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What are the technical requirements?
You need Pentium PC or PowerMac with an internet connection and a browser which supports Javascript and Cookies.
The resources inside the site require a variety of standard free plugins and players such as Shockwave and Real Player. The site
has a comprehensive help guide which will tell you about these and where to get them.
Is Physics-online accessible to people with disabilities?
Physics-online has a variety of features which make it accessible including:
- Ensuring text can be enlarged
- Ensuring images have appropriate text labels
- Tables have summaries and headers where appropriate
Is Physics-online reliable?
Physics-online uses standard web technology which is both robust and scalable.
Our dedicated servers are located in a secure data centre with 2 Gigabit/s optical connectivity and daily backups.
This means that we can provide a 99% available service.
Is Physics-online future proof and interoperable?
We are working with e-learning standard agencies to ensure that lessons produced in Physics-online can be
re-used in other learning systems. We are developing a feature which will allow your Physics-online lessons
to exported as standard XML learning objects for use in other systems. As e-learning metadata standards evolve we will adapt our
system to keep up to date with changes.
Does Physics-online track pupils?
No, Physics-online does not track individual pupils nor does it have any electronic assessment and reporting functions.
In technical terms it is not a Managed or Virtual Learning Environment (MLE, VLE) but it is a collection of learning resources and lessons,
some provided by us some free on the web, combined with a content management system. As described above
you will be able to use exported learning objects within any standard MLE and VLE.
Do I need to learn HTML to create, news pages, lessons and courses?
Absolutely not. Physics-online is extremely easy to use and it is designed to save you time.
The process of creating a lesson is very similar to buying a book at amazon.com
Do I need anything else besides a web browser?
Although all Physics-online resources open in a web browser they are not standard text and image
web pages. To access most rich interactive content you will need a variety of free players and plugins which
extend your browser to playback interactive content and video. Each resource in physics-online is clearly labelled
according to its format (Java, shockwave, Real Video etc) and when you sign up we will run a check
on your system to see which plugins you require.
What connection speed is required?
Ideally a broadband connection of 2MB/s or greater to your school or college. However, with the
exception of video, most resources in physics-online are low bandwidth so a dialup connection for
a single home user would be adequate.
Where are the online lessons stored?
Online lessons are stored in the database on our server and any documents you
have uploaded are hosted on our dedicated server.
How much server web space do I get?
Each physics-online school account comes with 10MB of webspace. This should be enough for 300 uploaded
documents. If however this isn't enough you can buy some more web space for £40 per extra 10MB PA.
How is physics-online licenced?
Physics-online is licenced as an annual subscription. This provides:
- access to our BETT award winning simulations (normally £500 on CD)
- a school account so you and your colleagues can create and publish online lessons, courses and webpages
- a single login for all pupils
- 20 logins for teachers
- school and home access to the site for pupils and teachers
- 10MB of webspace for documents and images
What is not included in the licence?
- Aside from our own simulations, many online resources in physics-online belong to
other organisations. We find and categorise these published resources and to provide you with a tool to manage them.
We make no guarantee that they will always be available
- Courses produced with physics-online are intended to be an enhancement to a standard classroom based physics
course, as offered by a school or college. Without prior permission, your institution cannot use physics-online
to publish and offer distance learning courses. Please contact us if this is your intention as we may be able to accommodate this within a special licencing arrangement.
- Without prior consent, Physics-online may not be used for any secondary commercial activity.
- Access to the website is restricted to students enrolled in the subscribing institution.
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If there is a question you would like to ask call us on:
0870 701 0012
or email us
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