For help with downloading and starting up MISTC, send email to MISTCHelp@netlab.gmu.edu. For special help with installation, call 703 993-1749. For emergency help with connecting to a live class, call 571 238-1049.

Please include in your syllabus the statement:
This course is delivered to the NET section online by MISTC. Students in all sections have accounts on MISTC and can play back the lectures and download the PDF slide files athttps://netlab.gmu.edu/.

Whiteboard converts slides from formats ppt, pdf, tex, or ps to individual pdf and jpg files needed for lecture.

I tried to convert PowerPoint slides using the whiteboard Convert Slides but, but I get a message that conversion failed. What am I doing wrong?

Probably you don't have the required printer driver installed. Part of the conversion i s done using printer driver software. See C:\Program Files\MISTC\CONVERT\CONVERT-INFO.txt.

Moodle will let you upload anything you like. However, MISTC automatically names recording files with term, course, date, and time. Most people leave that as the filename, but you can change it. Slide files can have any name.

On your Moodle page:

1. upload to the File directory on left side of page
2. click on "Turn editing on"
3. choose a place on Moodle page to post it and click on "Add a resource->Link to a file or website" there
4. fill in a name for the file
5. click "Choose or upload a file" and choose the one you previously uploaded
6. click "Save and return to course"

GMU faculty members own the copyright to the slides they produce, if they assert a copyright. To avoid any misunderstanding, it is best to assert the copyright on each slide. (See the GMU copyright policy for more information.) Any recording produced by NEW is copyrighted in its entirety to prevent others from using it without permission. Only the faculty member who recorded it may grant permission for its reuse. The MISTC copyright states, "Students registered in the course and sections named above may keep one copy of this recording for their personal use. Separate copyright by the presenter or other parties may apply to the graphics presented in this recording."

When running MISTC, I get one or more pop-ups with the following message:
  MISTC could not locate audio output control WAV found controls [CDA][Vol]
How do I disable these pop-ups?

To disable the pop-ups:

1. Make two files with no extensions called "audiointag" for MIC and "audioouttag" for WAV
2. Open the files in a text editor and copy one of the three letter words that these pop-ups give you and paste within the files
3. Save these files in the directory C:\Program Files\MISTC and restart MISTC

When you sign on for faculty roles such as adding a student, you must use the NET section number. The non-net (lower) section number signs you on with the student i nterface. If you need to edit the database in the non-net section, sign on to the NET section and enter the courseID for the non-net section on the add or update page.

You can create an account under your course for anybody. This was intended for late registrants but it works for any username you assign. Just login to the higher section number and click on "Add Student".

Send them email describing the evaluation of their work and then return the paper when they come in for an exam. You could also offer to return documents by postal mail, if they request.

It is now possible to access recordings from the previous semesters, for students who were enrolled in the courses at that time. Take the 'Past semesters' link on the menu of the logon page and choose the semester, then logon with your user name and password. Instructors who wish to allow their students who were not enrolled in aone of their past semester courses to view the recordings, may log on to the past semester course and insert those students.

Should you overrun server buffer capacity with slides, you get a warning to slow down and the system catches up gracefully.

It is possible to teach over a good-quality modem line if necessary, although slides are displayed more slowly.

If you accidentally exit from a tool such as the whiteboard, you can restart it by clicking on the master client mini-window, labeled MISTC Clients, anywhere but the shutdown X. This avoids disconnecting to restart. To shutdown all tools, click the X on the master client. However, at the end of your class you should just stop the recorder and leave the software running; this will make it simpler for the support person to upload the recording.

I am trying to teach and my projector machine will not display the slides. Please help.

This is a Windows problem. It gets into a state where the whiteboard can not find its supporting Ghostview. The answer is to reboot.

When I am teaching with my Mac, sometimes the Whiteboard will not import a window. Please help.

This is a known bug in the Mac software. The answer is to reboot.

After I run the MISTC clients, some of my desktop icons disappear from my screen. What can I do about this?

There is a bad interaction between Windows Explorer (the desktop graphics--not Internet Explorer) and MISTC that does this. A workaround on Windows XP is to use the Task Manager to kill and restart the Explorer task. An alternative is to log out of Windows and log back on.

When I tried to start a MISTC session, it did not work. What am I doing wrong?

If the server was running and available, your connection could be refused because of an authentication failure. If you hit "connect to class" more than one time, you might have more than one LIVE*.nwm file downloaded. So if you tried opening something other than the last one sent, it would have the wrong authentication token in it. Find and use the most recent file downloaded and it should work.

The MISTC client works with Microsoft Vista, but the conversion of Powerpoint slides using Vista is not currently working.

To participate with audio, students need a computer with sound interface and a microphone (which is already built into most laptops).

Before participating in class with audio, students should run Sound Test using button on the MIST/C control panel. This will capture a snippet of audio and play it back, showing that they are ready to participate. If they can't get sound to work they can contact mistchelp@netlab.gmu.edu.

During class, you'll need to either set floor control into "ALWAYS" mode (so students can break in with a question) or have them Request Floor and then you click on their Floor Control cell, which will be pink, to hand off the floor. In either case you need to remember to Request Floor yourself after they are finished speaking, or to break into their talking.

Here is a slide presentation of Moodle's file management.