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formats and troubleshooting tips
When you have assigned content that is online instead of in the textbook,
these readings are sometimes available in multiple formats:
- QuickTime Video (requires broadband)
- If you have broadband access, I recommend accessing content through video,
because the video combines the text and images so that it takes less time
to go through than if you first read the text and then separately look at
the images. There are usually three links for QuickTime videos, which come
in three varieties:
- Streaming. The video will begin playing before it downloads,
and will not be saved on your computer. This is the best option, so try
it first. Troubleshooting tips:
- If the movie opens in RealPlayer instead of in QuickTime Player, make
sure you have installed a recent version of QuickTime. Note: If you have iTunes, you already have QuickTime. Download
the free QuickTime Player, for Windows or Mac.
- If it still opens in Real Player, open Real Player preferences, and
uncheck the preference for Real Player to play back Real Time Streaming
Protocol files.
- If it still does not work, then the most likely explanation is that
you may be using a firewall or router (perhaps at work) with incompatible
settings. This
page describes the QuickTime settings necessary to access QT streaming
video from behind a firewall or router. If this doesn't work or you
don't want to troubleshoot your firewall or router device, then try
the next link for a non-streaming video...
- Not streaming. The video will load in your web browser
as it plays. This option may work when the streaming does not, but it
requires more hard drive space than the streaming version. If you use
a modern browser such as Firefox or Safari, and have plenty of hard drive
space temporarily available, this may be just as good an option as the
streaming version or even better. Troubleshooting tips: If you
use Internet Explorer, forget about this option, because Internet Explorer
will not begin playing non-streaming videos until the entire file has
downloaded (which might take 5-15 minutes). Firefox, Safari and other
modern browsers will begin playing a QuickTime movie before it has finished
downloading. Therefore either switch to Firefox or try the next option
for downloading video...
- Download. Downloads the video to your hard drive so
that you can open it in QuickTime Player instead of in your web browser.
You will need to have enough space available on your hard drive, since
some of the videos may be quite large, about the size of a CD. If you
do not have enough room on your hard drive, instead of the video use the
text-based Exhibits Online version...
- Exhibits Online: Browsing text in web pages with thumbnail
images (dial-up)
- Video is not suitable for those with dial-up modems. If you use dial-up
internet access, or if you want to go back and review any part of the material
more closely, the text of the streaming video and the images used in the
video are available in the Exhibits Online website.
- Downloadable mp3 audio (for review)
- If you want to refresh your memory, an audio file (without images, but
otherwise identical to the video) is often available for downloading in
mp3 format, which will play on mp3 players such as an iPod. You can take
mp3 files with you away from the computer and listen to them while commuting
to work or jogging or doing the dishes or whatever. This may be particularly
useful to those whose broadband internet access is limited to specific
times: download the mp3 while you have broadband, and listen while away
from the computer.
Of course, no one needs to buy an iPod just for this course! (Despite the innovative
policy of Duke University, which hands out free iPods to students in certain
courses.) And broadband access is not required (though it is recommended). The
text plus images in the Exhibits Online website
are the most common way students will access online content for this course,
and this option is always sufficient. The other options are purely
optional; just meant to offer you some flexibility, and I hope they will be
useful to some of you. (If so, please let me know. Thanks!)
Recommendation: When all three formats are available, if you have
broadband access, I would recommend watching the video first, in order to gain
a general sense of the material. Because the video version conveys the images
and the description of the images simultaneously, the video presents
the material faster and more efficiently than reading the text first and then
cross-referencing text and related images. The audio version is the
soundtrack of the video, identical to the video except for lack of images. You
can download the audio onto an iPod or mp3 player. To review before taking the
quiz, after watching video or listening to audio, then go to the text version
on Exhibits Online as needed to answer the questions for the assignment and
fill in any gaps that did not seem particularly clear from the video. The text
version may often contain a few extra explanations, additional source quotations,
and/or documentation in footnotes. The questions listed on the assignment page
and used for the quiz can always be answered using the video or audio version
alone; they do not depend on any supplementary material in the text version.
Comments or questions about some of the media formats? Email
me.
Do you have
a great quote for this page? Let me know! (If
used, a new quote is worth 1 point extra credit)
