What kind of computer do I need?

Computer hardware and software recommended:

Internet Connection: Broadband, 384Kbps or better
Flash Player: Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher
RAM: 128 MB free
Hard Drive: 1200 MB free
Video/Display: 4 MB Video Card, 16-bit color, 1024 x 768 minimum resolution
Audio: DirectSound 8, 16-bit support

If you use a PC, it should have:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000, Me or XP
Web Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Netscape 8.1 or higher, Firefox 2.0.0.2 or higher
CPU Minimum: Pentium III, 500 MHz
CPU Recommended: Pentium III or IV, 1GHz

If you use a Mac, it should have:

Processor: PowerPC G3, G4, G5, or Intel core
Memory: 256MB RAM
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3
Web Browser: Firefox 1.0.3 or better, Safari 2.0.4

Try the demo, if the demo works properly your have the necessary equipment to run the program. DEMO LINK

**NOTE: Program does not work with MSN or AOL browsers
**NOTE: Follow instructions below to optimize performance

What should my broswer's settings be to get the best performance?

Follow the instructions to the link below:

Improve program's performance

How fast of an Internet connection do I need?

BigVocabTime.com was designed to be used over a broadband internet connection (DSL, Cable, T1 or faster).

How to create a custom lesson?

How to create a custom lesson?

Go to the “Modify Lesson” (the green book on the main menu) button once you are signed into the program

   1. Click on the lesson number you would like to modify (numbers on the top of the screen) 
   2. Click on the “Clear List” button to clear the list
   3. Via the “+ Add Words” PULL DOWN menu either type or select a word from the list
   4. Add the word via the “Add Word” button (Round Green Button)…you will see the word added to your list once you click
   5. Once your lesson is complete make sure you hit the “SAVE LESSON” button (green rectangle button under the 30th word in the list) to save your lesson.

After you complete the sets above, you will see the lesson number turn to ORANGE indicating it is now a custom lesson.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions!

It possible for students to bypass or redo a lesson or step. 

I am interested in creating a classroom account and I have 20 students.
How do I use your program?

To set up a teacher’s account:

1. Go to www.BigVocabTime.com home page
2. On the left menu bar, click on the “Sign Up!” button
3. Review our Member Agreement
4. Select the “Teacher – Create a Classroom” button
5. Fill out your member information and enter a unique Classroom Name (this will be your Main teacher’s account)
6. Click the “Retrun” button (after you pay via PayPal)
7. Now you have created your classroom account
8. Use the "Modify Lessons" notebook to create your own word lists
9. On the main menu click on the "Add student" button to add students

Important: Your student accounts can be used at school or at home but students can only view the teacher's word lists.

Why did you change the sentence of the word I added?

Several reasons:

1. Sentences need to be general in nature without specific references or overtones. If not, the sentence will be modified.
2. We use a text-to-speech (TTS) engine that generates the "voice" reading the words and sentences and sometimes the sentence needs to be modified to best fit the parameters of this technology.
3. Sentences are too long or too short.

BigVocabTime.com can receive up to several hundred new words per day so we very much appreciate Members taking the time and effort to supply complete, appropriate sentences.

I just added a new word. When will that word appear in my our lesson?

We endeavor to check and post new words to the system as quick as possible. However, due to the volume of Members and new words, this process can take up to 24 hours so we recommend adding new words when your child first receives the week's list.

If you ever find any words that are not being properly enunciated or sound unclear or don't have the corresponding "talking agent", please let us know asap.

I have been using your system every day and my child loves doing his homework.  Today, he went on and the program got stuck on the loading and stops at 40%!  Help!

What most likely happened is the BigVocabTime program got corrupted on your local machine. You need to delete the existing program. This is how you can fix this problem.

To delete your local copy of BigVocabTime:

1. Go to your BROWSER menu bar (on top) and select “Tools” and then “Internet Options”.
2. In the general tab Click on the “Delete” button from the Browsing History section.
3. Click on “Delete files” button from the Temporary Internet Files section
4. Reboot your machine
5. Sign back in

We have tried several times to download the Flash Player 9 but it continues to say we need Flash 9. Any suggestions?

The Flash Player 9 is REQUIRED to run the program.  If you "right" click on the application it will tell you what player you have on your system.  You can download the Flash Player 9 with the below link.

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=
ShockwaveFlash

If you tried downloading the Flash Player 9 but it's not updating please uninstall the current Flash Player and reinstall the Flash Player 9.  The link below will help you with how to uninstall the Flash Player.

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14157

I’ve downloaded the Flash Player 9 but when I try to view the demo, BigVocabTime.com still says I need to download Flash 9. Any suggestions? 

Classroom versus individual account?

A classroom account was designed for teachers with a traditional classroom having one weekly word list for all students (usually over 10).  These students are always on the same lesson each week doing one lesson a day. A classroom account goes around the same weekly word list and does not advance any one student. The program will advance to the next lesson on Mondays keeping all your students on the same lesson each week. You can not customize a student’s word list; all your students will have the word list of the teachers account. You can add up to 24 students with a classroom account.

An individual account is for a one child. You can not share an individual account with multiple children. The Individual account is more dynamic than classroom accounts. An individual account goes around a child’s progress regardless of the day of the week. The program will not advance to the next lesson until the child completed their current lesson with proficiency. The program will register and advance a user doing multiple lessons in one day. An individual account allows for customizable word lists. Most users fall under this category because they require the additional features that an individual account provides. An individual account advances the student based upon subject matter proficiency which is the ideal learning environment.

Note: An individual account is for a single user if you have a family or group of students that have separate word lists each child will need their own individual account.

How can I find a list of the students in my classroom?

Classrooms are set up and managed completely within the BigVocabTime.com site.

Please follow the steps below to view your class list:

1. Log onto BigVocabTime.com classroom/teacher account (via teacher’s member name and password)
2. Click on the ‘Personal Information’ button on Main Menu (bottom of the screen)
3. Click on the ‘Classroom Management’ button

Here you can view your classroom lists of all student and member names.  Additionally you can delete students here.

How do I change my member name?

We do not currently offer the ability to change member names. Because member names are unique, once a member name has been created it cannot be changed.

How do I change my email?

Insturctions to change your email:

1.  Log into your account
2.  Click on the "Member Information" button on the main menu (bottom of the screen).
3.  Enter your new email address next to the "Email" fiels.
4.  Click "Save" button

Can I share my account with another user?

Each account is for a single user. Because the program is intelligent and monitoring the success rate for advancement of each child, accounts can not be shared. If you have multiple children you will need to create an account for each child. Every user needs a unique member name so the system can properly monitor and advance each user.

How do I change my password?

Insturctions to change your password:

1.  Log into your account
2.  Click on the "Member Information" button on the main menu (bottom of the screen).
3.  Enter your password (current) and a new password.
4.  Click "Save" button

Is there a placement test to tell us which level to start with? Or can a child test out of a lesson without doing all of the activities?

No there is no placement test.  You can look at the entire word list by grade via “Word Lists” text link on the top of the page.  As a rule we suggest pulling back before going forward with our spelling curriculum.   If you are unsure where to start, start at the child’s grade level.  If you feel the list is not challenging enough you can add bonus words to the list via the “Modify Lessons” page.  If you find the words are too hard you can always decrease his/her grade level via the “Membership Information” page.

Is there a way to go through several lessons in a day?

The program will allow you to go through multiple lessons in a day.  We recommend you keep this to no more than 2 lessons in a day so your student will have long term retention of his/her word list. 

Does the program still go directly to the games after just one lesson?

The program will only allow the user to go to the game page is he/she passes their lesson. They need to get a 80% or better to pass a step lesson and a 100% to pass the test!

How do I make sure my students are on the correct lesson number?

As the teacher at the beginning of each week, you can make sure your students are starting off on the correct lesson/step.  You can go into your teacher’s account and RESET your lesson number by doing this from the teacher’s account the program will automatically set all your students to this lesson number and step 1.  This will assure you that ALL your students are on the same lesson number when starting your new lesson.  This can easily be done by via the “reset lesson/step” buttons on the main menu.  It would be a good idea to do this each week before starting a new lesson.

How do I make sure my students are on the correct lesson number?

You can track your students via the "Progress Reports" which can be accessed from the home page or http://www.BigVocabTime.com/reports.shtml.

I added my custom lesson but I don't see?

After you add your customized list make sure you click on the "Save Lesson" button so your list is saved. Also, the program will AUTOMATICALLY reorder your word list.  Your list may be saved but just in a different order then you initially inputted.