A Student's Guide to the Stomp Materials

Student's Handbook

A student's guide to the SToMP materials

SToMP release 4

SToMPTM Student's Handbook

Notes on the use of the SToMP (Software Teaching of Modular Physics)

SToMP Project
Dept of Physics,
University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

Tel. (+44) (0)1483 689414
Fax (+44) (0)1483 686781

www.stomp/ac/uk

Chapter 1: Before you start

Chapter 2: How to use SToMP

Chapter 3: Tools available in SToMP

Chapter 4: Changing default settings

Appendix 1: Module contents

Appendix 2: Windows training

SToMP is a trademark of the University of Surrey

1 Before you start

If you are using SToMP as part of your University course, then you can purchase a CD-ROM containing the SToMP materials for use on your machine at home. Before using SToMP it is necessary to install it on your machine. If you have the CD version, then please follow the instructions below. Note that the standard CD version cannot be installed for use on a network or with multiple machines.

Minimum Hardware Requirements for CD version

· 486DX33, SVGA 800x600, 256 colours using small fonts.

· Win 95/98/NT/2000.

· 60Mb Hard Disk space.

· 32Mb RAM.

Hard Disk space required

SToMP does not run exclusively off the CD. A minimum of 8 Mbytes disk space is required, but if the system components of SToMP are run from your local hard disk as recommended, this will require 60 Mbytes. SToMP includes several video clips which can optionally be installed on your hard disk; you might want to do this if you find that the videos take an unreasonably long time to start up and run from your CD. The videos will need a further 270 Mbytes of hard disk space.

Installation

To install SToMP, do the following:

· Place the SToMP CD ROM in the reader. If installation does not start automatically, use Explorer or My Computer to open the CD ROM drive and double click on install.exe.

· Choose which of the three setup options you wish to install.

· Select the destination folder and the start-menu group in which you wish the software to be installed.

· SToMP will now install itself on to your system. This may take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your hardware and the options you have chosen.

After installation, a start menu window will appear (not Win NT) and you can start a SToMP module by double-clicking on the icon for that module. Alternatively, use the Windows “Start” menu. By default, SToMP is set up in a “SToMP Courseware” sub-menu of the Programs section.

If the CD is being read from a remote system then the CD reader must be mapped, so that its path starts with a drive letter.

If you wish to change modules at any time when using the package, you will need first to exit SToMP. This is achieved by closing the SToMP floating toolbar at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Wait until the “Please wait, unloading SToMP” message has disappeared before starting the next module (by single or double clicking on its icon).

The video support provided by different machines varies widely. Some videos might not view correctly using the SToMP video viewer due to it being unable to take advantage of the drivers on your machine. In this case you can elect to use the default video viewer of your machine.

(i) From the floating toolbar menu bar choose “MCM/ Video viewer select”.

(ii) Select the viewer you want and press the “Apply” button.

Read the “readme” release notes for details of the latest features.

2 How to use SToMP

There is a great wealth of information contained within each SToMP module and a number of tools have been provided to help you find the materials you need. This chapter suggests how best to use the system, and introduces some of the data-handling tools and other features described in chapter 3.

2.1. Windows

If you are not familiar with the Windows graphical user interface, then please refer to Appendix 1 for a quick tour. You need to be familiar with the principles of using a mouse, using scroll bars and menus, and resizing and re-positioning of windows on the screen.

Basic management of Windows is important in SToMP. You will soon notice that each document opens in a separate window. Proper windows management is essential for the efficient use of the graphical user interface. It will also help you to avoid a "crash": Windows can become unstable if too many applications are running at the same time. Three steps to combat this problem are:

· close down each window when you have finished with it.

· ensure that no windows are hidden behind other windows (and don't maximize them!)

· remember that a minimized window is still running, and does not save memory.

SToMP provides a convenient "one-click" button to close down individual windows: the "exit" button. Note that the exit button on the main Toolbar at the top right of the screen is used to close down SToMP at the end of the session.

2.2. Getting Started with SToMP

Unless you are running Win NT, placing the SToMP CD ROM in the reader should launch a start menu window from which you can simply double click on the module you require.

Alternatively, once SToMP is installed, and with the CD ROM in the reader, you can launch the package from the Windows “Start” menu.

By default, SToMP is set up as a new sub-menu choice in the Programs section. Select SToMP Courseware, and a list of modules will then appear. Simply select the required module and after a few moments the Contents page for that module will open. As with a textbook, more material is provided with SToMP than you are likely to use in your syllabus in one year.

NOTE: When any text document opens, there may be a short delay before the coloured links are displayed. A document that contains many links (like the Contents page) might take several seconds before the links display.

2.3. Navigation and the SToMP style

Before moving from the Contents page to the main teaching units, it is important that you first work through Unit 0.1. This unit introduces the navigation concepts of SToMP. Further details of the navigation and data-handling tools are given later in this guide and in Unit 0.2.

There are over 120 hours of teaching materials in SToMP, so it is important that you have some understanding of the navigation tools available to you, and also that you have an appreciation of the sorts of materials you are likely to find.

2.3.1. Overview of resources

Briefly, the SToMP materials consist of the following:

· Instructional Scripts

· Interactive Activities, Simulations and Derivations

· Pictures, Audio clips, Video

· Chapters of commercially available textbooks

· Databook, biographies and other background resources

· Data-handling tools

· Navigation, browsing and indexing tools

2.3.2. Basic Navigation

The navigation tools in SToMP offer the following functionality:

· Follow hyperlinks (2.3.3)

· Go directly to any document ("Select a Document" box; 2.3.4)

· Return to a previously opened document ("History" tool; 2.3.5)

· Search for keywords (2.4)

All these are described in detail in Unit 0.1 and Unit 0.2 in each SToMP module.

2.3.3. Hypertext Links and Script Style

Each script provides a linear path through a particular subject, and should take between 45 and 90 minutes of study time to complete, depending upon the topic.

The scripts have a common style which employs underlined coloured text hyperlinks. The default colour of these links is blue, and simply clicking on the underlined word(s) will activate the link. Graphics and icons are frequently used in conjunction with these links to indicate their status:

1. If a hyperlink is preceded by an icon (see list immediately below), then the link is intended to be a main part of the script. Such links typically point to large pictures, simulations, or other media directly related to the argument of the theory at the time.

2. A hyperlink occurring in the body of a paragraph is intended to indicate a link to an item of related interest, and is not intended to be a main part of the theory at that point.

An exception to this rule is in the textbook chapters where SToMP icons are not used. However, the context of the link is generally an indication of its degree of importance.

The icons used for the main hyperlinks indicate the type of document at the end of the link:

Activity: Simulations, experiments and other interactive models.

Audio document. Note that additional hardware (a sound card) is normally required for good quality audio.

Video document. A software video player "Video for Windows" is used. Additional hardware (a sound card) is needed to play the soundtracks. Not all videos have soundtracks.

Indicates a link to another script or a piece of text.

Picture, diagram or other static graphic document.

Indicates that the destination is an in-depth derivation or a complicated mathematical analysis of the current subject matter. These are held in separate documents in order not to disrupt the argument of the physics in the main script.

Indicates a text question. There are two styles of question in the CD version: those with the answer given directly below and the "Self Test", which you can use to ascertain your understanding of a unit.

Indicates the answer to the text question. The answer is normally hidden from immediate view either behind a button-link or an "information" symbol.

Indicates an activity using the Graph Viewer to plot the curve of a mathematical expression.

Other icons which appear in the package include:

Indicates a link to a biography. Indicates a link to the databook.

Indicates a link to a textbook. Indicates a link to the glossary.

You will notice that each new document opens in a separate window. For this reason it is preferable to have a high resolution screen display. The minimum recommended display setup is 800x600 pixels with 256 colours. This resolution is fairly common nowadays, and should be comfortably visible on a 14" monitor. Please make sure that you use Small Fonts rather than Large Fonts. You should close windows that are no longer needed, and avoid maximizing windows on the screen.

Each unit normally finishes with a self-test, a summary and a series of links to other places. A list of equations and symbols for each unit is also available.

2.3.4. Select a Document Box

Any document within the SToMP material can be accessed directly, that is, without having to re-trace a path through hyperlinks to get there. The "Select A Document" box provides a structured hierarchy for finding and launching any document. This box is opened by clicking on its icon in the toolbar.

On the left of the Select a Document Box is the logical hierarchy in which the documents are ordered. This structure is not the same as the directory structure on the hard disk, but represents a logical structure (in fact, most documents appear more than once in the structure, once under the Contents branch and once in the Files branch —see below). Lower level hierarchies are denoted by a "+" sign in the folder icons and these can be opened by double-clicking on the relevant folder. On the right are shown all documents associated with that level of the hierarchy. Any document can be opened by double-clicking on it in the Select a Document box.

The picture shows the two parallel structures which have been set up for finding the required documents. Firstly, documents are organised according to the Contents structure (i.e. Block and Unit). Secondly, under the Files hierarchy, the documents are ordered by media type (activities, pictures, text, video etc.).

2.3.5. History

The History tool maintains a chronological list of all the documents visited in the current session. Clicking on this icon opens up the "History" box. Click on the name of the document from the list that you want, then click on Follow Link. That document will then open again on the screen.

2.3.6. Activities

The activities in SToMP (virtual laboratories, simulations of real-life experiments, etc.) have a common toolbar directly below the menu bar and a typical example is shown here. The controls are (from left to right) Exit, Start, Pause, Stop, Link to main script, Link to introduction, Link to reference material, Parameters, Graph and Help. Additional buttons are available on some activities, and their function is described in the Help.

Where graphical output is available, the graph can be toggled on or off by clicking the graph button on the toolbar.

The links to the main script, introduction and reference materials allow you to start working at a simulation (e.g. by loading it through Select a Document) and to proceed from there to the theoretical material. (Activities accessed using the Demonstrations modules will only link to references in the SToMP scripts).

These controls can also be accessed via the Control or Options menu of the activity. You will see that, in most cases, you need to stop the model before altering any parameters. A timer is provided on a number of models in order to take approximate time measurements. Further information is normally available under the Help menu of each activity.

2.4. Other Navigation Tools

So far, you have seen the hypertext facilities available for navigating around the SToMP materials, the History tool and the Select a Document box. In addition to these basic navigation tools, three other navigation facilities exist which provide the following functionality: