Gateway Teacher Help - FAQ

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for teachers.

Click on a question below to view the answer. Click the 'back to top' link next to the answer to return to the list.

Questions about technical issues and system administration

Q. Why does my username have some strange letters after it?
A. We add a unique 4-character school code to your username to identify what school account you log into. Initially this is also appended to the end of your username.

It is possible to remove the school code from your username, if you wish. This can be done from the 'My Details' screen in the main teacher section or on the 'User' screens in the Class Management section.

The exception is that the Main School Subscriber is not allowed to change their username and password as this account is our main contact for your subscription to this product, and the details need to match our records. When your school subscribed to Gateway Science Assessment Online, an email was sent that contained your original Main School Subscriber username and password. If you are unable to locate the original subscription email or wish to amend these details, please contact our Online Support team using the contact details that can be found below.
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Q. I am a Teacher. What if I forget my username or password?
A. Your colleagues who have Administrator access should be able to retrieve your Gateway Science Assessment Online username and password via the Class Management section . They will be able to look up or reset your password.
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Q. What do I do if one of my students has forgotten their username or password?
A. Please log in to Gateway Science Assessment Online as a Teacher who has Administrator access. Administrator access allows you to view the Class Management section of the site. You will be able to find the student's username and password on the 'User' screens.
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Q. Why are students' passwords all the same?
A. The system automatically assigns the same password to each student when they are created . It is important that they change the password for their account as soon as possible. This can be done by clicking the 'My Details' button on the left-hand navigation pane of the student section.
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Q. Is it possible to get my computer to remember my password?
A. Your computer should be able to remember your password, but it will be done through your browser rather than being part of the Gateway Science Assessment Online system. If you are not prompted and asked if you wish to save your password for future visit to the site, contact your system administrator as some schools may have this function turned off for security.
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Q. Can I use the Gateway Science Assessment Online site from home as well as school?
A. You should be able to access the Gateway Science Assessment Online site from most computers connected to the Internet provided you have the correct minimum computer requirements and the correct web browser.
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Q. I can't use Gateway Science Assessment Online offline, what happens if the Internet connection goes down?
A. Gateway Science Assessment Online is built in a way that means that you have to be connected to the Internet in order to access the system. Having the system online allows you to access Gateway Science Assessment Online from within your school as well as from home.

We appreciate that this is a concern for teachers when planning lessons. However, Gateway Science Assessment Online is hosted on a server which is hosted in a secure data centre protected by the latest firewalls, security protocols, disk and power backup systems. The Internet can sometimes let us down but we have done all we can to minimise this risk so that you can use Gateway Science Assessment Online at home and at school with confidence.

If Gateway Science Assessment Online does experience problems, Heinemann Online Support (01865 888 123) will be able to advise about when the system will be back to normal. .
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Q. Can I use an Apple^® Macintosh^®?
A. Gateway Science Assessment Online has been designed so that an Apple Mac using the Mozilla^® Firefox^® browser can view the site. You will need:

the free Adobe^® Flash^® 8 (or Higher) plug-in.

A word processing application such as Microsoft^® Word^® (to save and print reports)

Microsoft^® Word^® 97 or higher to open the OCR Module tests

Adobe^® Reader^® for Macintosh (free). OCR Module tests are also provided in PDF format. This help file is also provided in PDF format should you wish to print it.

Q. Can I use Unix^®/Linux^®?
A. Although you may be able to access Gateway Science Assessment Online using Linux or Unix, they are not supported platforms and we cannot guarantee that all of the features will work properly.
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Q. I don't want to use Internet Explorer. Can I use a different browser?
A. Yes. For Windows computers, Gateway Science Assessment Online has been designed to be used with Mozilla Firefox 2 as well as Internet Explorer. Apple Macintosh users can also use Mozilla Firefox 2 If you access the site using a different browser such as AOL^® or Opera^® we cannot guarantee that all of the features will work properly.
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Q. I access the Internet through a firewall. Will I be able to view Gateway Science Assessment Online?
A. Yes. You will need to check that your browser can open Active Content.
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Q. Will I be able to use the resource at home through a telephone line without broadband?
A. Yes, You should be able to access the features and questions on the site. However, the site and questions will take longer to load. Most of the animations on the Gateway Science Assessment Online site are downloadable using a 56K dial-up modem, although this will be slower than using a broadband connection.
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Q. My data is stored on your web server. How secure is it?
A. The servers on which we store your data are protected by firewalls and the latest security and anti-virus measures. In addition, all personal data is encrypted and would be difficult to decipher in the unlikely case that it became available to those of malicious intent.
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Q. How can I get more help with technical problems?
A. Please read these FAQs and the rest of the online help in the first instance.

If you require further technical assistance, please contact Heinemann Online Support on:
Email:
online.enquiries@pearson.com
Phone:
01865 888 123
Software technical support forum:
http://forums.heinemann.co.uk/software/

Our Heinemann Online Support phone lines are open from 8.30am to 5.00pm (UK time) Monday to Friday.
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Questions about the Gateway Science Assessment Online system

Q. Can I move students between classes?
A. Yes. You can move students between classes in the 'Class Management' section on the 'Users' screen

click the 'Amend existing user details' button
search for the student that you want to swap
select the student that you want to swap from the search results list by clicking the 'Edit' button.
The 'Next' button on the right of the screen will open the screen where you can change the student's course/s and classes.

Q. Can other teachers in the department share the results and the action plans?
A. Yes. Multiple teachers can be allocated to a class in the Class Management section of the site. Any teacher allocated to a class can view that classes results and action plans.
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Q. Will my records be kept from one subscription year to the next?
A. Yes, the system will keep records from previous years.
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Q. Some of the assessments don't open. What am I doing wrong?
A. Please make sure that your computer hardware meets the minimum requirements. Also, that you are using one of the recommended web browsers and have an up-to-date version.
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Q. I can't see the interactive assessment questions without having to scroll. What can I do about this?
A. Setting your monitor resolution to 1024×768 will increase the available space on your monitor. If your monitor resolution is set to 800×600 and you can't change it, you can maximise space on your monitor by auto hiding your Windows taskbar. This can be done by right clicking on the taskbar and selecting 'Properties', then select the 'Auto-hide the taskbar' tick box and click 'OK'.
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Q. When I 'Preview' questions why do the labels for drag and drop questions sometimes not appear?
A. These can take a few seconds to load and then appear, so if you wait this time you will find that they are present for you to use to try the question that you are previewing.
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Q. Why is some text rather small?
A. In the teacher 'Assessment preview' the screen is reduced in size and so the questions appear smaller than they do for students. In the student view the questions are displayed using the full screen. Drop-down boxes and multiple-choice lists are therefore clearly visible in the student view.

You can also hide your browser's address and navigation toolbars. Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox allow you to quickly maximise your monitor space by pressing F11 on your keyboard or selecting 'View - Full Screen' from the browser's menu. Press F11 again to restore.
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Q. When a student looks at ‘My answers’, why does the answer they chose sometimes appear in a different position?
A. The ‘My answer’ section is not a snapshot of their answer, so the choices might appear in a different order. For example, they might have clicked on the top image or statement in a list, but on the ‘My answer’ screen, this might appear lower down the list. However, the screen does correctly show the answer they chose.
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Questions about the course

Q. How do I set up my classes on the management system?
A. Refer to the 'Help' facility on the software. You can find details of how to do this under 'Class Management'.
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Q. Where can I get module papers from?
A. OCR and Heinemann have developed a CD-ROM with sample module tests and mark schemes. These are also provided on this resource in the 'Print OCR Tests' section which can be accessed from the left-hand navigation pane of the teacher site.
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Q. How do I get hold of the specification?
A. The specification can be downloaded from the OCR website. There is a link to the OCR website from the left-hand navigation pane.
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Q. Who do I contact if I have a question about assessment?
A. The answer to your question may be found on the OCR website. Further contact details for OCR should be available on their website.
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Questions about purchasing

Q. Where can I find the full listing with prices and ISBNs for Gateway Science Assessment Online?
A. In the Heinemann catalogue or at www.gatewayscience.co.uk
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Questions about Gateway Science Assessment Online content

Q. What learning outcomes are covered in Gateway Science Assessment Online?
A. Full details of the coverage are provided in the Introduction in the User manual. The User Manual is supplied as a PDF, downloadable from this 'Help' file.
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Q. What sort of question types are used in the assessment?
A. A wide variety of question types are used including multiple choice, drag and drop and connect points. An example of each type of question template used is provided for the students under the 'Question Practice' button. They should be encouraged to go through these practice questions before they do their first assessments.
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Q. How is the Gateway suite arranged in the resource?
A. > It is arranged as Core Science, Additional Science and Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Each course contains the relevant modules so Biology for example will have modules B1-B6.
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Questions about students performing the assessments

Q. Is is better to assess at item or module level?
A. Suggested strategies are provided in the User manual for you consideration.
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Q. Can I trust students to do the assessments at home?
A. The purpose of these assessments is to help individual students progress. Once students see that teachers use the information to make the lessons match their needs they behave very responsibly.
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Q. Can students see someone else's answers in a computer suite by looking at the next-door screen?
A. Yes, as each student has the same test if working at the same tier. However, there are some cloned questions (different versions) in Module 3-6. This lessens the effect of overlooking another computer. The upside to this arrangement is that teachers may refer to a question by number, knowing all students will have met it as the first, second question etc, if necessary.
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Q. What if the Internet goes down while a student is doing an assessment, do they lose all their answers?
A. The system will remember all of the answers that the student gave up to the point where the connection is lost. The assessment will resume from the last question the student reached when they resume.
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Q. Can some students in the class perform an assessment at foundation and others at higher tier?
A. Yes, individual students can be set an assessment at a different tier from other class members.
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Q. How can the assessments be used to guide me on the tier that the students should be working at?
A. The Introduction in the User manual gives suggested ways of working that can help teachers to develop strategies for assessing the students.
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