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PLATO^® (CyberEd)

Please read this FAQ page carefully before contacting the Co-op.

PLEASE do not contact PLATO Learning directly as they do not handle customer support for the individual user. Refer to this page for more information and support. The Co-op has FULL RESPONSIBILITY for getting your questions answered.

The PLATO system is making a system update to the Co-op's Friday 7/9/2010. During this update, you will not have access to your account from Friday 7/9/2010, 6 PM CST through Monday 7/12/2010, 6 AM CST.

Could you please explain the time slots?

You have the option to purchase different lengths of time: 2 3/4, 5 3/4 and 24-hour slots. During your time slot, you may log-in at any time, 7 days a week for a full year. You must be sure to log out by the end of your time slot, otherwise you will prevent another member from accessing during their assigned time. Please be courteous!

Why is there a 15-minute space between time slots?

We only have an allotted number of seats for each time slot. It's important that members be able to access their subscriptions when they are supposed to be able. In an effort to create a bit of a buffer and to take into account one family's clock being 5 minutes slow and another's being fast, we've built in this 15-minute space. It still means members MUST be responsible to log-out before the end of their time slot but it helps alleviate someone being denied access during their time by a difference in clock settings or someone running over by a couple of minutes.

What are the computer system requirements for these programs?

We want to make sure you are aware of an important change for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (IE6) users. With the new features of PLE 2.0, PLATO will not continue to support IE6. After July 9, 2010: please use Microsoft Internet Explorer version IE7 or IE8 or Safari version 3.2.X for Mac.

PLATO Learning has also developed a new tool that can check your computer for compatibility. Please visit http://support.plato.com/pc.asp to assess your system's compatibility with the PLATO platform.

For a list of all current requirements, including supported browsers, visit http://support.plato.com/downloads.

Is this program Mac compatible?

The Co-op was told it was Mac compatible except for older Macs. Members will need Mac OS 10.4.10 or higher. Please see the above link for system and plug-in requirements. However the PLATO support materials also say: PLATO does not support Safari 4. For Authorware to be detected, you must revert back to Safari 3.2.x. The high school biology and chemistry courses require Authorware so please be aware we cannot offer support for Mac and Authorware issues. Please consider this before making your purchase. We certainly want you to have as much information available to you in order to make an informed purchasing decision.

These titles look very comprehensive. Would you consider these full courses or supplemental?

We have been advised that the materials material was compiled and presented directly from a variety of science textbooks. In addition, there are online schools that use these science programs with an added lab component and count it as a full course. However we leave the decision to make the PLATO science program your core or supplemental science curriculum up to you as teh homeschool parent.

There is a physical science offered in the middle school and the high school offers. Is this the same course or two different titles?

The physical science course offered in both is indeed the same material. It straddles the grade levels and Plato suggested we offer it in both group buys.

Will we have access to any teacher resource materials?

Yes. After you are granted access to your subscription, you will be provided a link on your My Subscription page to the teacher resource materials. We cannot guarantee these will be tightly correlated to the material in the program nor the accuracy of the material. However we offer them as a courtesy to our members to use or not use as they find useful.

Does the program track a student?

Yes, the system does track and record one student's progress. Plato recommends you download and save a progress report at least once a week.

The Plato subscription is in the name of the Co-op member, not the student. Why is that?

Due to programming issues, the subscription must be in the name of the Co-op member under which the subscription was purchased.

May more than one student use one subscription?

Due to the tracking and record keeping features of the program, we recommend one subscription for each student. However, families are free to use their subscription as they see fit. However if more than one student is using the same subscription, the following MUST be adhered to:

1. Only ONE student at a time may be logged in at any give time. They will have to take turns.
2. Each student must be working through different courses. Two students cannot be doing the same course in one subscription. Once a chapter/topic is completed, you may redo the lesson, application and mastery test as many times as you like however these will not be captured on the progress report after the first completion and mastery.

Please understand this is designed for a single student. The system does not differentiate
between two different students unless two separate subscriptions are purchased. If you have
chosen to have more than one student use a subscription, we are unlikely to be able to provide technical support for questions dealing with multiple student use.

Is the PLATO website available at all times?

Typically, yes. However they state say that they do site maintenance and updates on Saturdays. After talking with them, they said it is not every Saturday that it is unavailable. Likely not more than a couple times a month and typically only once a month that members will not be able to log in. Here is PLATO's official statement:

PLATO Learning periodically performs scheduled maintenance on the PLATO Learning Environment on Saturdays beginning at 8:00 p.m. Central Time through Sundays at 2:00 a.m. Central Time. PLE may be unavailable during this time.

I would like to purchase two subscriptions of the same item. How do I do this?

You are always welcome to order as many as you would like. However due to the programming set-up for each subscription, you will have to place two separate orders if you would like more than one of an item. In other words, you can never put any other number besides a 1 in the QTY box. We recognize this may cause some confusion and apologize but want to make sure you receive everything you purchase.

How do I log in to PLATO?

1. Log in to your Co-op account from our homepage, www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org. Go to your subscription tab and your PLATO subscription links will be active 5 minutes before your allotted time slot is to start.

2. Click on PLATO subscription link.

3. Click on the blue Log-in button that appears in the upper left a new window. You should now be in the PLATO system.

4. Click on the Assignments button in the upper left. This page will list your course title links as well as progress reports for viewing and saving.

5. You should now be able to navigate through the course title.

How do I log out of PLATO?

At the top right of the screen you will see a log-out button. It is very important when your time slot is over that you log-out. We really appreciate your courtesy to other members in doing this.

My student didn't finish a mastery test but now it is locked. What should I do?

The system is assuming your student needs to review or re-do the lesson before retaking the test again. From a PLATO support article: If you enter too many incorrect answers when taking a mastery test, or if you are disconnected from the Internet while taking a test (or if you exit before finished), you will be locked out. This means you have not mastered the material and need to complete the tutorial associated with the test. Once you complete the tutorial or, having completed it, re-enter it, advance back and forth quickly through a few slides and exit, the mastery test will unlock and you can take it again.

In some rare instances, the mastery test will still not unlock after re-entering/re-doing the lesson. Please email the Co-op with the specifics and we will do it manually. Include the course title and test title so we know exactly what to unlock.

May I print out the completed mastery tests?

While you cannot print out the completed mastery tests, you may print the certificate of completion with the test score before exiting the test. In addition, the test score should be recorded in the progress report. We recommend the progress report be downloaded and saved digitally at least once a week. There are some printable tests in the teacher resources as well. The link is above your PLATO subscription link. Not all of these printable teacher resources have been updated nor do they necessarily correlate topic for topic with the online materials. We offer them for parents to use or not as they feel beneficial.

Pop-up blockers are making it difficult for me to use my PLATO program. How can I troubleshoot and/or adjust my browser to allow the pop-ups?

A long list of trouble shooting suggestions for pop-up blockers is listed here: http://support.plato.com/kb/tip.asp?psid=7006

I'm running VISTA and still having difficulties with the Authorware download/plug-in. Do you have any suggestions?

SYMPTOMS"Access is denied" when installing Authorware and using Windows Vista and IE7
Users receive "Access is denied" error message when installing the Adobe Authorware plug-in when using Microsoft Vista and Internet Explorer 7

Users receive "Access is denied" error message when launching Chemistry and Biology Series courseware when using Microsoft Vista and Internet Explorer 7

Users receive "Access is denied" error message when launching Chemistry and Biology Series courseware when using Microsoft Vista and Internet Explorer 7

CAUSE

Microsoft Windows Vista with Internet Explorer 7 employs an additional security feature called Protected Mode. Protected Mode
restricts access to certain files, folders and registry settings on the workstation. Protected Mode is enabled by default for sites inthe "Internet" zone. Users have two options when encountering these errors.

CAUSE
Microsoft Windows Vista with Internet Explorer 7 employs an additional security feature called Protected Mode. Protected Mode restricts access to certain files, folders and registry settings on the workstation. Protected Mode is enabled by default for sites in the "Internet" zone. Users have two options when encountering these errors.
Disable Protected Mode Add appropriate URLs to the "Trusted Sites" zone

Note: While performing the following steps a User Account Control prompt may come up depending on your privileges to the workstation. You maybe prompted to enter in the administrator password before allowing you to make changes.

SOLUTION

Disable Protected Mode

1. Open Internet Explorer 7
2. Click Tools

3. Click Internet Options
4. Choose the Security tab
5. Select the "Internet" zone
6. Uncheck the "Enable Protected Mode" checkbox
7. Click OK
8. Add Trusted Sites

Open Internet Explorer 7

1. Click Tools

2. Click Internet Options
3. Choose the Security tab
4. Select the "Trusted Sites" zone
5. Make sure "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" check box is unchecked.
6. Add the following URLs to trusted sites
: *.platoweb.com
*.platoweb01.com
*.adobe.com
*.macromedia.com
(REQUIRED)

7. Click OK

After adding the URL's to the trusted site, Internet Explorer 7 will allow you to install Authorware. It will also allow you to run lessons from Chemistry Series and Biology Series.

RELATED INFO

Related Links: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb250462.aspx

- Make sure your pop-up blocker is turned off for both downloading and running the demo.

Do the PLATO Science Courses contain Evolution material?

Evolution is described in several Biology Series units ('Evolution' and most of the 'Animal Kingdom'
programs), as well as in the last unit from the CE Life Science Course. CyberEd presents the concept
as a scientific approach to evolution.

What do I do if my question is not answered on this page?

You can submit your question at the Contact Us page. We will answer your question and update this page as well.