• eVideon
  • I can’t watch movies on eVideon, what’s the deal?
• iPods
  • iPod gives me a flashing sad-face, folder icon, or battery icon
  • All of my music is gone!
  • Nothing happens when I click the touchwheel
  • My computer will not recognize the iPod
  • My iPod is broken, should I bring it in to have you look at it, or hide in fear of having to pay the replacement cost?
  • Can I get the LRC’s French/Spanish/Chinese/etc music collection on my own personal iPod?
  • Can I get the audio files for my workbook/lab manual on my own personal iPod?
  • Why do other classes get iPods and mine doesn’t? Can I borrow an iPod if my class is not using them?
  • Can I buy an iPod from you at a reduced price?

eVideon Issues:

Q: I can’t watch movies on eVideon, what’s the deal?

A: We have been getting reports that eVideon is not working for some students. These complaints seem to be limited to users who are using Windows Vista, and who also are accessing the site through the campus wireless network. We are currently looking into the source of this issue.

In the meantime there are some things you can try. If Quicktime is not working for you, you can uninstall it and try the VLC player (www.videolan.org). eVideon defaults to the Quicktime plugin if you have it, so in order to use VLC you’ll have to uninstall Quicktime. When you install VLC remember to check the option to install the Mozilla plugin if you use Firefox as your browser.

If this does not work, you can try the tips described on this page:

http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/video/windows_firewall/

If this doesn’t make sense it may be easier to simply disable the Windows Firewall completely. This seems to help. You can do this by going to Control Panel > Windows Firewall.

iPod Issues:

The LRC lends out iPods to some classes during the school semester for various activities. If you have one of these iPods, and are having difficulties with it, this is the place to look.

Many troubles that students have with iPods can be easily fixed, so do not hesitate to let us know if you are having problems. In the 3 years we have been doing iPod activities we have only had to retire two or three units to the junk-heap.

Common Problems and Their Solutions:

- iPod gives me a flashing sad-face, folder icon, or battery icon

These error messages are often enigmatic, and the root of their problems can be myriad, as can the solutions, which can range from merely giving the battery a good full charge in the case of the flashing battery icon, to reseating some of the internal connections in the case of the other two. Sometimes a “hard reset” can kick life back into a dead iPod (hold menu+select buttons for a few seconds until it reboots), or a software wipe and restore from the iTunes menu can help. If you get one of these error screens try some of the common solutions (hard reset, software restore) first. If the problem persists then bring the unit in and we can take a look at it in more depth. If you do a software restore you will need to bring the unit in the be reloaded with your course materials.

- All of my music is gone!

If you put your iPod into automatic sync mode (meaning your iTunes library and your iPod synchronize, and are mirrored) then the course materials we put on your iPod will have been erased. The iPod sync will only copy songs in your iTunes library to your iPod not vice versa. If this happens bring the unit in and we will reload the materials onto it.

- Nothing happens when I click the touchwheel.

Either you have the iPod locked (via the switch on the top) or your iPod battery is completely dead. In cases where the battery has been drained so low that this occurs it is sometimes necessary to plug it in via the USB/AC adapter. If you did not get one of these adapters when we handed the iPods out to your class then you can bring the unit in and we’ll charge it for you. If neither is the case, do not despair, we may still be able to breathe life into it. When all else fails bring the unit in and we can see what we can do. If a unit has a bad hard disk, or battery we have spare parts that we can try to fix the unit with.

- My computer will not recognize the iPod

Sometimes when you connect an iPod to your computer it will change to indicate it is connected, but then not show up in iTunes or “mount” to your system. On a windows machine you should click on the “safely remove” icon in your taskbar tray and choose to eject the iPod Then disconnect and reconnect the iPod Sometimes connecting the iPod while it is in locked mode “via the sliding switch on the top of the iPod will cause the computer to not recognize it, so if this is the case move the slider so that it is NOT showing red and then connect it to the computer.

On a Mac this behavior can sometimes be caused by an iPod with really low battery life. Remove the iPod and charge it a bit, then reconnect. You can sometimes remove an unmounted iPod via the “Disk Utility” application in Applications > Utilities.

- My iPod is broken, should I bring it in to have you look at it, or hide in fear of having to pay the replacement cost?

Whatever you do, do not just ignore the problem for fear of having to replace the iPod We will only charge you for these units if there has been flagrant abuse on your part (broken screens, cases, water damage, or bad hard disks that were obviously caused from rough or reckless treatment). As has been stated before, many problems have fixes, and the iPod that can not be repaired is a rarity.

Common Questions:

Q: Can I get the LRC’s French/Spanish/Chinese/etc music collection on my own personal iPod?

A: No, due to copyright law we cannot distribute those files to students unless they are on our own iPods that we lend out and ultimately recoup, unless you are in a class that is using iPods and you currently own an iPod that you would like to use instead of ours.

Q: Can I get the audio files for my workbook/lab manual on my own personal iPod?

A: Yes, in most cases these files are licensed in such a way that we can distribute these files to students.

Q: Why do other classes get iPods and mine doesn’t? Can I borrow an iPod if my class is not using them?

A: We meet with instructors who plan on using the iPods before the start of the semester, often planning specific activities or ways of incorporating the iPods into course activities, such that the iPod is not just a case of “technology for technology’s sake”. While it sounds good in theory to have an iPod for a semester no matter what reason, our experience has been that when the devices are not incorporated well into the curriculum it becomes more of a burden than a joy. If your class is not using iPods it is most likely because the instructor did not feel they would work with their teaching scheme, or because they could not think of a way to specifically incorporate them.

To answer the second question, we do not usually lend iPods out to students not enrolled in the classes using them, however, if you are interested in exploring the ways in which they could be used for the language you are studying we may make some exceptions, with the caveat that you would need to check in regularly with us to show us what you have found to be useful, hopefully giving us new ideas for pedagogical uses of the iPod. For instance, do you use the notes, or calendar? How do you use the foreign language songs and course materials besides casual listening? What about photos or videos?

Q: Can I buy an iPod from you at a reduced price?

A: Yes! If you are interested in buying one of our iPods we would be glad to negotiate a reduced price. We do this to put funds toward purchasing newer-model iPods.