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Project Lead The WayPennsylvania
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Frequently Asked Questions |
Revised 4/18/2007 |
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1. What are the steps involved in joining Project Lead The Way? 2. Why join Project Lead The Way? 3. How much will it cost our school or school district? 4. Can we use our current computers to run the Project Lead The Way software? 5. How do we know if our computers meet Project Lead The Way specifications? 6. Our school uses a Block schedule. Does Project Lead The Way work with a block schedule? 7. Why won't the Web Presentation work on my computer? 8. Can we weight the high school PLTW courses? 9. If we are a PLTW school, what are the testing requirements? 10. Some of my students have an IEP. May I make allowances in testing?
1. What are the steps involved in joining Project Lead The Way? See http://www.pltw.org/joinpltw.shtml for information on registration; the first step. More details coming shortly.
2. Why join Project Lead The Way? We Believe That
3. How much will it cost our school or school district?
4. Can we use our current computers to run the Project Lead The Way software? The answer is yes IF your computers meet current Project Lead The Way specifications. It may be possible to use computers that do not meet the current specification. To determine if your current computers will run the software, determine your computers' specification and email it to the PLTW Technology Director. Here are the links to the specifications: (NOTE: if a password window appears, click Cancel; the document will open in your browser). To determine your computer's current specifications, see question 5 below. Teacher Laptop Machine (all PLTW teachers MUST have their own PLTW laptop, they may not share)
5. How do we know if our computers meet Project Lead The Way specifications? If your computers meet the specifications that Project Lead The Way requires, you can use them. Here's how to determine what specifications your computers currently meet.
If you still have questions regarding the suitability of your computers, email the information you just collected to Tom White at PLTW.
6. Does Project Lead The Way work with a block schedule? A three year block schedule would permit students to get two PLTW courses in each year. PLTW courses are designed for a 42 to 45 minute period meeting about 175 days a year. A three year sequence would allow students to complete 6 courses. The minimum 4 courses could be accomplished in 2 years.
7. Why won't the Web Presentation work on my computer? There is a known issue with Internet Explorer 7, Vista, and Flash where the browser cannot play a Flash presentation. The Web Presentation works fine with Mozilla Firefox or the Opera Browser.. You can download and install them from
8. Can/should we weight the high school PLTW courses? The short answer is yes. It is up to each individual school to decide if they want to weight the high school PLTW courses. Recently, various Pennsylvania high schools expressed their views, and what they do at their school. To see these comments, click HERE.
9. If we are a PLTW school, what are the testing requirements?
1. Are all students (regardless of school certification) expected to take both Parts A and B? Answer: All instructors are to administer parts A and B if they are not looking to receive college credit. If they are looking for college credit, parts A and C should be taken. (Note: your school MUST be certified to administer Part C) 2. If all students are expected to take Parts A and B, and the online testing dates do not work for an individual school, I assume the tests can be downloaded by the teachers. Where do they download them from? Would that be at the Teacher Login on the main page? Are there only certain dates when they can download them? Answer: There are limitations to the number of users in the system during any given hour. So if an instructor is unable to schedule during their class, the user max has been reached and students will need to take their exam in paper format. You can locate your exams by doing the following: . Go to www.pltw.org . On the right hand side of the PLTW homepage you will see a text box labeled PLTW Sign In. Click here . You will be asked to enter your email address and password which you created at the time of your registration. Please do so and click submit. . You are now on the Teacher Console Homepage . On the right hand side of your screen you will see an button labeled Assessments. Click here . Now you should see two options listed below , Practice and Final Exams. Please choose final exam. . Please read the instructions and click on the check box confirming that you understand its content. Click Submit . Here are your exams. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a listing of all available PLTW courses. Select the appropriate course. If you are unable to view any attachments under the selected tab: You may need to update your settings on the Teacher Console of the PLTW site. To do so: . Go to www.pltw.org . On the right hand side of the PLTW homepage you will see a text box labeled PLTW Sign In. Click here . You will be asked to enter your email address and password which you created at the time of your registration. Please do so and click submit. . You are now on the Teacher Console Homepage . In the upper right hand corner of your home page is a section labeled MY CURRENT SETTINGS click here . Here you will have the option to enter in the courses that you are presently teaching and whether you are on a fall/spring block or full year schedule. If this section is left blank our system does not recognize you as an active instructor. 3. Part C exam - is this an online exam? Answer: ONLY part A of any End of Course Exam is online. Parts B and C are administered in paper format. Parts A and B should be administered in paper format if instructors cannot find a testing time conducive to their schedule. 4. If manual tests are administered, are teachers expected to report the grading to TrueOutcomes or to some other location or media? Answer: Testing grades for part A should be submitted to TrueOutcomes upon completion of test administration. This can be done by recording the grades on the score sheet and submitting them to support@trueoutcomes.com.
10. Some of my students have an IEP. May I make allowances in testing? Yes, you may allowances. Click HERE for a PDF document outlining what allowances may be made.
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