Installing Practica Musica at schools
The Student Edition
The Site Edition
Obtaining student files
Organizing student files
Using Student Editions in a lab
Setting the fileserver location
Using large numbers of student files
Sample installations
Schools will generally be using the individual Student Editions, sold to students at the bookstore, and/or the Site Edition, which allows network and lab installation for multiple stations and students.
Colleges and Universities increasingly tend to the Student Edition, which allows students to work with the program either at home or at school. The Student Edition also includes the cost of WebStudent[tm] service, which provides a convenient method of organizing student progress reports. More on that is found below.
High schools and any other institutions whose students do not purchase class materials will usually want the Site License. The site license is most conveniently installed on a network server, though it can be kept on multiple workstations with just the student files on a central server. If a server is unavailable for student file storage site owners can also rent space at WebStudents for a yearly fee.
Some colleges use both a site licensed computer lab and individual Student Editions. Students are able to make use of the lab when at school, and their personal student file is accessed and maintained via the WebStudents service included with the Student Editions. When at home or the dorm, the student uses the Student Edition, and that same personal file is accessed via WebStudents so that the student's work remains current in both locations.
The Student Edition is a single-user edition of Practica Musica that does not include access to the Instructor Options used for modifying or creating learning activities, etc. It is an academic product only, sold in campus bookstores. The CD can be used with both Windows and Macintosh computers, from Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP to Macintosh OSX and OS9.1-2 (the OSX version is native).
The Student Edition can be run directly from the CD and/or installed to the computer. Students may want to use their Student Editions both at home or at school, and can do so in both places, though of course it is convenient if the school computer has a site-licensed copy already in place. Note that if the computer has not had Practica Musica on it before it may be necessary to restart it the first time so that the music font is recognized. Afterward the font will always be available. Students will also need to keep track of their student files. If you are using the WebStudents system each student's personal file will always be available as long as the computer has an internet connection.
The Site Edition can be installed on a network file server or on multiple computers in a school computer lab. If you use the Server Install option you'll get a complete Practica Musica folder whose Practica Musica Students folder includes both an instructor file and a visitor file. The Workstation install will have on the visitor file. In both cases you'll install any additional student files using the Create Student Files command in Practica Musica's Instructor Options.
On Windows computers another difference between the two installs is that the server install does not place a shortcut to the program in the server's Start Menu. The workstation install does put in a shortcut.
Student Files are small data files used to keep track of the progress of individual students. The instructor file is a special type of student file that allows its owner access to Practica Musica's Instructor Options.
Student Files are obtained either from the Create Student Files command in the Instructor Options or from a Student Edition of Practica Musica. Owners of site licenses or even Standard (one-computer) Editions can add to their student file count by purchasing an authorization for additional files from Ars Nova. Alternatively, if students are using the academic Student Editions each student can create a new Student File with an option in the Student Edition. Each Student Edition creates one individualized student file that can join other files in a student folder if desired.
At the end of the semester or whenever needed, you can delete any student files whose owners have left, and use the Create Student Files command to top up the list with fresh copies of the missing files. The program will know automatically which files are missing.
If new students arrive using Student Editions, they will be able to add their files to the list.
Practica Musica does not actually require a student file to run, but each time you begin an activity without a student file chosen the program will ask if you would like to choose a file for storing the progress report. If you have a site license and also have more students than student files, the extra students can sign in using the visitor file and avoid that message about choosing a personal file.
The reporting features in Practica Musica make it desirable to keep the student files all in one place, preferably on a central server. If you have trouble getting access to a central server or would like the additional option of letting students use the product either at home or on campus, Ars Nova now offers WebStudents service. WebStudents access is included in the cost of the academic Student Editions and is also available to site licensees for a yearly fee.
If you are using a central server to store student files, the simplest thing is to install the whole program on the server and let the workstations run it remotely. In that case only the fonts need to be installed on the workstations. However, for quicker launching you can also choose to install the program on every workstation and just keep the student files on the central server - you'll use the "Set Fileserver Location" command to let each workstation know where to find the student files.
Using Student Editions in a lab
Perhaps your students are obtaining the Practica Musica Student Edition at their bookstore but will sometimes be using the program in the computer lab in addition to using it at home or in the dorm. The Students can run the program in the lab directly from the CD without installing it, if the computers do not already have the program installed. Since Student Editions all include the cost of WebStudents access you can ask for a WebStudents account to make it easier for them to locate their student files when using a new computer. You can also choose to put the student files on a central fileserver at the school, using Set Fileserver Location (see below), and you can do both together (WebStudents and a local fileserver). The advantage of WebStudents is that there will always be a current copy of the student's progress report in a central location where you can see it - regardless of whether the student uses the program at school or at home on the other side of the continent. See below for sample installations of this type.
Setting the fileserver location
On both Mac and Windows the process is the same: go to one of the workstations, choose an instructor file to get instructor access, choose this command, then use the resulting file dialog to navigate to the folder that contains the student files in question. Pick any one of the files in that folder to identify the destination to the program. Practica Musica will then create a small file called "Student Folder Location" on Windows and "Student File Location" on Macintosh (the files not interchangable since Mac and PCs use a different method of specifying file locations).
The chosen location does not actually have to be on a fileserver. It could also be on the same computer but in a different folder, something you might choose if you needed to put the student folder in a writable location while leaving the program itself in a locked folder.
After using this command you'll find that small location file has been created in the Practica Musica Folder, called "Student File Location" or "Student Folder Location" (the name differs on Macs and PCs since those files aren't interchangeable). You can now copy that location file to any other computers that connect to the same server. The file can go either in the Practica Musica Folders of the other computers or in their Preferences folders (Macs) or their Windows folder. We recommend putting this file in the Preferences folder or the Windows folder, because that way it will also be seen by an Student Edition CD that a student might happen to use. And that way, of course, the workstation can have this information available even if it presently doesn't have Practica Musica installed.
Using large numbers of student files
Student files in excess of 200 or so in a single folder become unwieldy, and in some cases can exceed the file limit that can be displayed in the computer's file-choice dialog. If you have a large number of student files, we recommend that you organize them in subfolders within the Practica Musica Students folder. As long as the outer folder is still called Practica Musica Students, it can contain any organization of subfolders.
For example, you could create subfolders with the titles
Students A-F
Students G-M
Students N-R
Students S-X
or something similar. Another approach would be to divide the students by class, as in
Music 110
Music 210
The second approach may be the best if there are multiple classes, since the "group report" feature in Instructor Options will form a report for all students found within a single folder.
Having an extra subfolder set like this makes it much easier for a student to find his or her name in the list, and adds only one click to the process. In either kind of organization you would need, if using the Create Student Files command, to place a number of unused student files in each of the subfolders, so that students who go there for the first time will find a file to sign in. One way to do that is to create all the files in one folder to start with, then drag them to other folders as desired.
Site License alone, on a server
This is the simplest install other than just having the students get Student Editions.
a. Install the program on the server, and use the "fonts only" install option to install just the fonts on the workstations.
b. Place a shortcut to the program in some convenient place on the workstations.
c. Use the Create Student Files command (in Instructor Options) to create student files in the Practica Musica Students folder.
When students launch the program from a workstation they'll always be presented with the same student folder on the server, making it easy to locate their personal file. Using the program from a server also makes it easy to update, though it does require that the Practica Musica Folder on the server be writable.
If the server administrator doesn't want the program folder to be writable but will allow a writable folder elsewhere to hold the student files, move the Practica Musica Students folder to that other location and use the Set Fileserver Location command to tell the program where to find the student folder.
Site License alone, on workstations
The program will launch faster if it is individually installed on each workstation. You can still keep the student files on a central server, if you have permission to use a writable folder on the server.
a. Install the program on each workstation.
b. Move one of the installed Practica Musica Students folders to the desired location on the server. These folders are created by the installer in the Practica Musica Folder.
c. Copy or install an instructor file to one of the workstations so that you have access to the instructor options.
Launch the program using the instructor file, and use the Set Fileserver Location command to tell the program where the student files are. This will create a student location file in the local Practica Musica Folder - you can copy that file to any other computers that use the same server.
d. Launch the program on each workstation to "sign in."
If you do not have access to the server for storing student files you may want to consider using the WebStudents service. This uses an internet connection to store copies of student data at an account in your school's name at Ars Nova.
Site License combined with Student Editions
a. Student Editions include the cost of WebStudent access, so if your students are buying Student Editions at their bookstore you can apply for a free WebStudents account at Ars Nova. You'll be able to use the account to check student progress at WebStudents, to distribute customized activities, collect music writing assignments, and even to send messages to the students via Practica Musica.
b. Tell the students the name of the account. It is usually something easy, like the name of the school plus the class number. If they start the program at home they can enter that account name using the "Enter or change WebStudents account name" command in the student options menu.
b. Install the site license either to the server or to each workstation as described above.
c. Sign in using the instructor file, and use the instructor option "Enter or change webStudents account name" to enter your account name.
d. Use the instructor option "Save settings for all students," which will write that account name into the Practica Musica Preferences file and will also instruct student files to adopt it. If you are installing the program on individual workstations copy that preferences file to each workstation's Practica Musica Folder. Having the account name in the prefs file saves time for students, who won't need to enter it themselves in that case.
e. Launch the program to "sign in." If on multiple workstations, launch each one.
When students come to the lab they don't need their Student Edition disk if they have already created a student file at WebStudents. When the program starts they'll be given a chance to choose their student file at WebStudents if it isn't present in the local list of backup copies. If they have not yet created a student file to match their Student Edition disk they can do using just their Student Edition serial number.
Student Editions alone
a. Student Editions include the cost of WebStudent access, so if your students are buying Student Editions at their bookstore you can apply for a free WebStudents account at Ars Nova. You'll be able to use the account to check student progress at WebStudents, and even to send messages to the students via Practica Musica.
b. Tell the students the name of the account. It is usually something easy, like the name of the school plus the class number. If they start the program at home they can enter that account name using the "Enter or change WebStudents account name" command in the student options menu.
c. Students can use the program where ever they like, and with WebStudents their student files will always be updated each time they use the program on a computer that has an internet connection.
Student Editions with central backup on a local server
If students bring a student edition to the lab it would be convenient if the local server had a copy of their student file, so that they didn't have to reenter their WebStudents account name each time. If a student chooses a local student file that contains a WebStudent account name the program will automatically look at WebStudents to see if the copy at WebStudents has some more recent data than the local copy.
a. Student Editions include the cost of WebStudent access, so if your students are buying Student Editions at their bookstore you can apply for a free WebStudents account at Ars Nova. You'll be able to use the account to check student progress at WebStudents, and even to send messages to the students via Practica Musica.
b. If you don't already have one, ask Ars Nova for an instructor's desk copy of the program so that you have access to instructor options.
c. Install the desk copy on a workstation or on the server.
d. Create a Practica Musica Students folder in a writable area on the server, and place at least one student file in it. You could use the instructor file from your desk copy.
e. Sign in as the instructor, and use the Set Fileserver Location command to tell the program the location of the student files on the server.
f. That will have created a "location" file in the Practica Musica Folder of the desk copy. Copy that file to each workstation. If they are Windows computers, put the file in each computer's Windows folder. If they are Macintosh computers, put the file in each computer's Preferences folder. When students launch a Student Edition on that computer the program will now know to display the contents of the server's Practica Musica Students folder.
g. Tell the students the name of the account. It is usually something easy, like the name of the school plus the class number. If they start the program at home they can enter that account name using the "Enter or change WebStudents account name" command in the student options menu.