITT System Specifications ======================================== The H-ITT systems is optimized for the small to very large (greater than 1000 participants) sized classroom, boardroom and focus group. The transmitters are light and compact enough for students, consultants, presenters, and trainers to carry with them. *Transmitter Enclosure:* * Lightweight, compact, brightly colored plastic molded enclosure. * Dimensions: 5" x 1.5" x 3/4" * Weight: Approx. 1.0 oz (without batteries). * Color: Bright Green, Orange, or Yellow. * The range of the IR remote is about 90 feet. The range of the RF remote is about 300 feet. *User Input:* * 13 keys A/0,B/1,C/2,D/3,E/4,F/5,G/6,H/7,I/8,J/9, Forward, and Reverse user input. *Display:* * Red LED provides confirmation that response is being transmitted. * Green LED provides confirmation that response has been received. *Power & Power Management:* * Powered by one 9 Volt Alkaline Battery * Unit is always off unless a key is pressed (similar to a TV remote control). * Batteries are powerful enough to provide up to 12 months of keypad use. *User Identification:* * Each remote has a unique ID number. The number of unique numbers is unlimited. The number is printed on the circuit board under the battery 1.2.1 Two Way Infrared (IR) System ---------------------------------- * H-ITT uses fast responding infrared technology similar to a TV remote but with ten times greater speed. It has proven to be reliable and operates on a "line of sight" so it will not interfere with radio frequency equipment or other systems in adjacent rooms. IR is the best choice for the academic setting where security and privacy are valued. * The response time of each remote is about 10 milliseconds. * in a recent test it has recorded 200 responses in under 10 seconds. * The ultimate limit is 200 responses per second per COM port. Speeds can vary depending upon receiver layout. *Range:* * Range for one remote is approximately 90 feet. You can increase the range by daisy chaining multiple receivers together. *Receiver:* * Dimensions: 2.5" W x 1.5" D x 3.5" H. * Unit Weight: about 4.0 oz. * Recommended 1 Receiver for every 50 keypads. 1.2.2 Two Way Radio Frequency (RF) System ----------------------------------------- * The RF system uses a high speed two RF protocol similar to the IR protocol, which has a speed of 1000 responses in 1 second. * The response time of each remote is less than 1 milliseconds. *Range:* * Range for one remote is approximately 300 feet. *Receiver:* * Dimensions: 5.0" W x 3.5" D x 1.0" H. * Unit Weight: about 4.0 oz. *Software:* * Robust, user friendly software for recording and grading responses * Runs under Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. * Self installing * Software development kit (SDK) is available and multiple integration pathways for developers. * Cost $0.00 (It's Free! download today) 1.3 IR vs. RF: Which is best for my classroom needs? ==================================================== Some of H-ITT's users have inquired as to which data communication technology is best suited for their classroom response system needs - infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF). H-ITT sells both an IR and RF system. To compare IR and RF, it's helpful to review the standard industry uses of both technologies. In general, IR is utilized in single-room applications, while RF is the common choice in multi-room settings. For example, a TV remote control uses IR communication because it is needed in one room only. In contrast, a portable home phone employs RF communication so that it can be used throughout the house. 1.3.1 Benefits of an RF system: ------------------------------- * Line of site NOT needed between remote and base unit allowing simpler classroom installation and easier use for students since remotes do not have to be aimed. * Higher speed than IR with a single base unit: 1000 in 1 second allowing simpler classroom installation. * Range is greater than IR. H-ITT's RF system has a 300 foot range from remote to base unit. * Simpler classroom installation than IR, since 1 base unit can cover a 1000 seat lecture hall. An IR system would need about 20 base units in a 1000 seat room. 1.3.2 Benefits an IR system: ---------------------------- * IR signals are not disturbed by transmissions from other wireless networking communication devices, such as wireless ethernet (wifi), cell phones, walkie-talkies, cordless microphones, PDA's, etc. * Naturally, as a single-room signal technology, an IR system requires that every student responding to a question be inside the classroom, holding the remote in plain view while answering. This makes the IR system more secure than the RF system. * H-ITT's high-speed, two-way system offers comparable functionality to RF systems with feedback on remote indicating that response has been recorded. * No channel to select as in an RF system since IR signals are confined to the room. This makes system use in adjacent rooms or buildings with a high density of classrooms simpler. 1.4 How to write a grant proposal to get funding for H-ITT ========================================================== Here is an example of a proposal that was successful in obtaining funds for H-ITT. Use it as a starting point for your grant proposal. In addition, you are free to use the graphics in your proposal as well. *TITLE: Personalized Remote Control Units for Large Lecture Undergraduate Courses* *BY: * *SUBMITTED TO: The Teaching Faculty Support Center* *ABSTRACT* Envision a large enrollment, general education, freshman-level course in which student attendance is 100% every day. Now, imagine that every one of these students prepares for and participates in class. Until now, such a scenario was merely the product of wishful thinking. This proposal introduces to this campus, for the first time, an innovative, economical, and proven technology known as the Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology (H-ITT), which dramatically improves student attendance, preparation, and participation. H-ITT is a revolutionary teaching tool that allows students to uniquely respond to quiz questions on a daily basis via individual remote-control devices, providing a real-time gauge of student comprehension. Best of all, it provides a fully automated and fast method for grading each students understanding. The benefits of H-ITT are numerous. The instructor receives instantaneous feedback regarding the degree to which the material is understood. Concepts that are unclear, as evidenced by incorrect responses, may then be reviewed. Most importantly, H-ITT strongly encourages students to read the textbook and attempt the homework problems before coming to class, and then rewards them for their efforts. As a result, class time is used much more effectively to reinforce concepts and demonstrate problem-solving techniques. *PROJECT DESCRIPTION* Finding ways to motivate and engage undergraduate students, especially in large enrollment general education courses, can be difficult. For true learning to take place, an instructor must 1) find ways to make learning difficult subjects more appealing to students and 2) tailor the pace and content of the class to the individual student's skill level. In response to this need, new learner-centered teaching methods have been developed that have significantly enhanced the engagement process. One such method, which has not yet been implemented on our campus, is the Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology (H-ITT). H-ITT is a cost-effective, state-of-the-art technology that records student answers, displays them, links them with a student ID number, and converts them to a letter grade. H-ITT requires a receiver at the front of the classroom and hand-held remote control units, which the students purchase at the bookstore as display in Fig. 1. *Fig. 1.* Picture of the H-ITT remote unit showing the standard multiple choice answers A-E plus the multi-function *-key that can be utilized for taking tests. The H-ITT system displays questions for a daily quiz. The students' responses are collected by firing their answers at the wall mounted receivers as displayed in Fig. 2. *Fig. 2.* Illustration of the Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology (H-ITT) in operation. A question is projected onto the screen and each student answers the question with their personalized remote control unit by simply pressing their answer while pointing the unit at a receiver mounted on the wall. The software summarizes the results in the form of a histogram, showing the possible answers and the corresponding number of students who chose each answer, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The histogram provides immediate and accurate feedback on what the students do and do not understand. This information enables the teacher to advance to the next topic or to cover current concepts more thoroughly. *Fig. 3.* Illustration of the outcome of the response collection showing the histogram of results collected. During class the instructor answers along with the students. Software recognizes the instructor's remote and uses it as an answer key for the responses. After class, the instructor copies a file containing student responses and the corresponding ID numbers to his or her own computer. Using software provided by the vendor the instructor can assign point values for both correct and incorrect responses. I usually give the students 3 points for a correct response, 1 point for incorrect and zero if they don't register a response (indicating they did not come to class). The grades are then calculated by the software in a matter of seconds. Because the quizzes (two or three per class period) may comprise one-fourth of the entire course grade, the students are highly motivated to attend, participate, and read ahead. In fact, by administering several tests every day, the need for mid-term exams becomes less evident. By funding this proposal, I believe the Teaching Faculty Support Center (TFSC) is making a commitment to engaging our students in learning. To enable us to enjoy the benefits of H-ITT campus-wide, I would be more than willing to host a "how-to" seminar for other teachers. H-ITT can truly make the educational experience more rewarding for us. 1.5 How to use the H-ITT documentation ====================================== The H-ITT documentation contains instructions on how to install and utilize the H-ITT system. It comes in three forms: * HTML (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?doc_html) * PDF (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?doc_pdf) * plain text (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?doc_txt) The online documentation has a menu at the top and bottom of each page for browsing through the sections or obtaining a printer friendly view. Learn more about using the H-ITT online documentation (http://www.h-itt.com/doc/html/H-ITTManual_abt.html). 1.6 Persistent links (URLs) to the H-ITT Documentation ====================================================== As sections are added or moved in the online documentation the section numbers change and so do the URLs. H-ITT has created a link resolver engine that maintains persistent links or URLs to important sections. The Link resolver engine has the following syntax http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php? where is replaced by a link identifier. The following is a list of all the link identifiers and the sections that they refer to. If you would like to have a persistent link added please e-mail H-ITT. * doc_html (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?doc_html) HTML documentation URL: http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?doc_html * recent_changes (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?recent_changes) recent changes to the latest version of the software URL: http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?recent_changes * student_email (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?student_email) instructions for students registration e-mail messages URL: http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?student_email * copy_paste (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?copy_paste) Quick copy and paste instructions for students registration e-mail messages URL: http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?copy_paste * known_issues (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?known_issues) Known issues and work-arounds for current version of the software URL: http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?known_issues 2 Getting Started Quickly ************************* The H-ITT system is composed of two items: hardware and software. First, set up the hardware. Here's how: 2.1 Hardware ============ There are two pieces of hardware needed: base units and transmitters. 2.1.1 Base Units - Receivers: quick installation ------------------------------------------------ Base units collect the responses from the remotes and send them to the computer. 1. Driver Installation: * Windows: Make sure computer is connected to the Internet - driver will install automatically via windows update when base unit is connected. (see notes below for manual installation). * Mac: Download and install the driver from www.h-itt.com/download.html (http://www.h-itt.com/download.html) (see supplemental items). * Linux: Driver built into OS no need to install. 2. Unpack the receiver and connect the USB cable to base unit and the computer to complete the installation. 3. The red light on the front of the receiver should be on. *NOTES:* * Windows users should allow the driver to install by going through the driver installation wizard after the USB cable is plugged in. * Manual installation of drivers for all operating systems is possible. Please visit FTDI's web site at www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm) and download the VCP (virtual COM port) drivers. * For more detailed installation instructions visit www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?base_units (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?base_units) * Multiple base unit chains should follow these instructions www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?multiple_base_units (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?multiple_base_units) 2.1.2 Remote Transmitters / Clickers: quick installation -------------------------------------------------------- Students use the remotes to send responses to the receivers. 1. Unpack the remotes and remove the battery cover. 2. Write down the remote ID number that is on the printed circuit board (each remote has a unique number). 3. Install a single 9 volt battery in the remote. 4. Press each key and check that the red light lights up on the remote. 5. Press a key and aim at the receiver, the receiver light should blink. *NOTES:* * For more detailed installation instructions visit www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?transmitters (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?transmitters) 2.2 Software ============ There are two software programs: Acquisition and Analyzer. Both programs come in one free self installing distribution. 2.2.1 Download and Install -------------------------- 1. To get the software go to `www.H-ITT.com' and click on the DOWNLOAD (http://www.H-ITT.com/download.html) menu item. 2. Click on your the version of the software for your computers operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux) and save it to your desktop. 3. Double click on the downloaded file to begin installation. 4. Two new icons should now appear on the desktop: one for the Acquisition and one for the Analyzer. 2.2.2 Acquisition ----------------- The H-ITT Acquisition application is run in the classroom to collect the student responses. When first using the system, it is not necessary to know which student is using which transmitter (i.e. roster information). This information can be collected over the first few weeks of the semester and later used to associate students with their remote IDs to give them points. At this time, simply have the students answer the questions. 1. Double click on the H-ITT Acquisition icon to start the application. 2. *IMPORTANT:* Look at the section entitled *Base units and Port Settings* on the starting screen. Make sure the USB-to-serial port is listed and that the base unit type is correctly identified. If you have more than one base unit connected port and are not sure which one your receiver is connected to, simply set all to the same base unit type. To test fire a transmitter at the base unit and the remote ID number and key pressed will show up next to the base unit it was detected on. 3. Click on the "CREATE CLASS" link. Fill in your class name, your name, and your remote ID number in the instructor remote ID field. Creating a class will keep your settings and student responses separate from other classes or users. If you have an instructor remote and answer the questions along with your students it will educate the software about the correct answer. 4. Your class name should now appear near the top center of the screen. Click on the class name you entered to run the acquisition program for this class. Note, you need to make a different class name for each different class you will be teaching this particular semester. Once you click on your class name, the majority of the screen should appear black; this is the ready state for collecting data from the students. 5. Imagine writing a question on the chalkboard, then click the green button near the top of the screen to start the data collection process. Fire in some answers with your transmitters and notice the last three digits of your remote IDs appear on the screen. When the student sees their remote ID number on the screen, then they can feel confident their answer has been saved in the computer for grading purposes. Fire in the correct answer with the instructor remote or use the keyboard and notice your ID box has appeared just like the students. 6. Make sure everyone has gotten their answer into the computer and then click the red button near the top to stop the data collection and reveal the histogram. Here is the real power of the system. If 80% of your class is correct, then you can move on satisfied the students understand this material. However, if less than 50% were correct then you need to spend more time on this material. 7. Repeat asking questions and collecting responses as many times as desired. 8. When finished with your questions for this class period, click the blue left-pointing arrow near the top left of the screen to end the class session. The staring screen will reappear. Click the folder link next to the location of class files for your class to open a window to this folder. Minimize this folder for later use and exit the H-ITT Acquisition program. *NOTES:* * For more detailed installation instructions visit www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?acquisition (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?acquisition) 2.2.3 Analyzer -------------- The data collected by the H-ITT Acquisition program is stored in class files. A class file was automatically generated and saved when using the Acquisition program. These class files must be taken from the computer in the classroom to the computer in your office (if they are different computers). In the office the H-ITT Analyzer program processes and grades the class files. The student roster information will be utilized in conjunction with the H-ITT Analyzer program to determine the student's year-to-date grades, which can then be copied to excel. 1. Double click the H-ITT Analyzer program icon. 2. On the opening screen, click on the "Add A Class" link and browse to the same folder where your class files are saved (this in the folder we minimized a moment ago). Select this folder using the browse tool and click okay. Your class will now appear in the analyzer program. 3. Click on the class name that you just added in the list. A new screen will appear that displays a list of questions asked and their answers (i.e. the answer key). To change an answer click on the question number and a dialog box will appear that will allow you to change the answer or points etc. 4. To see a list of the total points for each remote (student), click on the Student Points tab near the top of the screen. Here you see a list of remote ID numbers used in the classroom and their year-to-date points. The default point allotment is: three points if the student's answer matches the instructors, one point if it does not, and zero if the student did not answer the question. This can be changed in the answer key view. 5. To see how the students names will be assigned to the remote ID numbers, let's run another program to build your roster file. Open a program like notepad on your computer. On the first line enter the following information "name,student ID,remote ID". Simply make up a fake name and a fake student ID number for this. However, you must enter the real remote ID number of the remotes you were using in the H-ITT Acquisition program above (all six digits). Repeat for all the remote IDs that you have. Save this file in the same folder where your class files are located and name this file roster.csv, and exit the notepad program. 6. Return to the analyzer program Select `Roster -> Load roster' from the menu. Select the proper roster format. Then use the file browser window to select the roster file and click ok. 7. Next, click on the sheet of paper icon again, but this time click on the tab labeled student points. Check the boxes next to show student name and show student ID and click okay. Now you can see the student's names and their YTD points. 8. To copy points to the clipboard click on the clipboard icon in the toolbar, then click paste in your favorite spreadsheet program. *NOTES:* * For more detailed installation instructions visit www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?analyzer (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?analyzer) 3 Base Units (Receivers) ************************ The base units collect signals from the student remote units (clickers or keypads) and send them to a computer. In addition, the base units send information to the remote units such as acknowledging the reception of a transmission. A single base unit only needs to be connected to the USB port of a computer. The USB port provides the power and the data connectivity for proper operation of a single base unit. A single base unit can receive transmissions from an unlimited number of remotes. However, H-ITT recommends 1 base unit per 50 seats to achieve optimum speed. This is because the transmission (or response) time of each remote is about 10 ms and if two transmissions arrive at the base unit at the same time, both are rejected and neither gets recorded. To help reduce the traffic at each base unit when a remotes response has been successfully recorded the green light comes on and during this time (about 2 sec) the remote cannot transmit another response. This "smart-link" feature gives priority to students responses that have not been recorded and enhances response collection time under heavy traffic conditions. For example, if multiple students are answering at the same exact time by repeatedly pressing the button, the receiver will disable the remotes of only those students who have gotten in for 2 seconds. This allows more opportunities for the other students, since their remote will not be disabled and they can continue to repeatedly press a button. To extend the range and increase the speed of the system, multiple base units can be daisy chained together using standard 8-conductor (Cat 5 or better) network cabling. Separate RJ-45 jacks labeled in and out exist on the base unit for this purpose. The USB port can only be utilized for connecting to the computer and cannot be utilized for daisy chaining the base units together. The use of multiple base units spread out throughout the lecture hall allows for more responses to be recorded simultaneously. A daisy chain must be powered by a separate 1000 mA 9 VDC power supply. The USB port does not provide sufficient power for 2 or more base units. H-ITT recommends a maximum of only 5 base units per chain. H-ITT distributes the necessary cabling, power supplies, adaptors, and mounting hardware to connect and install the base units. This rest of this chapter describes how to install and utilize the H-ITT base units. 3.1 How to order base units =========================== To order base units the number of seats in the lecture hall is needed. Then follow this guide: * 1 Base Unit (Part #2100) for every 50 seats in room. * 1 USB cable (Part #2002) for first base unit. * 1 50 foot cable (Part #2008) for second base unit. * 1 25 Foot cable (Part #2004) for each additional base unit (3 to 5). * 1 AC adaptor (Part #2003) for systems with 2 to 5 base units. * Start second chain (using the above procedure) for classes needing more than 5 base units (250 seats). 3.2 Base unit description and box contents ========================================== The base units come packaged in a box with the following parts: * Base unit * Wall mounting hardware - ball-and-swivel mount * Two (2) 3/16" by 1-1/4" wood/masonry screws * 2" strip of Velcro * Instruction sheet The approximate dimensions (l w h) of the base units are 5.5 in. by 3.5 in. by 1 in. The front of the unit is shown in the picture below. The power and data connections (USB for computer) and 8-conductor RJ45 (Cat 5) for daisy chaining to other base units are on the bottom of the unit as displayed below. They have a 1/4-20 tapped hole on the back for the mounting hardware to attach. The back of the unit is displayed below. The H-ITT base unit comes with ball-and-swivel wall mounting hardware and screws that allows the units to be directed in any direction once mounted on the wall (see picture below). See below for wall mounting instructions. *NOTES:* * Windows users should allow the driver to install by going through the driver installation wizard after the USB cable is plugged in. * Manual installation of drivers for all operating systems is possible. Please visit FTDI's web site at www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm) and download the VCP (virtual COM port) drivers. * Some operating system require the user to have administrator privileges to install device drivers. If the device driver installation is failing check your user privileges and/or contact your IT department. * The USB port can only be utilized for connecting to the computer and cannot be utilized for daisy chaining the base units together. 3.2.1 Connecting USB base unit to the COM/Serial port ----------------------------------------------------- The USB base unit can also be connected to the COM port in an identical manner that the old non-USB base units were. In this connection scheme a Cat5 cable, COM port adaptor, and power supply are needed. To connect a single base unit to the COM port of the computer do the following. See picture below for more details. 1. Plug the 9 volt power supply into the base unit and the AC side into the wall outlet. 2. Plug one end of your CAT 5 cable into the jack labeled *OUT* and the other end into the black COM port adapter. 3. Plug the COM port adapter into your computer's COM port or USB to COM adaptor. *NOTES:* * The base unit will not be powered by the computer when connected to the COM port which maybe desirable if the base unit needs to be turned off but the computer does not. * There is no speed difference between connecting to the COM port or USB port. * The COM port adaptor can also be connected to a USB-to-COM adaptor if desired. 3.3 How to connect multiple base units to the computer ====================================================== To connect multiple base units to the computer do the following. See picture below for more details. 1. Driver Installation: * Windows: Make sure computer is connected to the Internet - driver will install automatically via windows update when base unit is connected. (see notes below for manual installation). * Mac: Download and install the driver from www.h-itt.com/download.html (http://www.h-itt.com/download.html) (see supplemental items). * Linux: Driver built into OS no need to install. 2. Remove the base units from their boxes. 3. Unpack the the USB cable and Cat 5 cables purchased separately. 4. Start with the last base unit in the chain and connect the Cat 5 cable to its *out* port. 5. Connect the other end of the Cat 5 cable to the next receiver's *in* port. 6. Repeat previous two steps for as many base units as you have stopping when you have connected five base units. 7. Connect the power supply to one of the base units (whichever is most convenient). All the red lights should come on. 8. Test the base unit by pressing a button on a remote and seeing if the base unit's light blinks and the light on the remote turns green. 9. Connect the first base unit to the computer with the USB cable. *NOTES:* * Power as well as data will be supplied through the CAT5 cabling. The power supply can be plugged into any base unit in the chain. * Windows users should allow the driver to install by going through the driver installation wizard after the USB cable is plugged in. * Manual installation of drivers for all operating systems is possible. Please visit FTDI's web site at www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm) and download the VCP (virtual COM port) drivers. * Provide 1 base unit for every 50 seats in the classroom or auditorium. * Provide 1 power supply for every 5 base units. * Limit the number of base units per USB port to 5. * The first USB base unit will get power from the USB port. The other USB base units in the chain will get power from the AC adapter through the CAT5 cables. The chain should first be powered by plugging in the AC adapter followed by plugging in the USB cable. To reset the entire system first unplug the USB cable then unplug the AC adapter(s). Wait two minutes and then plug in the AC adapter(s) and then plug in the USB cable. See below for details on disabling USB power to the first base unit. * Some operating system require the user to have administrator privileges to install device drivers. If the device driver installation is failing check your user privileges and/or contact your IT department. * The USB port can only be utilized for connecting to the computer and cannot be utilized for daisy chaining the base units together. Each base unit can record responses from an unlimited number of remotes. The need for multiple base units arises from the fact that a single base unit can only detect one signal at a time. The remote's signal transmission is about 10 ms. If two responses overlap in time at the base unit both are rejected and neither gets recorded. To help reduce the traffic at each base unit when a remotes response has been successfully recorded the green light comes on and during this time (about 2 sec) the remote cannot transmit another response. This "smart-link" feature gives priority to students responses that have not been recorded and enhances response collection time under heavy traffic conditions. Another way to increase the speed is by adding more base units, which gives audience members more locations for their response to get recorded. Essentially, multiple base units allows for the collection of simultaneous responses from different audience members. In a multiple base unit daisy chain H-ITT recommends keeping the base units as far apart as possible 20 feet or greater. If the base units are so close together that they both blink when a remote is fired at either one then effectively these two base units are operating as one, which will not improve the speed. See next section for base unit mounting and room installation instructions. 3.3.1 Turning off USB power to the first base unit -------------------------------------------------- The base unit connected to the USB port will always remain on in a multi unit chain even if the power supply is disconnected. If the power supply is reconnected then the chain may not work. To fix this problem simply unplug then USB cable and disconnect the power supply. Then wait 2 minutes and reconnect the power supply first then plug back in the USB cable. There are two options to permanently configure the USB base unit so it does *not* get power from the USB port. This will allow the entire chain to be turned off by disconnecting the power adaptor, which may be desirable over long breaks or every night. 1. Connect the USB base unit to the COM/Serial port of the computer, or USB-to-adaptor as described above instead of a direct connection to the USB port. 2. H-ITT can supply you with a modified USB base unit that does not get power from the USB port, but that can still connect to the USB port in the conventional way. Contact H-ITT for more details or specify this at your time of order. 3.3.2 Putting more than five base units in a chain -------------------------------------------------- It is possible to put more than five base units on a single chain. However, H-ITT recommends when doing so to stop the power from going from the fifth base unit in the chain to the base units six through ten and power them with an additional power supply. Each additional base unit that is added to the chain will draw more current through the base unit with the power supply. Too much current going through the base unit over long periods of time can shorten its life span. To be safe and preserve the longevity of the system H-ITT recommends a separate power supply for every five units and the power of each bank of five units to be isolated from one another. The power is carried in the Cat-5 cable on pin 1. To stop power flowing from one base unit to another construct a cable or cable adaptor that does not connect pin 1 of the two base units. The figure below shows pin 1 for a Cat5 (RJ45) cable connector. 3.3.3 Pin outs for Cat5 Cables ------------------------------ This is a list of the pins (or wires) that are utilized in the Cat5 cable. Note that other wires or pins are utilized as well so there should always be 8 conductor cable going between the base units. * pin 1 is power. * pin 4 is ground. * pin 5 is data to the PC from the base unit. * pin 6 is data to base unit from the PC. 3.3.4 Cable Length ------------------ The USB base units transmit data at standard serial speeds (19.2 Kbps) over the USB cable. This means that cables that exceed the maximum USB cable length recommendation of 16.5 feet (5 meters) can be utilized. Several vendors offer USB A-B cables up to 25 feet. Visit H-ITT's supplemental hardware page (http://www.H-ITT.com/additional_hardware.html) for links to such vendors. Some vendors also offer a USB to CAT-5 convertor that allows USB runs to be extended up to 150 Feet. These have been tested and work with the H-ITT base units, and can be useful for USB runs over 25 feet. The Cat5 cable length used to connect the base units can be much longer. We have had users successfully have runs up to 500 feet. 3.4 How to connect non USB base units to the computer ===================================================== The non USB base units need to be connected to a 9 pin serial port or a USB port using a separately purchase USB-to-COM adaptor. Visit H-ITT's supplemental hardware page (http://www.H-ITT.com/additional_hardware.html) for where to purchase USB to COM adaptors. 3.4.1 Connecting a single non-USB base unit to the computer ----------------------------------------------------------- To connect the non USB base units do the following: 1. Plug the 9 volt power supply into the base unit and the AC side into the wall outlet. 2. Plug one end of your CAT 5 cable into the jack labeled *OUT* and the other end into the black COM port adapter. 3. Plug the COM port adapter into your computer's COM port or USB to COM adaptor. Connect the Cat 5 patch cord to the COM port adaptor prior to connecting to your computer as seen below. 3.4.2 Connecting multiple non USB base units to the computer ------------------------------------------------------------ To set up multiple base units, connect the first base unit as instructed above. After the first base unit is connected, take another CAT5 cable and plug one end of the CAT5 cable into the *OUT* port of your second receiver, and connect the other end of the CAT5 cable into the *IN* port of the first base unit (i.e., the base unit that is connected to the computer). See picture below for more information. Power as well as data will be supplied through the CAT5 cabling. Therefore there is no need to add another power supply to the second receiver. The power supply can be plugged into either receiver. Repeat these steps to add more base units Keep these items in mind when connecting multiple base units: 1. Provide 1 base unit for every 50 seats in the classroom or auditorium. 2. Provide 1 power supply for every 5 base units. 3. Limit the number of base units per COM port to 5. 4. The power and placement instructions for the USB base units also apply to the non USB base units. 3.5 How to mount or install base units ====================================== There are several mounting strategies depending upon your room size and type of use. Careful mounting and placement of base units can help improve the overall speed of the system. 3.5.1 Single base unit for mobile use ------------------------------------- A great way to mount a single base unit for mobile use is to Velcro it to the top of your notebook computer. Take the Velcro strips that come with the base units and affix a piece to the back of the base unit and another piece to the top of your notebook (the part that faces the audience when you have it open). Affix the base unit with the Velcro during class and remove after class is over. 3.5.2 Wall mounting base unit for permanent installation -------------------------------------------------------- The H-ITT base unit comes with ball-and-swivel wall mounting hardware that allows the units to be directed in any direction once mounted on the wall. Use the two concrete screws to mount the bracket to the wall: 1. Drill two holes in the wall using a 5/32" drill bit approximately 2 and 3/4 inches apart. 2. Use a screw driver and the supplied screws to affix the mounting bracket to the wall. 3. Screw in the threaded rod of the mounting hardware to the threaded insert on the back of the base unit. 4. Use the ball and swivel mount to angle the base unit to point to the audience. The base unit should point toward the students and be up high enough that all the students in the classroom have a line-of-sight access. The threaded insert is has a 1/4-20 thread which is the standard used for mounting cameras and therefore any camera mounting hardware will also work. 3.5.3 Multiple base units for large lecture halls ------------------------------------------------- Before installing base units in a large lecture hall determine the number of base units needed based on the number of seats (1 RX per 50 seats). Measure the size of the room (width and depth) and plan to place the base units a minimum of 20 feet apart. Keeping the base units far apart lessens the likely hood that one remote transmission can get picked up by two base units. In other words, when firing a transmitter at one receiver, the adjacent base units should not receive the signal. This can be tested rather easily since the base units blink when a transmission is recorded. In addition, your remote's green light will turn on if your transmission was successfully received by the base unit. Keep in mind that each student should have access to two or three base units by aiming at different directions. These can be in front, to the side, above, or even behind the student. Normally, we *do not* recommend mounting them on the front wall in very large classes since all the students will attempt to aim at these even the ones way in the back. They are best mounted on the side or above or even behind them. 3.5.4 Improving speed of response collection time ------------------------------------------------- Doing a good job wiring your room will pay off in a higher-speed system. In a recent test responses from 200 students were recorded in under 10 seconds in a lecture hall with 10 base units connected to one COM port. This is displayed below in the response-time histogram. The students were told to get in as quick as possible. Notice the initial rate was 100 students in 3 seconds. The fall off is attributed to decrease in the population of students responding not any overloading of the system. There is no reason why the initial rate of 100 students in 3 seconds cannot be sustained for even larger classes. The ultimate limit is 200 responses in one second per USB port. The data packet sent by the remote consists of 10 bytes. The base-unit to base-unit link runs at a speed of 19.2 KBps, or about 5 ms per response. In the air the IR link response time of the remote is about 10 ms. Thus each base unit can record 100 responses in 1 second, half the rate of the port. In very large lecture halls with over several hundred students it can pay off to use multiple USB ports. We recommend one USB port per five base units. 3.5.5 Wall mounting old style base units ---------------------------------------- The H-ITT base unit comes with wall mounting hardware. Use the two concrete screws to mount the bracket to the wall in a horizontal position, using two adjacent screw holes at one end of the bracket. Next, bend the mounting bracket at its halfway point so it sticks out from the wall. Mount the base unit to the bracket using the quarter-twenty screw as depicted below. Angle the base unit left and right by bending the bracket more or less away from the wall, then angle the base unit up and down by twisting the base unit about its quarter-twenty mounting screw before tightening. The base unit should point toward the students and be up high enough that all the students in the classroom have a line-of-sight access. 3.6 Testing a base unit installation ==================================== Here are a couple of tests to perform on an installed set of base units to ensure proper operation. 1. Check that the red LED is on for each receiver. If it is not then that base unit is not getting power and will not work. One power supply for each set of 5 base units should be installed. 2. Fire a remote at each base unit and check to see if the red LED on the base unit blinks. Each base unit will blink when a response is successfully recorded. If it doesn't then it is probably not getting enough power. One power supply for each set of 5 base units should be installed. 3. Run the acquisition program. On the front page on the list of ports the program will display remote ID number and key pressed for each response that has been detected on each USB or COM port. Be sure to test only one base unit at a time, making sure that the response is not picked up by any adjacent base units. If no responses are recorded by the Acquisition program then either the proper port or base unit type was not selected on the start up screen or something is wrong with the cabling. If some but not all base units record a response on the screen then the base units maybe improperly connected. Check that the out port goes to the next downstream base unit's in port. 3.7 How to set up USB to COM port adaptors ========================================== USB to COM port adaptors are third party hardware. These adaptors are only necessary if you are using the old non-USB base units and computer does not have a COM port, or is a Mac. H-ITT does not manufacture these items. All USB to COM adaptors require a software driver to be installed for your operating system. *H-ITT does not supply the software driver for these items.* Be sure that the USB to COM adaptor you purchase supports your operating system. For H-ITT recommended USB to COM adaptors see H-ITT's supplemental hardware page (http://www.H-ITT.com/additional_hardware.html). Please consult the documentation that came with your adaptor for installation instructions. If the driver is properly installed it will appear as a "USB-to-SERIAL" adaptor on the Acquisition's list of COM ports. If it does not say "USB-to-SERIAL" adaptor then the driver was improperly installed. The windows version of the Acquisition program can auto detect USB to COM adaptors that are plugged in after the program is started while on the opening page. After plugging in the device wait a few seconds for it to appear in the list of ports. 3.8 Determining the base unit type ================================== H-ITT only distributes the two-way USB base units. However H-ITT has manufactured four (4) different base unit types. The newer base units cannot detect signals from the older low speed transmitters. To determine the base unit type and the type of transmitters they will work with look at the artwork on the front of the base unit and consult the sections below. *Notes:* * The H-ITT Acquisition software can connect to any type of H-ITT base unit. * Low speed and high speed (or two-way) base units *cannot* be daisy chained together and connected to the same port. See base unit description for daisy chaining compatibility. * Different base unit types can be mixed within a room. * Each type of base unit can only communicate with certain types of transmitters. See descriptions below for more details. * See *Note transmitter types: transmitter_types. for more information on the different types of transmitters. 3.8.1 USB base unit ------------------- The two-way smart-link USB base units are the only type of base unit H-ITT currently distributes. They have the following properties: * The word two-way on the front (see picture below). * A picture of the H-ITT logo (see picture below). * Two circles (see picture below). * A USB port, 2 cat 5 (RJ45) ports and a power port. * Receive and send information to the 13-button 2 way transmitters (see picture below). * Receive information from the 6 button dual speed transmitters. * Will *not* receive information from the 6 button low speed transmitters. * *Base Units and Port Settings:* must say *Two Way and/or HIGH speed* for the port these units are connected to. * Can be daisy chained with non-USB two-way and high speed one-way units. * Cannot be daisy chained with low-speed units. 6 button high speed (aiming end displayed below): 3.8.2 Two-Way Smart-Link ------------------------ The two-way smart-link base units have the following properties: * The word two-way on the front (see picture below). * A picture of the H-ITT logo (see picture below). * Two circles (see picture below). * 2 cat 5 (RJ45) ports and a power port. * Receive and send information to the 13-button 2 way transmitters (see picture below). * Receive information from the 6 button dual speed transmitters. * Will *not* receive information from the 6 button low speed transmitters. * *Base Units and Port Settings:* must say *Two Way and/or HIGH speed* for the port these units are connected to. * Can be daisy chained with USB two-way and high speed one-way units. * Cannot be daisy chained with low-speed units. *Works with these transmitters:* 13 button 2 way, (aiming end displayed below): 6 button high speed, (aiming end displayed below): 3.8.3 High Speed ---------------- The high speed base units have the following properties: * A picture of the old H-ITT logo (see picture below). * One circle (see picture below). * 2 cat 5 (RJ45) ports and a power port. * Receive information from the 13-button 2 way transmitters. However two-way functionality is not possible with these base units. (see picture below). * Receive information from the 6 button dual speed transmitters. * Will *not* receive information from the 6 button low speed transmitters. * *Base Units and Port Settings:* must say *Two Way and/or HIGH speed* for the port these units are connected to. * Can be daisy chained with USB two-way and non-USB two-way units. * Cannot be daisy chained with low-speed units. *Works with these transmitters:* 13 button two way in high-speed one-way mode only, (aiming end displayed below): 6 button high speed, (aiming end displayed below): 3.8.4 Low Speed --------------- The low speed base units have the following properties: * A picture of a histogram on the front (see picture below). * One circle (see picture below). * 2 cat 5 (RJ45) ports and a power port. * Receive information from the 13-button 2 way transmitters. However 2 way functionality is not possible with these base units. (see picture below). * Receive information from the 6 button dual speed transmitters. * Receive information from the 6 button low speed transmitters. * *Base Units and Port Settings:* must say *LOW speed* for the port these units are connected to. * Cannot be daisy chained with USB two-way, non-USB two-way, or one-way high-speed units. *Works with these transmitters:* 13 button 2 way, in low-speed one-way mode only, (aiming end displayed below): 6 button high speed, in low-speed mode only, (aiming end displayed below): 6 button low speed, (aiming end displayed below): 3.9 How to add more COM or USB ports to your computer. ====================================================== If your computer does not have a free USB port or COM port you need to add more. There are several options for adding more ports. * Purchase a USB hub that can turn a single USB port into either four or seven. * Purchase a USB-to-COM adaptor and turn one of your USB ports into a COM port. These items can turn one USB port into 1, 2, 4, or even 8 COM ports. COM ports are only needed for old-style base units. * Purchase and install an internal PCI USB port expansion board. * Purchase and install an internal PCI COM port expansion board. 4 Remote Units (Transmitters/Clickers) ************************************** This section describes how to set up and use the H-ITT remote units. The H-ITT remote units are battery operated (9V) and used in class to respond to the instructors questions. The remotes transmit their unique ID number and key using infra-red light that is collected with the base units. The remote units can also receive information from the base units to confirm their answer has been successfully recorded. The response time of the remotes is about 10 ms. This means that it takes only 10 ms from the time the key is pressed until the time it is recorded by the base unit. Once the response has been successfully recorded the green light on the remote will come on for about 2 seconds. During this time the remote will not be able to send another transmission. This gives priority to students who have not had their responses recorded yet. If two responses arrive at the base unit within the same 10 ms then neither will get recorded and both students will have to respond again. 4.1 How to set up remotes ========================= Remove the transmitter from the box, open the battery compartment, write down you unique transmitter identification number printed on the circuit board (the part of transmitter identification number recognized by our software is purely numerical, so ignore all the leading letters and zeros). Insert one 9V battery with the smaller terminal in the smaller slot. Replace the battery cover. Press each button on the remote in sequence and make sure the red light comes on with each press. If a base unit is within range the base unit light will blink with each key press indicating that a transmission is sent. Also, the remote's green light with turn on, indicating your answer is in the system. If the H-ITT Acquisition program is running and on the starting page with the list of ports and base units. The remote ID number and key pressed is displayed next to each port that it was detected on. If the H-ITT acquisition program is running and a question has been started, then a box will appear on the black screen with the last 3 digits of the remote ID number when the key is pressed. Each time a different key is pressed a number next to the RID number will change. In other words, pressing the same key over and over again will have no effect on the software even though the red light on the remote and base unit blink and the green light on the remote comes on. This feature can be used to check the response that has been recorded. 4.2 How to answer a question ============================ To answer a question, aim the remote at one of the base units (not the screen) and press the button of your choice. You should notice the red LED light up on the remote for as long as you hold the button down. If your response was collected by the system the light on your remote will turn green. If you need further confirmation ask your instructor if your response has been recorded. The software running on his computer will indicate to him which remote IDs have been successfully collected. Notice too that there is no need to turn the remote on, similar to your TV remote control. Simply pressing any button will turn it on and send a transmission. Only one transmission is sent for every key press so holding your button down for a long time will not have any effect. A box will appear on the screen showing a portion of your remote id number (or your screen name if your instructor is using that feature). The background of the box is color coded based on the last digit of your remote id number. There are 10 at least different background colors possible as shown below. Once you find you position on the screen it will stay there for the entire semester. If you decide to change your answer a number will appear next to your remote id number (or screen name). This number indicates how many times you have changed your answer. Notice the boxes below showing a number with a black background indicated that these students changed their answer. The number will not change if you press the same answer. Your instructor can limit the number of times you can make changes to your answer. The default in the software is three (3). 4.3 How to answer a question in testing mode ============================================ The >> button is used for testing mode where you work at your own pace on individual questions. This button increments the question number you are on. When taking a test, the first key you should press is the >> button. Your box will appear in the same position that it normally does. However, you will notice a number in yellow followed by a number in white, both with a black background. The yellow number indicates the question you are answering and the white number indicates the number of times you have answered it. For a three question test, pressing >> repeatedly will cycle you through all the questions. Pressing the >> key on the last question will return you to the first question. Pressing the << key will take you back to the previous question. To answer the question indicated by the yellow number simply press one of the A-E buttons. If you answered question 1 once the ID box will appear. By cycling through the questions with the * button and answering them with A-E you can complete your test. To answer a three question test with the following answers 1.) A 2.) B 3.) C you would press the following key sequence: >>, A, >>, B, >>, C The picture below shows how the boxes change as the buttons are pressed. Notice at the end of the test pressing the *-key returns the student to the first question. You can always go back and change your answers by pressing the >> button. For example, to determine if you have answered every question on a three question test, simply cycle through all the question with the >> button. Another way to answer questions in testing mode is where the question number is automatically incremented once a valid response has been collected. Your instructor will inform you which mode you are using. In this mode there is no need to press the >> key to increment the question number each time. However the audience members will need to first press the >> key to sign on as usual and they can use the >> key to cycle through the question numbers as well. For example to answer the three question test with the following answers 1.) A 2.) B 3.) C, the audience member would press the following key sequence: >>, A, B, C 4.4 Registering your remote with your instructor ================================================ Your remote has a unique ID number. Registration of the remote is only necessary so your instructor can tell what your responses are. This is important only if the instructor is basing part of your grade on your in class responses. The remotes do not need to be registered for you to respond to questions in class. Prior to registering your remote check with your instructor on the method he is using. The following two sections described how to register your remote with H-ITT's e-mail tool. 4.4.1 E-mail: How register your Remote ID number using e-mail ------------------------------------------------------------- To register your remote in the class you should e-mail your instructor the following information in the following format. ----------------- Message Subject ---------- H-ITT:Register ----------------- Message Body ------------- Name: your name StudentID: your Student ID number RemoteID: your Remote ID number ScreenName: your chosen screen name (e.g. initials) Quick copy and paste instructions on how to form your e-mail message (http://www.h-itt.com/link_resolver.php?copy_paste). The order of the lines does not matter. There can be only one command per line. The spaces before and after the : are ignored. Replace everything after the : with the appropriate information. Don't forget the subject line. For example, if your name is Jane Doe, your student ID is 123-45-6789, your remote ID is 51234, then your e-mail message should look like this: ----------------- Message Subject ---------- H-ITT:Register ----------------- Message Body ------------- Name: Jane Doe StudentID: 123456789 RemoteID: 51234 ScreenName: JD For example: *Screen Names:* A screen name is a name that appears in your box in place of you remote ID number. This allows you to customize the appearance of your box making it easier to tell if your response has been collected. The background color of your box will not change; it will still be based on the last digit of your remote ID number. You can use any character to compose your screen name and the software will allow people to have the same screen name. For example: ABC, jim, Sue, ^&*, _-_, ;-), 345 are all valid screen names. A good choice for your screen name is your 3 letter initials. The software can display up to 9 characters in the box but the default setting is 3 and as you display more characters the size gets smaller. Therefore, we recommend you limit your screen name to 3 characters. You can choose your screen name using in the e-mail message as described above. If you find that you have the same initials as someone else in your class you can change your screen name by simply resending the e-mail with a new screen name. *WebCTID:* If you are using WebCT you will want to include your WebCT ID in the email as well. The command is: WebCTID: For example, if your name is Jane Doe, your student ID is 123-45-6789, your remote ID is 51234, and your WebCT ID is jd1234 then your e-mail message should look like this: ----------------- Message Subject ---------- H-ITT:Register ----------------- Message Body ------------- Name: Jane Doe StudentID: 123456789 RemoteID: 51234 ScreenName: JD ClassID: A WebCTID: jd1234 *ClassID:* Your instructor may inform you to include a Class ID in your e-mail. The class ID is used when your instructor is teaching multiple sections and used to identify which class or section you are in. If your instructor is using the class ID, they will inform you what it is. It should be a 1 or 2 character ID such as "A" or "C1", "C2" etc. If it is too long tell him/her to shorten it to 1 to 2 characters to avoid spelling errors. To include the class ID in your e-mail include the following line: ClassID: instructor provided identifier For example, if your name is Jane Doe, your student ID is 123-45-6789, your remote ID is 51234, and your instructor told you that your class ID is A, then your e-mail message should look like this: ----------------- Message Subject ---------- H-ITT:Register ----------------- Message Body ------------- Name: Jane Doe StudentID: 123456789 RemoteID: 51234 ScreenName: JD ClassID: A *If your instructor is NOT using the class ID, DO NOT INCLUDE IT IN YOUR E-MAIL MESSAGE. Doing so will cause your information not to be registered.* *Confirmation/Error e-mail message* If your registration e-mail is successfully recorded you will receive a reply e-mail message. If any errors were detected in your e-mail message, the entire registration message will be ignored. Depending upon the type of error, you may receive a reply e-mail message explaining the error. However, the following two types of errors will result NO reply e-mail message being sent to you: 1. Incorrect subject line (should be h-itt:register). 2. Incorrect ClassID: or using ClassID: when your instructor told you not to. If you haven't received either and error or confirmation reply message when your instructor informs you that all e-mail messages have been processed, it had one of the two errors mentioned. Don't worry if you have errors, simply fix them and resend the e-mail to your instructor. *Updating your information (sending a second e-mail message)* Once your registration e-mail has been successfully recorded, you can update or change your information by sending another e-mail message with the new information in it. This is handy if you lost your remote mid-semester and had to replace it. Compose the new message as described above and send it to your instructor. All the information will be updated with the information contained in the new e-mail message. The only important thing to remember is to make sure your student ID is the same in both your original message and your updated message. The software uses your student ID to uniquely identify your information such as: remote ID, name, e-mail, etc. *Common mistakes and things to keep in mind* When composing your e-mail message remember to to spell everything correctly especially the commands (the words before the colons ":"). In addition, your instructor (or any other human being) is NOT reading these e-mails. Our software program is downloading the messages and automagically picking out the information. We have made the e-mail reader as forgiving as possible, but keep these things in mind when composing your message: * Your instructor is not reading these e-mails. The H-ITT software is. * Only put one command on a line. * Try to send your message as plain text not HTML. * Each command must have the colon `:'. Not having the `:' will cause the line to be ignored. * The order of the lines does not matter. `StudentID:' can come before or after `Name:' or any where else in the e-mail message. * The commands are not case sensitive. `NAME:', `NAMe:', `name:', or `Name:' are all fine. * The space before and after the `:' is ignored. * The information can be corrected or updated at any time by sending another e-mail. * The software uses the student ID number as a unique identifier to update its information. At a minimum all e-mails must contain `studentid:'. If not they will be rejected. * To simplify and reduce the errors, the following abbreviations can be used for the commands: RemoteID RID ClassID CID StudentID SID ScreenName ScreenID WebCTID WebCT The registration e-mail shown above can been written: ----------------- Message Subject ---------- H-ITT:Register ----------------- Message Body ------------- RID: 51234 sid: 123456789 Name: Jane Doe ScreenID: JD CID: A Note that the change in order and case will work fine. 4.4.2 Registration E-mail: Create with Copy and Paste. ------------------------------------------------------ Here are copy and paste instructions for creating your registration emails. For all email messages select, copy, and past the following line into the subject line of your e-mail message. H-ITT:Register Select, copy, and paste the following into your message body and fill in the appropriate information on each line after the colon. RemoteID: StudentID: ScreenName: If your instructor told you to include your WebCT ID, select, copy, and paste the following into your message body and fill in the appropriate information on each line after the colon. RemoteID: StudentID: ScreenName: WebCTID: If your instructor told you to use a specific class ID, select, copy, and paste the following into your message body and fill in the appropriate information on each line after the colon. RemoteID: StudentID: ScreenName: ClassID: If your instructor told you to use a specific class ID and your Web CT ID, select, copy, and paste the following into your message body and fill in the appropriate information on each line after the colon. RemoteID: StudentID: ScreenName: ClassID: WebCTID: 4.5 Determining the transmitter type ==================================== H-ITT only distributes the 13 button two-way transmitters. However, H-ITT has manufactured three (3) different types of transmitters. The newer transmitters are backward compatible with the old base units. However, old transmitters may not function with all types of base units. To determine the transmitter type and the type of base unit it will work with do the following: 1. Count the number of buttons. 2. Count the number of glass bulbs protruding out of the aiming end. 3. Determine the transmitter ID number underneath the battery. 4. See descriptions below of the three transmitter types to determine its type and the type of base units it will work with. *Notes:* * The two-way high speed 13 button transmitters are the only transmitters H-ITT currently distributes. * Old low speed transmitters will *NOT* work with new base units (See below for more information). * Newer transmitters are always backward compatible with old base units (see below for more details). * * See *Note base unit types: base_unit_types. for more information on the different types of base units. 4.5.1 two-way smart-link 13 button ---------------------------------- The two-way smart link transmitters are the only transmitters H-ITT currently distributes. They have the following properties: * 13 buttons (see picture). * Require a 9-volt battery. * Come in orange, green, and yellow. * The word two-way is printed underneath the battery (see picture). * They have three (3) bulbs protruding out of the aiming end (see picture below). * They have transmitter ID numbers greater than or equal to 160,000. * *These transmitters work with all of H-ITT's base units.* However, two-way functionality is ony possible with two-way base units. The front of the transmitter: The back of the transmitter with the battery cover off: The aiming end of the transmitter: 4.5.2 Dual (high and low) speed 6 button ---------------------------------------- The dual (high and low) speed transmitters are not distributed by H-ITT anymore. They have the following properties. * 6 buttons (see picture below). * Require 2-AAA batteries. * Come in orange, green, and yellow. * They have two (2) bulbs protruding out of the aiming end (see picture below). * *These transmitters work with all of H-ITT's base units.* However, two-way functionality is NOT possible with two-way base units even though a response will still register. * They have transmitter ID numbers from 85,000 to 159,999. The front of the transmitter: The back of the transmitter with the battery cover off: The aiming end of the transmitter: 4.5.3 Low-speed 6 button ------------------------ The low speed transmitters are not distributed by H-ITT anymore. They have the following properties. * 6 buttons (see picture) * Require 2-AAA batteries. * Come in orange, green, and yellow. * They have one (1) bulb protruding out of the aiming end (see picture below). * *They only work with low speed base units.* * *They will NOT work with high speed base units.* * *They will NOT work with two-way base units.* * They have transmitter ID numbers less than 85,000. The front of the transmitter: The back of the transmitter with the battery cover off: The aiming end of the transmitter: 5 H-ITT Software **************** The H-ITT software programs are free and come in one easy to download self installing archive and consists of two programs; the Acquisition and the Analyzer. The *Acquisition* program is run while the students are present to acquire responses and display histograms of the responses to the instructor. It also saves the responses to a file for grading later with the Analyzer. The *Analyzer* program grades the class created by the acquisition program and copies and pastes the grades into any spreadsheet or grade book program. H-ITT also offers a software development kit for people interested in writing their own software. This chapter describes how to install and utilize all the H-ITT software applications. 5.1 How to download software ============================ To get the free H-ITT software onto your computer, it must be downloaded off our website. Visit www.h-itt.com/download.html (http://www.h-itt.com/download.html). Choose the download link for your operating system and click on it. Save the file to your desktop. The software comes packed in three different formats of different sizes for each operating system. All three formats contain exactly the same version and content. They are simply compressed in different ways for faster downloading. The best version to download is the smallest one, if your computer can't open this file after downloading, then get the next larger version and repeat. 5.2 How to install or upgrade the software ========================================== Installation is straightforward and automated. It depends upon what operating system you are using. See one of the following sections for instructions for your operating system. 5.2.1 Windows installation instructions --------------------------------------- Once the file, (e.g. `H-ITT_windows_x.y.z.msi'), is on your desktop double click on it. A software installation wizard performs the installation. Accept all the default requests until it is finished. Once complete, two icons will appear on your desktop, H-ITT Acquisition, and H-ITT Analyzer. If you are upgrading over an old version follow the same instructions as above. Your settings and class file will be preserved. 5.2.2 Mac OSX installation instructions --------------------------------------- Once the file, (e.g. `H-ITT_macosx_x.y.z.zip'), is on your desktop double click on it. A folder will open containing the two applications. Drag both applications to a location of your choosing. If you are upgrading over an old version follow the same instructions as above and overwrite your existing applications with the new ones. Your settings and class file will be preserved. 5.2.3 Linux installation instructions ------------------------------------- Once the file, (e.g. `H-ITT_linux_x.y.z.zip'), is on your computer open the command prompt and change to the directory where `H-ITT_linux_x.y.z.zip' resides. Uncompress the archive and change into the directory H-ITT_linux_x.y.z. Login as root by typing `su root' and entering the root password. Run the install.sh script by typing `./install.sh'. Follow the instructions in the install script. The install script asks for the location of the H-ITT applications. The default location is `/usr/local/H-ITT'. If you are upgrading over an old version follow the same instructions as above and choose the existing location of the H-ITT applications as the install location. This will overwrite your existing applications with the new ones. Your settings and class file will be preserved. 5.3 How to start the software ============================= The H-ITT software has two programs: the Acquisition and the Analyzer. Choosing which one to start depends upon what you want to do. The following list the actions that each program performs 5.3.1 Choosing which application to start (Analyzer or Acquisition) ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Acquisition:* Start this program to: * Collect responses from students in class * Display ID box grid on screen to instructor for answer confirmation * Save responses to a file for grading later with the Analyzer * Show histogram of responses to instructor * Display slides in a variety of formats such as PDF or Power Point. *Analyzer:* Start this program to: * Grade responses saved in class files * Associate student names with remote ID numbers and assign points to them * Cut and paste student point into your grade book or spreadsheet program * build a roster using you e-mail account. * E-mail students their up-to-date responses and points. 5.3.2 Windows Starting Instructions ----------------------------------- To start the windows version of the software simply double click on the appropriate icon. 5.3.3 Mac OSX Starting Instructions ----------------------------------- To start the Mac OSX version of the software simply double click on the appropriate icon. 5.3.4 Linux Starting Instructions --------------------------------- Open the command shell and change to the directory where the H-ITT applications reside (e.g. `/usr/local/H-ITT'). Type either `./H-ITTAcquisition' or `./H-ITTAnalyzer' depending upon which application you wish to start. 5.4 How To use the H-ITT software applications ============================================== The following schematic depicts the overall process for using the H-ITT software applications. 1. Start in class with the Acquisition program: Ask questions, display slides and save the responses. 2. Take the responses to your office and grade them with the Analyzer. 3. Export the students point (via cut-and-paste) into your grade book 4. E-mail the students their up-to-date responses and points. Consult the rest of the documentation for more instructions. 5.5 Cross Platform software issues for Windows, Mac, or Linux versions ====================================================================== The operating system that you are using (Windows, Mac OS-X, Linux) does not affect the look, or operation of the H-ITT software. It was designed with the adage that the operating system doesn't matter. This cross platform consistency simplifies deployment across the heterogeneous OS landscape that exist at most institutions of higher learning and minimizes training and support costs for IT departments. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind. * The class files and roster files are cross platform as well. They can be acquired and analyzed on separate operating systems. * Mac users must manually install the driver for the USB base units. This driver can be downloaded from the H-ITT site. MAC users who are using the older non USB base units will need to purchase a Keyspan USB-to-Serial adaptor and properly install the Mac OSX driver that is supplied with the adaptor. See supplemental hardware page for ordering information. * The `GradeBook.hgb' and `.ini' settings files may *NOT* be transferable between Windows, Mac, and Linux. * Old .hcl class files created with the Windows version 1.5.X or earlier of the Acquisition program cannot be read with the Mac or Linux Analyzers. There is a Windows command line utility that can convert these old class files called *Note hcltoxml: hcltoxml. which can convert the old .hcl files to the new .zip class files for analysis on the Mac or Linux. *Note Learn more.: hcltoxml. 5.6 How to uninstall the software ================================= Uninstalling the H-ITT software is straightforward. It depends upon what operating system you are using. See one of the following sections for instructions for your operating system. Note that uninstalling the H-ITT software will not remove the class files or the settings files from your computer. To Remove these files see section on purging the H-ITT software from your computer. 5.6.1 Windows uninstallation instructions ----------------------------------------- Click on Start->Control Panel->Add remove Hardware and select H-ITT in the list. An automated uninstall wizard will guide you through the process. 5.6.2 Mac OSX uninstallation instructions ----------------------------------------- Move the Analyzer and Acquisition applications to the trash. 5.6.3 Linux uninstallation instructions --------------------------------------- Remove the directory where you installed H-ITT by typing `rm -rfp /usr/local/H-ITT'. If you installed the H-ITT software to a location other than the default location, replace `/usr/local/H-ITT' with your custom location. 5.7 How to purge the H-ITT software, class files, and settings files from your computer. ======================================================================================== Uninstalling the software will *not* delete the class files or settings file from your computer. However, under some circumstances you may want to completely remove the class files and settings files from your computer. This operations depends upon what operating system you are using. See one of the following sections for instructions for your operating system. You may want to back up these files prior to deleting them. If you want to uninstall the software first, see previous section. 5.7.1 Windows purging instructions ---------------------------------- To remove the settings files, delete all the files and folders in the following directory: `C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\H-ITT' Where is the user name that you used to login to the computer with. To remove the class files, remove the files and folders in the following directory: `My Documents\My H-ITT Files' The H-ITT software does not write any information to the windows registry. However the windows installer service that is used to install the software does write some information to the registry. 5.7.2 Mac OSX purging instructions ---------------------------------- To remove the settings files, delete all the files and folders in the following two directories: `Documents/my_h-itt_files/Analyzer' and `Documents/my_h-itt_files/Acquisition'. To remove the class files, remove the files and folders in the following directory: `Documents/my_h-itt_files'. 5.7.3 Linux purging instructions -------------------------------- To remove the settings files, delete all the files and folders in the following two directories: `~/.h-itt/Analyzer' and `~/.h-itt/Acquisition' To remove the class files, remove the files and folders in the following directory: `~/my_h-itt_files'. 6 Acquisition ************* The H-ITT Acquisition program is run to collect responses from students in class. It displays an ID box grid on screen for answer confirmation, automatically saves the responses to a file for grading later with the H-ITT Analyzer, shows a histogram of responses to students, and display slides to students in a variety of formats such as PDF or Power Point. This section highlights the features of the Acquisition program 6.1 How to use the Acquisition program ====================================== To use the Acquisition program to collect responses from questions you pose to the student do the following: 1. If you are starting the program for the first time, click on *CREATE A CLASS*. If this is not the first time you have started the program and your class is listed in the list of classes skip to step 2. Fill in the information in the dialog box such as class name and your name. Also enter your remote ID number so you can respond to questions too (the analyzer will then use this as the default correct answer for each questions) Then click ok. This will add your class to the list of classes and create a folder were all the class files are stored. 2. Click on your class name to start the class. Each time you start a class a new file (or class file) is automatically created in your class files folder. All responses to all questions are automatically saved to this file so you needn't worry about saving the responses. They are always saved. The class file name is made up from the class name and time the class was started. After starting the class you will be greeted by a black screen and a toolbar at the top of the screen. 3. Pose a question to the audience and hit the green start button on the toolbar. 4. Have the students respond by pressing their response on their remotes. A colored box will appear on the screen for each student to indicate their response has been recorded. In addition, the light on their remote will also turn green. 5. When you want to stop response collection hit the stop button and the histogram of responses will be displayed. 6. Repeat the above three steps as many times as desired. 7. Exit the application or hit the blue back arrow to return to the list of classes. To grade the responses you will need to run the Analyzer. If you are running the analyzer on a different computer than the acquisition program you will need to copy your class files to that computer. To do this click on the folder icon next to your class name and the file manager window will open. Use this to copy the class files to some removable media or network share drive. There are several automated ways to move class files to other computers. For example, the Acquisition program can e-mail, FTP, and automatically save a copy of the files to another location. See options notebook for more information. There are many other options for the display of questions or slides, use screen names in the ID boxes, paper based testing and collecting confidence levels along with responses. See options notebook for more information. 6.2 How to create a class - Starting Screen =========================================== After starting the Acquisition program click on the create a class link. This will open another window with questions about your class. Fill in all the information. For the approximate enrollment, choose a number 10% higher than your expected enrollment. You can password protect your class here and choose a class file data saving location. 6.3 How to configure com ports - Starting Screen ================================================ After starting the Acquisition program check your receiver and port settings. These appear on the starting screen. Make sure your com port has been detected by our software and select your receiver model (2000 or 2100). 6.4 How to start a class - Starting Screen ========================================== To start taking classroom data, click on the class name or click on demo mode. If your class is password protected you will need to enter this information before beginning. Once complete the screen will appear black but with a menu bar across the top. 6.5 How to run in demo mode - Starting Screen ============================================= To simply test out the software, you can by-pass creating a new class and run the system in demo mode. To do this simply click the Demo mode link. Once complete the screen will appear black but with a menu bar across the top. 6.6 How to use the instructor remote - Options, General ======================================================= In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the General tab. Check the box labeled use instructor remote and type in the ID number for the transmitter you will use (just the number portion not the letters or leading zeros). The primary benefit of answering the questions along with the students is that it tells the software what the correct answer is. Grading will then be automatic in the Analyzer program by simply comparing your answer to the student's answer. Also this will allow you to display the correct answer in green on the histogram. 6.6.1 Using the keyboard to enter the instructor's response ----------------------------------------------------------- It is also possible to input the instructor's answer using the keyboard (i.e., without a remote). To utilize this option check the option Enable instructor keyboard input. If the instructor does not have their own remote they can still control the software with the keyboard by simply entering any number for the instructor remote ID number. In addition to the A-E keys and menu shortcuts for controlling the software three other keys have special meaning that are not possible with the remote. A complete list of all the keys recognized by the software during questioning are shown below. *Keyboard key* *Response* A, a, or 1 A B, b, or 2 B C, c, or 3 C D, d, or 4 D E, e, or 5 E F, f, or 6 F G, g, or 7 G H, h, or 8 H I, i, or 9 I J, j, or 0 J R, or r All responses are correct I, or i Ignore this question N, or n No responses are correct (all incorrect) 6.6.2 Controlling the software with the instructor remote --------------------------------------------------------- The instructor remote can control the software from any location in the room. To enable this feature check the enable instructor remote control option. This feature only works in normal question mode and will not work for testing mode. The commands that can be used depend upon the state that the Acquisition program is in. Below is a list of the commands depending upon the state *While the screen is clear and program is idle:* `>>' (`*' for 6 button) - start question. `A' - add time. `B' - subtract time. `C' - next slide. `D' - previous slide. `E' - stop class (exit). *While collecting responses:* `>>' (`*' for 6 button) - stop question. `A - J' answer as usual. *While displaying graph:* `>>' (`*' for 6 button) - clear screen return to idle state. `A - E' - answer as usual (graph will be updated). Note that answering with keyboard will also work while displaying graph. 6.7 How to save the classfiles in extra backup locations - Options, General =========================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the General tab. At the bottom of the window there is a section labeled `Class Files (...)'. Leave the primary location as it is. For the secondary location click the browse button to point the software to another folder or drive where you want another copy of the class files to be saved. This location can be a floppy, zip, USB thumb drive, network share folder, or any location on the hard disk. 6.8 How to save the classfiles in CSV Format - Options, General =============================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the General tab. Check the box labeled `Also save as CVS format (.CSV)'. The format for the CSV file is: Question, RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds ... Question, RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds RemoteID,Button,Time from start of question in milliseconds For example: Question,1 1245,A,3409 47463,C,23424 8793272,E,12345 ... Question,2 1245,D,3409 47463,D,23424 8793272,A,12345 6.9 How to set the question type to multiple choice, true false, or yes no abstain - Options, Question ====================================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. The top pull-down menu allows one to select the question type. 6.10 How to restrict the number of answer choices the student has - Options, Question ===================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. The second from the top pull-down menu allows one to limit the number of answer choices (A up to A-E). 6.11 How to set the number of times a student can change their answer - Options, Question ========================================================================================= In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. The third from the top pull-down menu allows one to set the number of times a student can change their answer (0-9 and unlimited). 6.12 How to alter the time increment setting used by the timer - Options, Question ================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. The fourth from the top pull-down menu allows one to set the default time increment used by the timer. 6.13 How to attach a label to a particular question or class - Options, Question ================================================================================ In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. Move the pull-down menu from Never to Start or End for either the Question or Class. This will then prompt the instructor to enter a comment in a box at this point in time. 6.14 How to use the testing mode feature - Options, Question ============================================================ In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Question tab. Check the box labeled enable testing mode. This feature allows one to hand out a paper exam and the students can work through the exam at their own pace. The * key or their transmitter advances that student through their exam. Once they reach the last question the * key will cycle back to the first question. If you check the Advance question number box then the software will automatically advance to the next question after the current question has been answered by the student. 6.15 How to switch the software from memorize box locations to sequential in time box locations - Options, ID Display ===================================================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. The top pull-down menu allows one to select memorized or sequential in time mode. Memorized box locations will dedicate the box location on the screen to one student for the entire semester. 6.16 How to alter the number of boxes displayed on the screen - Options, ID Display =================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. The second for the top pull-down menu allows one to select the number of boxes to have on the screen. If you are using memorized box locations and you want to change this parameter, you may also want to reset the box positions. 6.17 How to change the number of digits/characters displayed on the screen in the classroom - Options, ID Display ================================================================================================================= In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. The third from the top pull-down menu allows one to select the number of digits/characters to display inside each box. The more digits you display the smaller the font size. 6.18 How to display the number of times a student changed their answer - Options, ID Display ============================================================================================ In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. Check the fourth option down to show the number of times the student changed their answer 6.19 How to display the student's answer - Options, ID Display ============================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. Check the fifth option down to show the student's answer. 6.20 How to display screen names - Options, ID Display ====================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. Within the ScreenNames and Roster section, check the box to show screen name instead of remote ID. Browse for your roster file and select the correct format using the pull-down menu. If you have not built your roster file yet, please review this step first under the Installing and Starting help section. Click okay and the next time you have responses from the students their screen name will fill the box position instead of their transmitter ID number. Instead of a roster file you can also create and import a ScreenNames file. This file is a two column .csv file that has the ScreenName in the first column followed by the remote ID number in the second, or the remote ID number in the first column followed by the ScreenName in the second. For example: joe,234 sue,194657 bob,4657 ... and 234,joe 194657,sue 4657,bob ... are both valid ScreenNames files. Be sure to select proper format in Acquisition program before importing. 6.21 How to block remote IDs from answering the question - Options, ID Display ============================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. Within the ScreenNames and Roster section, check the secure mode box. Browse for your roster file and select the correct format using the pull-down menu. If you have not built your roster file yet, please review this step first under the Installing and Starting help section. Click okay and the next time you collect responses only the remote IDs listed in the roster file will be allowed to answer. 6.22 How to change id box colors or reset box positions - Options, ID Display ============================================================================= In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the ID Display tab. Within the Colors and Fonts section, select the different item you wish to change by clicking on the colored box and changing the color. 6.23 How to display slides, files, web sites - Options, Slides ============================================================== The Acquisition program can load and display slides in the following formats: * Power Point (Windows version only) * Word (Windows version only) * Excel (Windows version only) * PDF (Windows version only) * H-ITT XML * Blackboard XML * HTML * Plain Text * Text where each question is delimited with >< * TIFF files * JPEG files * GIF files * PNG files * Any web page on the internet (Windows version only) To load the slides, in the acquisition program click on the the button that looks like a sheet of paper, select the slides tab. Check the box near the top to show a slide. Choose a file, folder, or web site to display. Selecting file then provides the option of loading PowerPoint, pdf, word, excel, html, plain text, H-ITT XML, BlackBoard XML, or delimited text. Selecting folder then provides the option of loading MS PowerPoint tifs, gifs, jpegs, or pngs, as well as general slides saved in this format. If you have not built any slides, please review this step first under the Installing and Starting help section. The difference between the "PowerPoint TIFFs" and "TIFFs" option is on the way the slides are sorted for display. If PowerPoint TIFFs are selected then the slides will be sorted in the order they have been created in PowerPoint. If just plain "TIFFs" is selected then the slides will be sorted in alphabetical order by the file name. Note that the filenames that PowerPoint creates do not sort alphabetically by filename in the proper order. You can adjust the amount of space given to the slide by using your mouse to move the line separating the questions from the space where the transmitter numbers will be displayed. Slides can also be made to fit width of screen or fit slide to screen in this pull-down menu. Note that when using bitmap formats such as gif, png, tiff or jpeg (especially those made in powerpoint) the text and graphics can look pixelated when they get resized. This is due in part to powerpoints poor rendering of slides in bitmap formats and the problem with displaying text as a bitmap. It seems that powerpoint doesn't do a good job antialiasing the fonts when it creates bitmap slides and to resize a bitmap some of the pixels must get thrown out making the text hard to read. To get around this problem either load the powerpoint file directly or keep the bitmap slide its actual size using fit actual. 6.24 How to create questions and display them to the audience ============================================================= The H-ITT Acquisition software can display questions to the audience in a variety of formats. Choose the one that is best for your teaching style. In a nutshell they are: * *Blackboard, white board, or overhead projector:* - Simply write the question on the blackboard and press the start button. This is the most common method of displaying questions to the audience. It takes very little prep time and can be done on the fly for spontaneous questions. * *Power Point:* - Create a question using power point and load the file directly into the Acquisition program, or display it using power point on another computer or the same computer. Only available on the Windows version * *Blackboard XML with TestGen:* - Content provided by book publishers is distributed in the is form. It can be loaded and displayed in the Acquisition program. * *Graphics files:* - Create the questions using any authoring tool that can export as a graphics format such as GIF, JPG, TIFF or PNG. * *PDF files:* - Create the questions using any authoring tool that can export as a PDF file and import it into the Acquisition program. Only available on the Windows version * *Office documents:* - Create the questions using any authoring tool that can export as a Microsoft word, Excel, or power point file and import it into the acquisition program. Only available on the Windows version * *WWW and HTML:* - Create the questions using any authoring tool that can export as a web page or HTML file. If you are networked, you can type the URL directly into the Acquisition program and it will display the web page. In addition, you can load the HTML file directly into the Acquisition program. Browsing to a URL is only available on the Windows version. * *Text and XML files:* - Create a plain text file or XML file of questions. Import into the acquisition program and display to the class. 6.24.1 How to build a Power Point Presentation and/or Question Slides and Export it for H-ITT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Build your presentation in PowerPoint including questions you want to ask your students and save the presentation as a regular .ppt file. This file can include animations. Note the location of this folder. Browse the H-ITT Acquisition program to this folder to load the presentation and/or questions (see How To Display Questions for help with this task). If your .ppt file is too large another option is to save your presentation as gif slides. To do this inside PowerPoint choose "save as" under the file pull-down menu and choose a new filename. Below the filename, open the pull-down menu entitled "save as type." Scroll down a few files types to the GIF format. Note the filename you choose will actually become a folder name on your computer. Note the location of this folder. Browse H-ITT to this folder to load the presentation and/or questions (see How To Display Questions for help with this task). *Mac and Linux Users:* Loading a powerpoint file directly into the Acquisition program is not possible on these platforms. Please convert the presentation to gif files. 6.24.2 How to build a Blackboard XML multiple choice exam with TestGen and Export it for H-ITT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Run the testgen program and select the "create a paper test" on start up. Load your .bok file and select your MC questions and choose "add to test." You should have your test built in a separate window at this point. Highlight the test window, and then choose export from the file pull-down menu. Choose Blackboard 5 as the export type and note where you save it. Browse H-ITT to this file to load the questions. 6.25 How to loan a student a remote for one class period - Options, Loaner Remotes ================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Loaner Remotes tab. Type in the transmitter ID number of the remote that you will be loaning to the student, in the loaner remote ID box. Next, type in the transmitter ID number of the remote that the student normally uses in class but forgot to bring to class in the student remote ID box. Click the add button to activate the loaner remote. This feature allows the instructor to loan a student a remote and the student's answers are automatically included as if they came from the student's true remote. This helps the student and simplifies the grading process. 6.26 How to adjust the histogram layout - Options, Histogram ============================================================ In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Histogram tab. Using the various pull-down menus and check boxes alter the appearance as desired. 6.27 How to show correct answer on the histogram - Options, Histogram ===================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Histogram tab. Check the box next to Always indicate correct answer on graph. Note, to use this feature the instructor must answer the question along with the students. See general tab options. 6.28 How to e-mail or FTP the classfiles - Options, E-mail and FTP ================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the E-mail and FTP tab. Fill in the requested information about your e-mail address (me@college.edu), server (mail.college.edu), username and password, and check the box to have this done automatically at the end of your class. If your server requires encryption, check the SSL box. 6.29 How to turn off the histogram display feature - Options, Advanced ====================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Advanced tab. Uncheck the box labeled Automatically display graph. 6.30 How to save the histogram data to a file - Options, Advanced ================================================================= In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Advanced tab. Check the box labeled put histogram data on clipboard. Once the question is finished you can open an text editor application and paste the histogram data into it. 6.31 How to force the program to prompt the instructor to save the classroom data - Options, Advanced ===================================================================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Advanced tab. Check the box labeled Ask to save response data. 6.32 How to change my password - Options, Advanced ================================================== In the acquisition program under the *File* menu select *Options*, select the Advanced tab. Click the change password button. 6.33 How to collect responses with remotes - Options, Advanced ============================================================== In the acquisition program, this is the default configuration. So, after choosing your class simply click the green circle button to start the data collection process. You should notice the timer is counting down. Press any letter A-E on your remote and your response will appear on the screen. The numbers inside the boxes are your transmitter ID numbers. If the student sees their number on the screen, then their answer is in the system for grading purposes. Once all of your students have answered, click the red circle button to stop the data acquisition process and show the histogram of the responses. This histogram is one of the keys to successful learning. If more than 90% choose the right answer, you may be wasting your time on this material and need to move on. If the histogram shows a no clear choice then you must spend more time on this particular material. 6.34 How to use keyboard mode - Options, Advanced ================================================= To simulate collecting responses using the keyboard in the acquisition program first open the options menu by clicking on the button that looks like a small sheet of paper. Select the advanced tab and change the input source pull-down menu to keyboard and click okay. Now, click the green circle button to start the data collection process. You should notice the timer is counting down. Press any letter A-E on your keyboard and responses will begin to appear. The numbers inside the boxes are simulate transmitter ID numbers for the students. If the student sees their number on the screen, then their answer is in the system for grading purposes. Once all of your students have answered, click the red circle button to stop the data acquisition process and show the histogram of the responses. This histogram is one of the keys to successful learning. If more than 90% choose the right answer, you may be wasting your time on this material and need to move on. If the histogram shows a no clear choice then you must spend more time on this particular material. 6.35 How to put the base units to sleep between questions ========================================================= The base units can be put to sleep between questions so students do not get a green light on their remote until the instructor presses the start button. This feature can be useful to reduce the occurrence of a false positive confirmation that the student had their answer recorded by the computer. This feature is only available with versions 1.9.0 (or higher) of the H-ITT software and the adjustable baud rate (ABR) base units. To put the base units to sleep between questions: 1. open the options setting dialog box and click on the *advanced* tab. 2. check the box that says *Sleep base units between questions - no green light until question starts (only for ABR base units)* 3. click *ok* to close the dialog box 6.36 How to export the ID box display or histogram to a file ============================================================ The ID box display and response histogram can be exported to a bitmap file in either the TIFF, PNG, JPEG formats. *Note:* This feature is intended for convenience and not required to do to save the responses for grading. The responses (and histogram) are always automatically saved for every question in the class files. To export the ID box display or histogram as a bitmap: 1. collect responses from the students 2. press stop question 3. Select either *File->Export ID Box display* or *File->Export histogram* from the file menu. 4. Use the file save dialog box to select the file format type, fill in the filename, and select a folder to save the file to. 5. click *save* to save the file. 6.37 How to shrink to toolbar that floats over other windows ============================================================ The Acquisition program can be shrunken down to a toolbar that stays on top of all other windows. This is convenient for running Power Point or some other presentation program and H-ITT at the same time. To shrink the Acquisition program down to a toolbar do the following: 1. After starting your class size the width of the window to the width you want the toolbar to be. After setting toolbar mode you will not be able to resize it. 2. open the options setting dialog box and click on the *advanced* tab. 3. Check the item that says *Keep window on top of all other windows* 4. Check the item that says *Toolbar only mode* 5. Click *ok* and the Acquisition program will now be a toolbar and be on top of all other windows. *Notes:* * The float on top feature is currently only available on Windows and Linux. 7 Analyzer ********** The H-ITT Analyzer program grades responses saved in class files created with the H-ITT Acquisition program. It associate student names with remote ID numbers through the use of a roster file, assigns points to correct and incorrect answers, sums up the points by question class or year to date. It easily copies and pastes student point into and grade book or spreadsheet program. It can build a roster using you e-mail account and e-mail students their up-to-date responses and points. This section highlights the features of the H-ITT Analyzer program. 7.1 How to use the Analyzer =========================== To use the Analyzer to grade your class files do the following: 1. Place all the class files generated by the Acquisition program into one folder (This is done for automatically by the Acquisition program). 2. Start the Analyzer and click on *ADD A CLASS* and select the folder where the class files are located. The class name will now appear in the list of classes. 3. To grade the class files, click on the name of the class in the list of classes. The *Answer Key* window will appear and all your class files are now instantly graded. 4. To export the points to Excel (or any other program) click on the *Student points* tab and then click on *To clipboard*. The click on paste in Excel (or any other program). 5. Each time new class files are generated by the Acquisition program, restart the Analyzer and click on the class name to have the new class file instantly graded. There are numerous other options in the Analyzer for controlling every aspect of the grading process. Some of the most important are highlighted below: * *Assigning correct answers and points* - Click on the question number in the Answer key window. The grade dialog box will appear that lets you adjust the correct answers and point values for each question. * *roster* - To assign student information such as names or student ID numbers click on the roster tab and fill in the info for each remote ID number. The program can also import rosters (in CSV format) made from another means such as the web or other spreadsheet program. In addition, the analyzer has a tool which can read your e-mail and build a roster for you from specially formatted e-mail messages sent to you by your students. Explore the program and consult the rest of this documentation for more features of the Analyzer. 7.2 How to add a class - Starting Screen ======================================== To add a class you will first need to know either: * The folder where the Acquisition program (or you) have placed the class files. * If you have not created any class files with the Acquisition program yet, a folder will need to be created to place the class files in first before adding a class. See notes below for where to create the class files folder. To add a class do the following: 1. On the starting page of the Analyzer click on the link that says *ADD A CLASS*. 2. A folder browser dialog will open. Select the folder where the class files (will) reside. Click Ok. 3. The class will now be listed on the starting screen of the Analyzer program. To grade or view the class data click on the class name. *NOTES:* * The default location where the Acquisition and Analyzer look for class files depends upon the operating system. * Windows: `My Documents\My H-ITT Files\' * Mac OSX: `Documents/my_h-itt_files/' * Linux: `~/my_h-itt_files/' * When adding an empty class files folder to the Analyzer, the Analyzer will use the name of the folder as the class name and leave the instructor name blank. Once a class file is placed into the folder and the class is graded the Analyzer will update the class and instructor name to reflect what is in the class file with the newest date. 7.3 How to view your answer key - Answer Key ============================================ In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the first tab to view your answer key. 7.4 How to change the class date and time - Answer Key ====================================================== In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the first tab to view your answer key. Scroll down to the particular class you want to edit. Click the edit button for that class and a window will appear. Inside this window you can change the class date and time, the instructor remote id, view the class and question label. 7.5 How to change the instructors answer - Answer Key ===================================================== In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the first tab to view your answer key. Scroll down to the particular class you want to change. Click on the question number for that class and a window will appear. Inside this window you can change your answer, modify the points for each answer, ignore the answer, view the class and question label. If you want to make each response have a different point value, first deselect the Point Values based on correctness box, and then type in the points you wish the students get for each answer. 7.6 How to grade a class - Student Points ========================================= If you are using the instructor remote feature in the acquisition program, then your student responses are automatically graded. If not, then go to the section which explains how to change the instructors answer key. In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the second tab to view the Student's points. They are automatically presented as year-to-date totals in this view. If all of the information you need to put grades into your grade book is shown here, then you are done. Simply export the grades to a clipboard or file (see this section for more details). If all of the information is not shown, see the other sections of this support file to get that displayed. 7.7 How to export points to clipboard - Student Points ====================================================== In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the second tab to view the Student's points, then click the To Clipboard link near the top to put these grades on your computer clip board. Simply paste these grades into your grade book software program (like Excel) 7.8 How to export points to a file - Student Points =================================================== In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the second tab to view the Student's points, then click the To File link to put these grades on your computer but in a file. This file contain all the information on the student points tab, which you can open with another text editor and load into your grade book software program (like Excel) 7.9 How to view the classroom histogram in the analyzer program - Question Analysis =================================================================================== In the Analyzer program, just below the tool bar full of button are three tabs. Click the third tab to view the question analysis. Near the top of the screen you can select your class and question which will then automatically display the histogram and many other pieces of statistical information. 7.10 How to hide a question that has been ignored - Options, Answer Key ======================================================================= In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the answer key tab. Check the box labeled hide ignored questions. 7.11 How to show the time it took a particular student to answer a question - Options, Answer Key ================================================================================================= In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the answer key tab. Check the box labeled show student response time. 7.12 How to show the class or question label entered during class - Options, Answer Key ======================================================================================= In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the answer key tab. Check the box labeled show class or questions label or comment. 7.13 How to globally assign points to all questions based on whether the answer is right or wrong - Options, Answer Key ======================================================================================================================= In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the answer key tab. In the Default Point Values space enter the points you want the student to get if their answer matches your answer and if it doesn't match your answer. 7.14 How to show the students name, ID, e-mail address, etc. - Options, Student Points ====================================================================================== In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the student points tab. Check the boxes next to the items you want shown. Note, if the information is grayed out, then this information was not loaded into the software via your roster file. Please see help section on building and then loading your roster file. 7.15 How to report the student points as total points, percentage, class-by-class, etc. - Options, Student Points ================================================================================================================= In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the student points tab. Using the pull-down menus select your viewing preferences for the student points. 7.16 How to export points for WebCT and Blackboard - Options, Student Points ============================================================================ Transferring student points to WebCT or Blackboard is straightforward: Use the Analyzer to export the points to a file then upload to it your account and import it into your grade book in WebCT or Blackboard. To have the points properly formatted for WebCT or Blackboard a roster must be imported that has each students WebCTID/Blackboard in it. The form of each line should be: Name , Student ID , E-mail, ScreenName , WebCT ID/Blackboard , Remote ID#1 , Remote ID#2, ... Once this is done do the following to import into WebCT. (Note: these instructions are for WebCT campus edition. If you are unfamiliar with WebCT it is a good idea to contact your local help desk for support as well.) 1. In the Analyzer select "Display WebCTID/Blackboard" in the student points option page. Also make sure "Display column headings" is checked. 2. Export the points to a file and save it on your desktop by selecting *File->save points* from the menu bar in the Analyzer. 3. Login to your WebCT account. 4. From the control panel for the course click on *Manage Course* 5. Under *Manage Students* click on *Import Students*. 6. Click on the *Browse* button next to the empty filename field. 7. An new page will appear with a list of files in your file area. Click on the *Browse* button on the bottom of the page and select the file that the Analyzer created and click on *open*. Then click on *upload* on the WebCT page. 8. The file will now appear in the list of files. Select the file by clicking on the radio button then click on *add selected* at the bottom of the page. the window will close and the filename field will now contain the name of the file that you uploaded. 9. Make sure the Separator field says *Comma* and click on *import*. WebCT will then ask you for confirmation and whether or not you want to make the new columns etc. Read and follow the rest of the WebCT screens and your points will be imported. 7.17 How to alter the histogram display - Options, Histogram ============================================================ In the Analyzer program click on the button that looks like a sheet of paper and select the histogram tab. Using the pull-down menus select your viewing preferences for the histogram. 7.18 Roster - associating student information with remote ID numbers ==================================================================== A roster is needed if you wish to associate student information such as name or student ID with remote ID numbers. Using a roster, points are assigned to students rather than just remote ID numbers. It is not necessary to build a roster for the H-ITT software to work, nor for you to use the system in class and ask questions. You can build the roster at anytime during the semester. Often it is best to build the roster after the second or third week of class, giving students time to arrange their schedules. Once the roster is created or imported into the Analyzer you can sort the `Student Points' and `Student Responses' view in the order they appear in the roster file by clicking on the *Roster Order* link at the top of each page. Remote ID numbers that do not appear in the roster will be put at the end of the list. The ordering of students helps facilitate the transfer of student points to another program such as Excel, WebCT, BlackBoard, or other gradebook software. There is another way of ordering points using an *order file*, which has some advantages. However, a roster file is still needed when using and order file. See next section on order file for more informatio