Summary of LiveText Procedures (Rev. 6)

Activating your LiveText membership:

1.  Launch Internet Explorer and go to the following URL: http://www.livetext.com

2.  Click on the Register Account link on the left side of the screen..

3.  On the page that appears, click on the link entitled Click here to activate your account located near the bottom of the page. .

4.  On the Account Information page, enter the key code exactly as it appears on the inside of the cardboard sleeve containing your LiveText CD—(including any capitol letters or hyphens that may be present).

5.  Continue filling out the Account Information page by supplying all requested information under the Personal Information, Member Information, and Security Question headings. It is a good idea to use your ISU ULID for your LiveText username (if possible). Also, please remember to click in the box next to I agree to the Terms of Service.

6.  Click on the Next button at the bottom of the page to complete the membership activation process.

Logging in to your LiveText account:

  1. Launch Internet Explorer and go to the following URL: http://www.livetext.com
  2. Under the LiveText members heading at the top left of the screen, enter the username and password you provided during the LiveText membership activation process, and then click on the Login button.

Creating a new LiveText document (of any type):

1. First, generate a skeletal outline by completing the following steps:

a.  Click on the Create button near the left side of the MyDesk area.

b.  Under the Choose a folder heading on the screen that now appears, use the pull-down menu to select the type of document you wish to create (i.e., lesson plan, assessment, project, course, or portfolio).
***Note: There are two categories of documents: the Illinois State University category, and the LiveText category. Each references a different set of templates (e.g., the lesson plan templates under the Illinois State University heading are different from those under the LiveText heading). If you do not select the correct category, you will not be able to locate the appropriate template in the next step. (Ask your instructor if you are not sure.)

c.  Under the Choose a template heading, use the pull-down menu to select the name of the template you wish to use. (If you do not know the name of the template you are to use, please check with your instructor.)

d.  Under the Enter Title, description and course heading, provide a name for the document in the Title field and, if you wish, supply a short description of the document in the Description field.

e.  Click on the Create Document button to complete the skeletal outline. (Be patient. It may take LiveText a few seconds to generate the document under your account. To avoid the creation of multiple copies of the same document, please remember to click on the Create Document button only once.)

2. Second, flesh out the skeletal outline with your own unique content by completing the following steps:

a.  The empty skeletal outline is now shown on your screen. Note that the document will either be displayed in a book-like “page-by-page” format--(where only one page is shown at a time, and different pages can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate page name in the vertical menu bar on the left), or in a “scroll” format--(where the entire document is displayed as one continuous strip, and different pages can be accessed using the scroll bar on the right or the mouse wheel). Regardless of how the document is displayed, click on the Edit Document link near the top right corner of the screen to show a condensed list of all pages in the document.

b.  Click on the edit link to the right of the name of the page you wish to edit to display a list of all sections on that page.

c.  Click on the edit link to the right of the name of the particular section you wish to edit.

d.  Next, do one of the following:

·  If you are editing a typical section that will contain text (and perhaps some attachments and images), the LiveText word processor window will appear on your screen. Simply type (or paste) in the desired text, attach files, or insert images, and remember to click on the Save button before proceeding to step 2e.

·  If you are editing a LiveText Standards section, click on the Add Standards tab to display the LiveText Standards selection tool. Under the heading entitled Search using the following criteria, use the Standards Set pull-down menu to select the set of standards you wish to search. Next, click on the Subjects link under the Standards Set Level 1 heading and check the box(es) next to the relevant subject area(s) to narrow your search. Then, use the From and To pull-down menus to the right of the Grade(s) heading to narrow your search even further. After you click on the Search button at the bottom of the LiveText Standards selection tool, a subset of the entire standards list will appear reflecting your search criteria. Check the box(es) next to any standard(s) you wish to add to your Standards section, and be sure to click on the Add button at the top of the list before clicking on the Standards List tab to display your selected standards. ( Note that unwanted standards can be deleted from the Standards List by simply checking the box(es) next to the undesired standard(s), and then clicking on the Remove button at the top of the list.)

·  If you are editing a LiveText Resources section, click on the Add LiveText Resources tab to display the LiveText resources selection tool. Under the heading entitled Search using the following criteria, use the Type pull-down menu to select the type of resources you wish to search. Then, use the From and To pull-down menus to the right of the Grade(s) heading to narrow your search and, if you wish, type in a word or phrase in the Keywords field to narrow your search even further. (Since the current number of resources is rather limited, you may want to leave these three items set to their defaults to see all the resources that are available. ) After you click on the Search button at the bottom of the LiveText resources selection tool, a list of resources will be displayed on your screen reflecting your search criteria (if any). Check the box(es) next to any resource(s) you wish to add to your Resources section, and be sure to click on the Add button at the top of the list before clicking on the Resource List tab to display your selected resources. ( Note that unwanted resources can be deleted from the Resource List by simply checking the box(es) next to the undesired resource(s), and then clicking on the Remove button at the top of the list.)
***Note: If you are unable to find suitable resources among those provided by LiveText, you are free to create your own (custom) resources by clicking on the Add Personal Resource tab, filling out the form provided, and clicking on the Save button at the bottom of the screen.

·  If you wish to edit other parts of the document, use the tree map at the top of the screen (i.e., the hierarchical representation of your current place in the document) to navigate to other pages and sections.

e.  When done editing the document, click on the Finish button on the right side of the screen to display the finished product.

Finding a document in the LiveText library and copying it to your own LiveText account:

1.  Click on the Library link located at the bottom of the vertical menu bar on the left side of the MyDesk area.

2.  Type in the name (or a distinctive part of the name) of the document you wish to search for in the field to the left of the search button at the top right of the screen, and then click on the search button to begin your search.

3.  On the search results screen that now appears, click on the title of the LiveText document you wish to display. The contents of the LiveText document you selected will now appear on your screen.

4.  To copy the displayed document to your own LiveText account, simply click on Actions near the top right of the screen and select the Copy Document option from the menu that appears, supply a name for the document in the Explorer User Prompt window, and then click on the OK button.

5.  You can now find your copy of the document on the LiveText MyDesk area. It can be edited like any other LiveText document.


Viewing a LiveText document you have previously created (or copied from the LiveText Library):

  1. Go to the MyDesk area in LiveText and click on the title of the document you wish to view.
  2. The document is now displayed on your screen.

·  If the document is displayed as individual pages (with a vertical menu bar on the left showing all pages in the document), click on the name of the page you wish to view to display all sections contained within that particular page.

·  If, on the other hand, the document is displayed as a single (continuous) strip, simply scroll to the particular page and section you wish to view.

Making changes to a LiveText document you have already created (or copied from the LiveText Library):

***Note: If you are trying to edit a standards page (containing a standards section), or a resources page (containing a resources section) the procedure described in the instructions below does not apply. If you wish to edit these types of sections, please refer to the second and third bulleted items under step 2d in the set of instructions entitled “Creating a new LiveText document (of any type).”

  1. Go to the MyDesk area in LiveText and click on the title of the document you wish to edit.
  2. The document is now shown on your screen. Note that the document will either be displayed in a book-like “page-by-page” format--(where only one page is shown at a time, and different pages can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate page name in the vertical menu bar on the left), or in a “scroll” format--(where the entire document is displayed as one continuous strip, and different pages can be accessed using the scroll bar on the right or the mouse wheel). Regardless of how the document is displayed, click on the Edit Document link near the top right of the screen.
  3. You will now see a list of all pages in your document. (Buttons are provided above this list which enable you to perform the following operations: Create page, change the Order of pages in your document, Hide and Unhide pages, Edit Titles of pages, Copy pages to other locations in your document, and Delete pages.)
    ***Note: Please do not use these buttons to modify a template unless explicitly told to do so by your instructor. You never, for example, use them to make changes to your portfolio template.
  4. Click on the edit link to the right of the name of the particular page you wish to edit.
  5. You will now see a list of all sections on the particular page you are editing. (Buttons are provided above this list which enable you to perform the following operations: Create section, change the Order of sections on a page, Hide and Unhide sections, Edit Titles of sections, Copy sections to other locations within the page you are editing, and Delete sections.)
    ***Note: Please do not use these buttons to modify a template unless explicitly told to do so by your instructor. You never, for example, use them to make changes to your portfolio template.
  6. Click on the edit link to the right of the name of the particular section you wish to edit. The LiveText word processor window will now appear which will enable you to type (or paste) in text, attach files, or insert images.
  7. When done editing a particular section, click on the Save button below the LiveText word processor window.
  8. If you wish to edit other parts of the document, use the tree map at the top of the screen (i.e., the hierarchical representation of your current place in the document) to navigate to other pages and sections.
  9. When done editing the document, click on the Finish button on the right side of the screen to display the finished product.

Pasting text into a LiveText document from a word processor (or other application):

  1. Go to the LiveText MyDesk area and click on the title of the document that will eventually contain the text you wish to paste in from your word processor.
  2. The document is now displayed on your screen.

·  If the document is displayed as individual pages (with a vertical menu bar on the left showing all pages in the document), click on the name of the page you wish to edit and then on the edit link to the right of the particular section that will eventually contain the pasted text.

·  If, on the other hand, the document is displayed as a single (continuous) strip, simply scroll to the page you wish to edit and click on the edit link to the right of the particular section that will eventually contain the pasted text.

  1. After you see the LiveText word processor displayed on your screen, launch your own word processor, and open the document that contains the text you wish to paste into the LiveText word processor window.
  2. Highlight the text you wish to copy in your word processor window with the mouse, and then click on the Copy button at the top of your word processor to copy the selected text to the clipboard.
  3. Now, use the task bar at the bottom of the screen to switch back to the Internet Explorer window, and click on the place in the LiveText word processor where you wish to paste the text. Then click on the Paste button at the top of the LiveText word processor window to paste the text from the clipboard into your LiveText document. (If necessary, use your editing skills to correct any errors you may notice.)
    ***Note: If the formatting of the pasted text has become scrambled, please do the following: (1) delete the text from the LiveText word processor window, (2) use the Paste as plain text button at the top of the LiveText word processor to paste an “unformatted” copy of the document into the LiveText word processor window, and (3) use your editing skills and the text formatting buttons at the top of the LiveText word processor to reformat the text as desired.
  4. When done editing a particular section, click on the Save button below the LiveText word processor window.
  5. If you wish to edit other parts of the document, use the tree map at the top of the screen (i.e., the hierarchical representation of your current place in the document) to navigate to other pages and sections.
  6. When done editing the document, click on the Finish button on the right side of the screen to display the finished product.

Attaching files to a LiveText document (i.e., Excel spreadsheets, Inspiration/Kidspiration files, PowerPoint presentations, desktop publishing projects, sound and video clips, etc.):