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READ 180 Technology: Top Ten DoDEA Technical Questions

We’ve perused our database and identified the Top Ten most Frequently Asked Technical Questions from DoDEA Educators to our dedicated Tech Support Staff. If you are unable to locate answers to your specific questions, please visit our entire Technical FAQ section.

Question 1: Can I create a Level 4 student using Stage A?

Question 2: Why do my students receive a message stating, "You need to pick out a different topic CD" when they log into READ 180?

Question 3: Why isn’t my student moving through the READ 180 Topic CDs in order?

Question 4: When I am performing an operation in the Scholastic Management Suite, I get a "Database Error #2 - Invalid Error Code." How do I fix this?

Question 5: My students are experiencing problems with audio/video playback or recording in the READ 180 application. What can I do?

Question 6: What is the Maintenance Utility? How do I run it?

Question 7: When I try to run the Maintenance Utility or make a Backup of my database, I get an error message that there are other users in the database, even though I have checked that nobody else is logged in. How do I fix this?

Question 8: My student is stuck in one of the READ 180 Zones. How do I get him to move on?

Question 9: Why does my student see the same word listed more than once in the Word Match or Word Clinic activities?

Question 10: I have upgraded to v1.6 and still have problems with students skipping to the last segment on their next Topic CD. What is wrong?

Question 1: Can I create a Level 4 student using Stage A?

Answer: There is no Level 4 content on the Stage A Topic CDs. If your Stage A student is automatically placed at Level 4 based on their Lexile, you'll need to manually adjust the Level to 3. Please follow the steps below to change your student's level.

1. Make sure the student is not logged in to READ 180, SRI, or Scholastic Reading Counts! and then open the Scholastic Management Suite.
2. Select the student.
3. Click on the Settings button and then select READ 180.
4. In upper right hand corner, uncheck Computer Placement. Then, choose the desired level from the Set Level drop-down menu.
5. Click OK.
6. Have your student log into READ 180.

If your student continues to have trouble logging in, you may need to skip the CD that the student has been trying to use to log in. Here's how to accomplish this:

1. Make sure the student is not logged in to READ 180, SRI, or Scholastic Reading Counts! and then open the Scholastic Management Suite.
2. Select the student and click Edit, or double-click the student's name.
3. Select READ 180 from the Enrolled In drop down menu and then click on the Student Status button.
4. Place a check beside the current CD. Click OK to the Warning Message. Then Click OK to exit the window.
5. Instruct the student to select another Topic CD and log into READ 180.

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Question 2: Why do my students receive a message stating, "You need to pick out a different topic CD" when they log into READ 180?

Answer: There are a few reasons why this message might come up:

• The student does not have a CD in the CD-ROM drive.
• The student has completed the CD that is in the drive.
• The student has an inactive Topic CD in the drive.

To verify that all of the appropriate Topic CDs are active and that the student has the correct Topic CD in the drive:

1. Open the Scholastic Management Suite and log in as Administrator.
2. Click on Tools and select READ 180 Topic Manager.
3. Check which Topic CDs are listed and which are checked as Active. Make sure that all of the Topic CDs in your stage are checked as Active. The READ 180 Topic Manager is a global setting and changes to it will affect all students in your database.
4. Uncheck any Topic CDs that are not in your stage. For example, if you are using Stage B, you will want to make sure that all Stage A and Stage C Topic CDs are unchecked.
5. Click OK to exit the READ 180 Topic Manager.
6. From the Student tab, double click the student who was prompted to pick out a different Topic CD (or highlight the student's name in the list and click Edit).
7. From the Edit Student screen, select READ 180 from the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner. Click on the Student Status button.
8. Note the Current Topic listed at the top of the screen. IMPORTANT: Click Cancel or the "X" button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to exit the Student Status screen.
9. Log out of the Scholastic Management Suite and instruct the student to log into READ 180 with the Current Topic CD in the CD-ROM drive.

Please be aware that it may take the computer some time to recognize the CD. If you are still prompted to pick out a different Topic CD, wait a minute and click the OK button.

If you are still prompted to pick out a different Topic CD, quit out of READ 180 and eject the CD from the CD ROM drive. Take a close look at the shiny side of the CD that the computer reads data from. Is it scratched or damaged? If so, try again with a Topic CD of the same number that is not damaged.

If you are still prompted to pick out a different Topic CD, your CD ROM drive may be damaged or unable to read the Topic CD properly. Insert a non-READ 180 CD into the drive and verify that the computer can read from it correctly.

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Question 3: Why isn't my student moving through the READ 180 Topic CDs in order?

Answer: Only Level 1 students must go from Topic CD 1 through Topic CD 9 in order. Students Level 2-4 may move through the Topic CDs in any order.

Please note that there is no Level 4 in Stage A.

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Question 4: When I am performing an operation in the Scholastic Management Suite, I get a "Database Error #2 - Invalid Error Code". How do I fix this?

Answer: To resolve this error, you will need to run the Maintenance Utility with the advanced Integrity Checking option activated. Please be sure to deactivate this option when you are finished running maintenance:

1. Access the Maintenance Utility by going to the Start menu, then Programs, then Scholastic, then running SMS Maintenance Utility. This may differ slightly from the setup of your Start menu, but you are looking for the Maintenance Utility that has an icon with a red cross on it.
2. Inside of the Maintenance Utility, click the Advanced button, place a check mark next to Check Database Integrity, and click OK. Now click the button that says Run Maintenance.
3. Immediately after the Maintenance Utility has finished running, run it again with Integrity Check.
4. You should now remove the check mark from the Integrity Check option in the SMS Maintenance Utility. Click the Advanced button, and make sure to remove the check mark next to Check Database Integrity, then click OK. Now exit the Maintenance Utility.

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Question 5: My students are experiencing problems with audio/video playback or recording in the READ 180 application. What can I do?

Answer: Audio & Visual Problems:
Audio and visual problems can be caused by hardware not working properly, or by problems with QuickTime. Common issues include:

• Students cannot record in READ 180.
• The program records, but when it plays back, the audio is scratchy or inaudible.
• READ 180 crashes or freezes when the video starts.
• Other display and sound problems.

Solution:
Rule out any hardware problems:

• Ensure that the sound card is compatible with READ 180.
• Close all applications and make sure you can record in the operating system.
• Ensure that the microphone and headphones work and that they are compatible with the computer hardware.

If you have ruled out hardware as the problem, on Windows computers, you can try decreasing the Hardware Acceleration:

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME:

1. Open the Control Panel by clicking on the Start Menu, opening Settings and selecting Control Panel.
2. Double-click on the System icon.
3. Click the Performance tab.
4. Click the button labeled Graphics.
5. Move the slider for Hardware Acceleration one notch to the left.
6. Click OK, then OK or Close, and restart the system when prompted.
7. If this does not help, try turning Hardware Acceleration down to None.

For Windows 2000 and XP:

1. Open the Control Panel by clicking on the Start Menu, opening Settings and selecting Control Panel.
2. Double-click on the Display icon.
3. Select the Settings tab and click on the Advanced button.
4. Select the Troubleshooting tab.
5. Move the slider for Hardware Acceleration one notch to the left.
6. Click OK, then OK or Close, and restart the system when prompted.
7. If this does not help, try turning Hardware Acceleration down to None.

Make sure that you do not have multiple versions of QuickTime installed. To check your system for multiple versions of QuickTime:

1. Click on the Windows Start button, expand Settings and click on Control Panel.
2. Double click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. When the Add/Remove Programs window loads up, scroll down to QuickTime in the list. Are there multiple versions listed? If so, remove all of the oldest versions.

You can also browse to www.quicktime.com to install the latest version of QuickTime. The version currently available is v6.5. If you choose to install QuickTime directly from the web site, make sure that you choose a complete or recommended installation. Do not attempt a minimal or custom installation of QuickTime as this may prevent compatibility with READ 180.

Once you have the latest version of QuickTime, there are some settings that you should adjust. To adjust QuickTime settings:

1. Click on the Windows Start button, expand Settings and click on Control Panel.
2. Double click the QuickTime icon.
3. From the drop-down menu, select Video Settings.
4. Click on the Safe Mode (GDI Only) radio button.
5. From the drop-down men, select Sound Out.
6. From the “Choose a device for playback” drop-down menu, select waveOut.
7. Close the QuickTime Settings window to save your changes.

Decrease the Hardware Sound Acceleration level in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool:

1. Click on the Windows Start button and select Run.
2. Type in “dxdiag” in the box and press Enter.
3. Click on the Sound tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
4. Lower the Hardware Sound Acceleration level to its lowest setting.
5. Click Save all information and then Exit.

If audio and video problems persist, you must contact the manufacturer of your sound and video cards to obtain the latest drivers for each. It is possible that your sound and video cards may have compatibility issues with QuickTime.

To get the latest drivers for your sound card:

1. Browse to the C:\Program Files\Scholastic\Support\AIDA32 folder
2. Double click on the Aida32 icon.
3. After the AIDA32 program loads, expand the Computer icon in the list by clicking on the plus (+) button next to it.
4. Click on Summary.
5. In the window on the right hand side, scroll down to the Multimedia section.
6. Locate your Audio Adapter under Multimedia. Next to it on the right you will see a link. Pass the mouse over it and you will see another link for Driver Download. This will bring up the web site of your sound card’s manufacturer. You can download the latest driver for it here. If you have trouble locating a driver, please contact the driver’s manufacturer.

If you continue to have problems with video playing poorly or crashing in READ 180 during video playback, try changing your display settings to 16-bit color.

1. Right click on the desktop and select Properties.
2. Click on the Settings tab.
3. From the Colors drop down menu, select High Color (16 bit).
4. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

If you continue to have audio and video problems in READ 180, contact Technical Support at 1-800-927-0189.

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Question 6: What is the Maintenance Utility? How do I run it?

Answer: The Maintenance Utility (MU) is supposed to be run by the school once a week. The SMS will prompt the teacher to do so when they log out if it hasn't been done in the last seven days. This feature was put in place to prevent database corruption. If the MU detects errors it will automatically make a backup copy of the database. On Windows computers this backup will be located in the SMS_DATA folder on the server. After the backup is made the MU will repair the errors found. In cases of severe database corruption, the MU may actually delete some records from the database. If a student has a record deleted from the database then they may have to repeat some of the work that they have already done.

To Run the Maintenance Utility:

1. Make sure that no one else is logged into the Scholastic Management Suite or Scholastic Reading Counts!
2. Log into the Scholastic Management Suite as an administrator or teacher with School-wide access.
3. Click the Tools button on the Scholastic Management Suite button bar.
4. Select Data Utility. The Data Utility window will open.
5. Click the Maintenance button.
6. The maintenance process will now begin. A backup will first be created. Once the backup is complete, the Maintenance Utility will automatically begin to run. Keep in mind that this process may take an hour or more. (You can use the Progress screen to keep track of how long the operation takes.)
7. Once Maintenance is complete, click OK.

To customize the Maintenance Utility in Windows:

1. Click on the Start menu. Go to Programs, then to the Scholastic program group.
2. Click on the Scholastic Maintenance Utility shortcut. The Maintenance Utility Login window will open.
3. Select your login and enter your password. Click OK.
4. Click on the Advanced button. The Scholastic Management Suite Maintenance: Advanced window will open.
   *Advanced Features
   - Check database integrity: The default is off. Do not enable this unless instructed to by a Scholastic Technical Support representative.
   - If errors are fixed: Choose this option to automatically back up your database if errors are found and fixed during maintenance. The default is on.
5. Click OK and exit the Scholastic Management Suite Maintenance and the next time you run maintenance in Data Utility, in the Scholastic Management Suite, your selected options will take effect.

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Question 7: When I try to run the Maintenance Utility or make a Backup of my database, I get an error message that there are other users in the database, even though I have checked that there is nobody else logged in. How do I fix this?

Answer: First, be aware that this message will come up even if any of the application login screens are left up. This includes the Scholastic Management Suite as well as READ 180, SRI, and Scholastic Reading Counts! All of these programs should be completely closed out when users are done with them.

If you have verified that nobody is logged in and there are no login screens up, here’s how you can correct this problem on a Windows server:

Be absolutely certain that there are no users logged in before following these steps. If users are logged in and you follow these steps, you could corrupt the database.

1. At the server, right click on My Computer and select Manage.
2. Click on the plus sign next to Shared Folders to expand it.
3. Click on Open Files.
4. Locate any open files in your database. They will be located in the root database folder and then in the SCHSUITE\Schlastc\SMS_DATA\Database folder.
5. Select each of these files, and only these files. Note: Be sure not to select any files that are not in your database. If you have multiple Scholastic databases on your server, double check to make sure that you haven’t selected files from the wrong root folder.
6. Delete the selected files.

You should be able to run maintenance or make a backup now. If you still cannot perform these actions, you may have to reboot the server.

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Question 8: My student is stuck in one of the READ 180 Zones. How do I get him to move on?

Answer: To see how much work the student actually has left, ask the student to log in to READ 180 or log in to the program yourself using his user name and password. Click on the READ 180 Progress Report in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Observe the amount of work left to be completed in each zone. If any of the zones indicate that there is work left, the student should enter that zone and complete it following the Go On button. If the student does not use the Go On button and leaves the Zone by using the Zone Menu button, not all of their work will be recorded and the program will expect them to go back in to that Zone.

If the Progress Report indicates zeroes for all three zones then your database may be corrupted. Please run the Maintenance Utility to repair any potential database corruption problems.

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Question 9: Why does my student see the same word listed more than once in the Word Match or Word Clinic activities?

Answer: Word Zone study words are stored in the SMS_DATA\Summary folder. If the contents of that folder become locked, or the student does not have the proper permissions to that folder, the study words will not save properly.

First, ensure that the student has unrestricted access to the SMS_DATA\Summary folder.

Next, check the properties for the SMS_DATA\Summary folder and all of its contents. Make sure that none of these files are locked.

If these steps do not resolve the problem, try deleting the files from this folder. This may cause some students to have to repeat some of the activities in the zones. However, it should eliminate any problems that are causing students to have to repeat the same words.

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Question 10: I have upgraded to v1.6 and still have problems with students skipping to the last segment on their next Topic CD. What is wrong?

Answer: You may still have some lingering database problems from before the v1.6 upgrade. After you have completed the v1.6 upgrade, please take the following steps for any affected students. Scholastic recommends that you check the Student Status screen for all students in the database to eliminate any potential problems:

1. Print the Student Reading Report for your student with the Time Period set to “All Dates.”
2. After the report has printed, open the Edit Student window for your student and select READ 180 from the Enrolled in drop-down menu.
3. Click on the Student Status button.
4. In the Student Status screen, place a check mark next to the names of any Topic CDs that the student has completed, as listed in the Student Reading Report.
5. Click the OK button to save your changes.

Additionally, you should check to make sure that the Integrity Checking option in the advanced Maintenance Utility is disabled.

1. Browse to C:\Program Files\Scholastic\Scholastic\SMS and double click the SMSMaintenanceUtility icon. Or on a Mac OS computer browse to MacintoshHD\Applications\Scholastic\SMS and double click the SMS Maintenance Utility icon.
2. Log in as administrator.
3. Click on the Advanced button.
4. Uncheck the box next to "Check database integrity during maintenance".
5. Click OK and then cancel to exit out of the Maintenance Utility.

You should not enable integrity checking unless instructed to do so by a Scholastic Technical Services Representative. If you should be instructed to do so in the future, please be sure to disable it as soon as database maintenance is finished.

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