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STAR LESSON STAR LESSON LAND USERS’ MANUALV4.02

Star Lesson Land Users’ Manual 2 of 34

CONTENTS

CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 2�

OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................................... 4�

STAR LESSON LAND CONFIGURATION ..................................................................................................... 4�

SETTINGS ...................................................................................................................................................... 4�SYSTEM CONFIGURATION ............................................................................................................................... 5�VIDEO RECORDING SETTINGS ......................................................................................................................... 6�SCHOOL SETTINGS ......................................................................................................................................... 6�

School Name ............................................................................................................................................ 6�Word Lesson Observation Form .............................................................................................................. 6�

THIS PC’S DIBBA READER .............................................................................................................................. 8�EDIT USERS & DIBBA CARDS .......................................................................................................................... 8�EDIT DEPARTMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 9�EDIT EVENT TAGS ........................................................................................................................................ 10�

Tag Elements ......................................................................................................................................... 10�EDIT LOCK DIBBA CARDS .............................................................................................................................. 11�RECORDING MODE CONFIGURATION ............................................................................................................. 11�

Assigning A Dibba Reader To The Recording Server ............................................................................ 12�Adding A New Location / Device ............................................................................................................ 12�Removing A Location / Device ............................................................................................................... 12�

CONFIGURE DIBBA READER .......................................................................................................................... 12�

RECORDING A FIXED INSTALLATION ROOM BASED LESSON ............................................................ 13�RECORDING A MOBILE UNIT BASED LESSON ....................................................................................... 14�

Mounting Mobile Units On A Stand ........................................................................................................ 14�Connecting Mobile Units To The Network .............................................................................................. 14�Setting Up A Mobile Unit ........................................................................................................................ 14�Pairing Mobile Units................................................................................................................................ 14�Unpairing Mobile Units ........................................................................................................................... 14�Recording A Lesson ............................................................................................................................... 15�

USER HOME SCREEN ................................................................................................................................. 16�Finding Lessons ..................................................................................................................................... 16�Lesson Observation Form ...................................................................................................................... 18�Edit Password ......................................................................................................................................... 18�User Key Areas ...................................................................................................................................... 19�Peer Observers ...................................................................................................................................... 19�

COMPARISON CHARTS .............................................................................................................................. 20�VIEWING RECORDED LESSONS ............................................................................................................... 21�

Deleting A Lesson .................................................................................................................................. 23�Export A Lesson ..................................................................................................................................... 23�

LIVE OBSERVING LESSONS ...................................................................................................................... 24�

Non Video Recorded Lesson Observation ............................................................................................. 24�Video Record Lesson Observation ......................................................................................................... 25�

CREATING TAGS ......................................................................................................................................... 26�

USING STAR LITE IOS DEVICES ................................................................................................................ 28�

Installing The App On New Devices ....................................................................................................... 28�Starting The App ..................................................................................................................................... 28�Home Screen .......................................................................................................................................... 28�Recording To The Server ....................................................................................................................... 29�Recording To The App ........................................................................................................................... 31�Transferring Recorded Lessons ............................................................................................................. 32�Closing The App ..................................................................................................................................... 32�


UPDATING STAR LESSON LAND .............................................................................................................. 33�

UNDER THE BONNET.................................................................................................................................. 33�Database Backup ................................................................................................................................... 33�


OVERVIEW Star Lesson Land is a PC based video and audio recording system which provides recording of school classroom lessons for teacher training, assessment, reporting and lesson archiving. Class rooms may be fitted with one more cameras and microphones and a dibba reader, which users swipe their dibba card past to start and stop recording of a lesson. Mobile units may be also used between multiple classrooms. A central server PC stores the recorded lessons which may be viewed using this PC and other PC’s running the Star Lesson software.

STAR LESSON LAND CONFIGURATION

SETTINGS The settings menu option, under tools, allows the PC’s basic settings to be adjusted.

Operation Mode Displays the operation mode of this PC (not adjustable)

Recording Server This PC is acting as the central recording server PC.

Viewing PC Normal users PC.


Database Access Settings.

Each PC needs to know the network location of the database. Database Address The IP address or network name of the database server.

Pressing the ‘On This PC’ button sets the address to the local PC (typically only used on the NVR PC).

N.B. This setting previously requried the following format: THE_SERVER_NAME\sqlexpress,49485

This no longer required but will still work as normal where used. Database Internet Address

If the Star Lesson server is available via the internet the Internet IP address may be entered here. Note that changing this setting automatically updates other users to use the new setting.

Account Name

The database account name assigned for this Star Lesson Installation. The default value (for a non internet hosted database) is:

StarLesson Account Password

The database password assigned for this Star Lesson Installation. The default value (for a non internet hosted databases) is:

none

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION Configuration of the Star Lesson system may only be performed by administrator users and may be performed on any Star Lesson PC. To alter the Configuration select ‘Tools’ from the menu bar and then ‘Configuration’. Select your username and enter your password, or swipe your dibba card if the PC you are working from has a dibba reader / mobile unit associated with it.


The following main configuration screen is shown:

VIDEO RECORDING SETTINGS NVR Address

Enter the IP address of the NVR server, e.g: 172.27.30.1

NVR Internet Address

If the Star Lesson server is available via the internet the Internet IP address may be entered here. Recording Mode Configuration Use to configure the system recording setup. Auto Delete Non Locked Video After

Star Lesson Land will automatically delete recorded video and any audio tags for lessons that have not been marked as locked by a user after the selected time period. The options are:- 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months.

SCHOOL SETTINGS School Name Enter the name of the school to be used on report printouts etc. Word Lesson Observation Form Star Lesson will output lesson observation forms as pdf files by default using a fixed template. Schools may alternatively design their own lesson observation form as a Microsoft Word document and store it within Star Lesson to be used as the basis for outputted lesson observation forms. Simply create a .doc or .docx Word document and lay it out as required. To have Star Lesson automatically populate areas of the document the following special tags may optionally be included within the document and Star lesson will automatically replace them with the lesson data:

[TEACHER] The name of the lessons teacher. [OBSERVER] The name of the lessons observer. [DATE] The lesson date. [CLASS] The class entered for the lesson.


[SUBJECT] The subject entered for the lesson. [PERIOD] The period entered for the lesson. [FOCUS OF OBSERVATION] The focus of observation selected for the lesson. [CONTEXT OF LESSON] The context of lesson entered for the lesson. [LESSON EVALUATION] The lesson evaluation entered for the lesson. [TAGS OUTSTANDING] A list of the Outstanding tags created within the lesson. [TAGS GOOD] A list of the Good tags created within the lesson. [TAGS SATISFACTORY] A list of the Satisfactory tags created within the lesson. [TAGS INADEQUATE] A list of the Inadequate tags created within the lesson. [KEY STRENGTHS] A list of the key strengths selected for the lesson. [KEY AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT] A list of the key areas for development selected for the

lesson. [JUDGEMENT] Judgement entered on the overall quality of the lesson (1 =

Outstanding, 4 = inadequate). As many or as few tags as required may be used within the document and each may be styled as required. If a user’s PC does not have Microsoft Word installed the default PDF file will be generated instead.


THIS PC’S DIBBA READER This option is provided for the Playback PC’s which may optionally be provided with a dedicated dibba reader for user log in. If a dibba reader is fitted either enter its IP address or press the ‘Search for new dibba reader’ button and after pressing OK trigger the dibba reader to identify itself. If no dibba reader is fitted press the ‘None’ button.

EDIT USERS & DIBBA CARDS Press the ‘Edit Users & Dibba Cards’ button in System Configuration.

The list of current users is shown.

Press the ‘Add New User’ button to create a new user. Enter the users name and press OK. Then select the user from the list of users to carry out any of the settings required below.

Press the ‘Change Username’ button to alter a user’s name.

Press the ‘Change Password’ button to assign a user a password so they are able to log in, or to change their password at any time. Users are also able to change their password when they log in.

Press the ‘Assign Dibba Card’ button to assign a new dibba card to a user. Either enter the users dibba card ID or swipe the dibba card over the dibba reader used with this PC.

Press the ‘Delete User’ button to remove a user from the system. User settings User Type Standard

A typical Star Lesson System user able to view lessons they have recorded and lessons during which they have been observed.


TLR Holder As per standard user but with permission to remote observe other users. Administrator.

Full access permissions to all system functions including system configuration and reporting.

Main Department (optional)

The department in which the user normally teaches. This department is used by default when new lessons are recorded.

Other Department 1 – 4 (optional)

Other departments the user teaches in that the user may alternatively assign individual lessons to.

EDIT DEPARTMENTS Press the ‘Edit Departments’ button in System Configuration.

Departments may be added and edited. Departments are used to allow individual lessons to be assigned to specific departments for later reporting analysis.


EDIT EVENT TAGS Press the ‘Edit Event Tags’ button in System Configuration.

Tags may be added in recorded or observed lessons to indicate specific moments to be identified and logged. The list of current tags is shown. To edit a tag select it from the list and make any changes required. Then press the ‘Apply Changes’ button to store. To add a new tag press the ‘Add New Tag’ button.

To delete a tag select it and press the ‘Delete Selected Tag’ button. Note that when tags are deleted they are removed from the available tags shown to users, but retained by the system for any recorded lessons which still contain the tag.

Tag Elements The Parent Category defines a group of tags. New tags may be added to a parent category by selecting it when creating a new tag, or to create a new parent category simply type the desired name into the drop down box. The Tag name is the short name of a tag that is displayed on the buttons when the add tag form is shown. When entering tag names that end in a number (e.g. C1, C2 etc) you may enter the number to 2 decimal places (e.g. C01, C02) so that the name is sorted correctly with values greater than 9 (e.g. C09, C10). Star Lesson land will automatically notice the inserted zero and remove it when displaying the tag name. The Tag Description is the long description of a tag that is shown when a user hovers their mouse over a tag button.


EDIT LOCK DIBBA CARDS Press the ‘Edit Lock Dibba Cards’ button in System Configuration.

Dibba cards assigned as lock dibba cards may be used at any dibba reader or mobile unit to lock the room / mobile unit from being able to be used for remote observing. Swiping the lock dibba card again, or any users dibba card, will unlock it ready for recording or remote observing.

RECORDING MODE CONFIGURATION Press the ‘Recording Mode Configuration’ button in System Configuration.

The top half of the form shows the current setup of all locations (rooms) and devices (mobile units) the system is configured to work with. To edit a Location or Device select it and then edit the settings below. Type Defines the location or device type.

Dibba Reader IP Address To assign a new dibba reader to this location either enter its IP address or press the dibba reader search button and then press and


hold the 'Up' and 'Down' buttons on the mobile unit for 3 seconds to trigger it to identify itself (its screen will confirm the identify function).

Location / Device Name The name that identifies this location or device, e.g. “Mobile Unit 1”,

“Geography Room 1”, etc.

Camera 1 – 4 The camera type and ID’s that are used by this location / device. (Mobile units may only be configured to use camera 1).

Press the ‘Apply Changes’ button to store changes. Assigning A Dibba Reader To The Recording Server Often the recording server will also want to be configured to use a dibba reader, if this PC is to be used to assign dibba cards to new users. Select the location or device who’s dibba reader you want to use for this and then press the ‘This PC May Also Use This Dibba Reader’ button. Adding A New Location / Device Press the ‘Create New Location / Device’ button and enter the name. Then select it from the list

above and configure the settings as above, remembering to press the ‘Apply Changes’ button before moving on.

Removing A Location / Device

Press the ‘Delete Selected Location / Device’ button and the location will be deleted. The system will retain its name and settings hidden from users to allow any previously recorded lessons to still be viewed, exported or deleted.

CONFIGURE DIBBA READER Admin users may use this function to configure dibba readers. This is an advanced function that should only be undertaken by expert users. Please see the Star Lesson Installation manual for further details.


RECORDING A FIXED INSTALLATION ROOM BASED LESSON To start recording a lesson simple swipe your dibba card over the rooms dibba reader:

The dibba reader will confirm that recording has started. When the lesson is finished swipe your dibba card again and the dibba reader will confirm that recording has stopped. Should a user forget to stop the recording of a lesson, recording will be automatically stopped after 2 hours. If a new user needs to record a lesson in a room where the previous user has forgotten to stop recording their previous lesson they may swipe their dibba card to stop the recording of the previous lesson, before starting their own lesson (this will not affect the previous users lesson)


RECORDING A MOBILE UNIT BASED LESSON

Either one or a pair of mobile units may be placed in a room. Mounting Mobile Units On A Stand The Mobile Unit may be placed on any sturdy surface or may instead be placed on top of a standard 35mm diameter speaker stand, by sliding the stand into the fitting on its base. Ensure that the mobile unit is properly fitted and the stand is suitable sturdy. The Mobile Unit should not be fitted so that it is above standing head height. Connecting Mobile Units To The Network Typically Mobile Units are connected to the network either via the schools existing WiFi network or by placing the Star lesson WiFi access point anywhere in the room and connecting it to a wired network socket. The Mobile Units may be placed anywhere and just require mains power. Alternatively the Mobile Units may be connected directly to the wired network using standard Cat5 RJ45 network cables. The mobile units include a 2nd Ethernet network socket to allow the first to be connected to the network and the optional 2nd mobile unit to be connected to it if there is only 1 network connection point available. Important Never connect the Star Lesson WiFi access point to the wired network and also connect a mobile unit to the wired network as this will result in a loop that can flood the network. Only connect the Mobile Unit Ethernet sockets to the wired network if WiFi is not connected. Setting Up A Mobile Unit Press the ‘Preview’ soft button under the mobile unit screen to preview the cameras view. Then use the Up, Down, Left, Right, Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons to position the camera as required. Press the ‘Microphones’ soft button under the mobile unit screen to display the currently selected Radio Microphone channel (1 – 4) and the audio level of the Radio Microphone and mobile unit fitted microphone Press the ‘Channel’ button to select the channel which matches the channel of the Radio Microphone being used (the belt pack channel is set inside the battery compartment). Verify the Radio Microphone is working correctly by speaking and checking the audio level changes on the screen. Note that when changing belt pack channel use the belt pack power button to cycle the power for the new channel to be used by it. Pairing Mobile Units When two Mobile Units are being used together wait for both to be online and ready and press the ‘Pair’ button on the first unit. Its front screen will confirm that it is ready to pair and then press the ‘Pair’ button on the second unit. Both Mobile Units will confirm that they are paired. Either Mobile unit may then be used to start and stop recording of lessons or for remote observing. Ensure that the radio microphone channel has been set the same on both Mobile Units. N.B. The ‘Pair’ button is not shown if the mobile unit is not connected to the Star Lesson server. Unpairing Mobile Units When using a Mobile Unit that has previously been paired on its own (its front screen says that it is paired in the top right corner) wait for it to be online and ready and press the ‘Unpair’ button. N.B. The ‘Unpair’ button is not shown if the mobile unit is not connected to the Star Lesson server.


Recording A Lesson To start recording a lesson simple swipe your dibba card over the Mobile Unit screen. If you are using a pair of Mobile Units swipe either unit and both will begin recording. The Mobile Unit will confirm that recording has started. When the lesson is finished swipe your dibba card again and the Mobile Unit will confirm that recording has stopped.


USER HOME SCREEN To view lessons press the ‘Teacher Log In’ button:

Select your user name and enter your password, or if your PC has a dibba reader assigned you may instead swipe your dibba card over it.

Finding Lessons Find lessons by selecting the required options in the ‘Find Lessons’ area. The found lessons are displayed in the ‘Results’ box. Lessons To Find

Lessons I Taught Lessons the logged in user taught. This may have been by recording the lesson themselves or by being observed by another user.

Lessons I Observed Lessons which the logged in user observed.


Lessons Shared With Me Lessons that have been shared by another user with this logged in user. Lessons Shared With Everyone Lessons that have been shared by another user with everyone. This Teachers Lessons (available to Administrator users only) Lessons taught by a specific user. This Departments Lessons (available to Administrator users only) Lessons taught by a specific department. Time / Date In This Date Range Only find lessons in the specified date range. Starting In This Time Range Only find lessons that started in the specified time range. On These Days Only find lessons recorded on the specified days. Tags Containing These Tags Only find lessons which contain the specified tags. Tag Types

When specific tags have been selected the results may be further specified using these checkboxes to only find lessons with the included tag type and to ignore User / Peer observer tags (only count tags created by a TLR Holder or Administrator).

Double Tick Excellent example of this tag Single Tick Quite good example of this tag Single Cross Below average example of this tag Double Cross Poor example of this tag To view a lessons details select it. When a lesson is recorded the users default department will be assigned to the lesson, and this may be altered if necessary. Individual lessons may be shared with up to 2 other users or with everybody using the ‘Share This Lesson With’ selection boxes. To stop a lessons video and audio tags being automatically deleted after the system configuration set time period select the ‘Do Not Auto Delete Video’ checkbox. The ‘General Notes’ box may be used if desired. These notes are only displayed in this view.


Lesson Observation Form TLR Holder and Administrator users may press this button to open the lesson observation form:

Checking the ‘Release To Teacher’ box will lock the form and allow the teacher to create a PDF of the lesson observation from their Home Screen. The box may be unchecked to allow changes to the form again if required. Pressing the ‘Create Observation PDF’ button will generate a PDF file of the lesson observation with the user prompted where the save the file. Edit Password Users may also change their password using the ‘Tools’ menu item


User Key Areas

Press the ‘My Setting & Key Areas’ tab. In the top half of the screen the logged in users key strengths and key areas for development are displayed. These may be refined using the following options: Tags Created By TLR Holders Only include tags created by TLR Holders and Administrators Tags Created By Me & Peer Observers Only include tags created by the logged in user and their peer observers. Date range

Adjust the time period over which to determine the key strengths and key areas for development.

Peer Observers Users may optionally assign up to 4 peer observers. A peer observer is another standard user who the user gives permission to remote observe them. When a peer observer wishes to remote observe the dibba reader in the room or on the mobile unit they are trying to peer observe using will beep and display a message informing the user their peer observer wishes to observe. The user must then swipe their dibba card to authorise the peer observer to connect to the cameras, or ignore it if they do not wish to be peer observed.


COMPARISON CHARTS The Comparison Charts button is shown in the home screen for Administrator users only and is not affected by any of the find lessons settings.

Select a teacher or department and the desired date range at the top of the screen. The key strengths and key areas for development boxes are populated accordingly with the top 3 categories for each area. Below this a chart displays all of the teachers or all of the departments results for either Ofsed related tags, Professional Standards tags or Manual Tags (Lesson Observation forms). The data is based on the tags or lesson observation forms created for all lessons in the selected date range.


VIEWING RECORDED LESSONS After finding a lesson and selecting it press the ‘View Lesson’ button to view the recorded video. Note that users (including TLR Holders and Administrators) may only observe lessons they taught, observed or which have been shared with them. If the View Lesson button is greyed out the user is either not permitted to view the lesson video, the lesson video has been automatically deleted or the lesson was created without video. The lesson playback screen will open:

For Star Lesson WMS systems (not Star Lesson Indigo) if the lesson was recorded with more than one camera the following controls are shown in the bottom right of the camera views area of the screen:

Display all camera views at equal size

Display one large camera view with other camera views at reduced size underneath it.

Display one large camera view with other camera views at reduced size to the right of it.

Select the camera to display in the large camera view when not displaying all cameras at equal size.

Select the size of the smaller camera views when not displaying all cameras at equal size. On large monitors or with standard definition video these settings may not have an effect if the main camera view is already being displayed at full resolution.

Use the controls at the bottom of the screen:

The play and pause buttons:

To jump forward and backwards select the ‘Jump’ amount from the drop down list and then use these buttons:

You may also move to a new point in a lesson using the horizontal scroll bar.


Tags may be added to a lesson using the dibba tag button:

Pressing it will open the select tags form. You may select as many tags as you wish, enter a text note tag and record an audio tag. The tag(s) will be added at the moment the dibba tag button was pressed. Any user may add tags to recorded lesson. Star Lesson differentiates between TLR Holders (and Administrators) and standard users. Tags created by TLR Holders are shown with filled in tick / cross icons and tags created by standard users are shown with hollow tick / cross icons.

To delete a tag select it in the list and press the delete tag button:

Standard users may only delete non TLR Holder created tags. To move to the previous and next tag in the lesson use these buttons:

You may also select a tag in the list to jump to that point in the lesson. The tag colours and icons indicate the tag type: Double Tick (green) Outstanding example of this tag Single Tick (yellow) Good example of this tag Horizontal line (orange) Satisfactory example of this tag Cross (red) Inadequate example of this tag Audio is controlled using this button:

Pressing it will change the camera from which to play audio when there are two cameras being viewed. One of the export options is to mark clips within a lesson as it is viewed. The Export Clips button is used for this and it has three states:

Mark the start of a

new clip Mark the end of the current clip being

marked

Clear the clip at the current playback

position As each new clip is created it is marked with a dark blue line under the playback scroll bar. Clips may be created in any order and will be automatically sorted to appear in the order in which they occur in the lesson. To export the clips press the Export button and then use ‘Export The Clip(s) You Just Marked’. Selected clips must be at least 5 seconds long (or they are ignored). The Clear All Clips button may be used to remove all previously created clip markers.

TLR Holder and Administrator users may open the lesson observation form using this button:

When you have finished press the exit button:


Deleting A Lesson Recorded lessons may be deleted by selecting them to view and then pressing the ‘Delete’ button. Export A Lesson Pressing the ‘Export’ button while viewing a lesson will halt playback and open the Export Lesson form:

In the Views To Export box select the cameras to export. If multiple camera’s are selected the exported video will contain the camera views next to each other. To include all tags (non audio) in the lesson shown as subtitles shown in a bar under the exported video select the ‘Include tags as subtitles’ box. Export Entire Lesson Exports the whole lesson. Export The Clip(s) You Just Marked

If you have just used the Export Clips button while viewing the lesson the clips you marked are exported one after the other.

Export Single Clip Exports the lesson from the start time to the end time selected. Export Based on Tags

Exports clips containing the selected tags one after the other. Tags are included in the same clip if their export clip times cross over.

Each function will ask you to select a name for the file and where to export it to.


LIVE OBSERVING LESSONS Observing a Lesson may be carried out by TLR Holders and Administrators on any teacher. Standard users may also observe other teachers if the teacher they wish to observe has given them peer observer permission. Press the ‘Observe Lesson’ button:

After logging in select the room or mobile unit to remote observe, or select ‘Non Video Recorded Lesson Observation’ if the lesson is not being recorded. Select the teacher to observe and press OK. If the user is a peer observer Star Lesson will wait for the teacher being observed to authorise the observation by swiping their dibba card before continuing.

Non Video Recorded Lesson Observation

Select the date, lesson start time and duration. Then press Start Observation. The Lesson Observation Form will be shown. This may be filed in now or closed and opened later. Press the dibba tag button to open the select tags form. You may select as many tags as you wish and / or enter a text note and the tags will be added to the lesson.

Press this button to open the lesson observation form again if required.


When complete press the exit button. Video Record Lesson Observation

For Star Lesson WMS systems (not Star Lesson Indigo) if the lesson being observed has more than one camera the following controls are shown in the bottom right of the camera views area of the screen:

Display all camera views at equal size

Display one large camera view with other camera views at reduced size underneath it.

Display one large camera view with other camera views at reduced size to the right of it.

Select the camera to display in the large camera view when not displaying all cameras at equal size.

Select the size of the smaller camera views when not displaying all cameras at equal size. On large monitors or with standard definition video these settings may not have an effect if the main camera view is already being displayed at full resolution.

Use the controls at the bottom of the screen:

If any of the cameras are PTZ types (pan, tilt & zoom) you may select them at any time using the PTZ Camera radio buttons and then adjust their position using the arrow and zoom buttons. You may also use your mouse to drag an area directly on the camera view you wish to zoom into. To start recording the lesson press the Record button:

Tags may be added at any point by pressing the dibba tag button:

Pressing it will open the select tags form. You may select as many tags as you wish, a text note tag and an audio tag. The tag(s) will be added at the moment the dibba tag button was pressed.

As tags are added they are displayed in the tag list:


To delete a tag select it in the list and press the delete tag button:

To open the lesson observation form use this button:

When the lesson is finished press the exit button to stop recording and close the form:

CREATING TAGS Tags may be added to a lesson being observed and any user may add tags to a previously recorded lesson while viewing. Star Lesson differentiates between TLR Holders (and Administrators) and standard users. Tags created by TLR Holders are shown with filled in tick / cross icons and included in standard reports. Tags created by standard users are shown with hollow tick / cross icons and not included in default reports. When the dibba tag button is pressed the Select Tags form is shown:

Select the category from the top and then press the tags you wish to create. Pressing a tag multiple times will cycle through the 5 possible colour options (or press the required colour and then press the tag): Grey Tag not selected Green Excellent example of this tag Yellow Quite good example of this tag Orange Below average example of this tag


Red Poor example of this tag The ‘Custom Text Tag’ box may be used to also add a tag showing the entered text (not included in reports). Press the ‘Record An Audio Tag’ button to record an audio tag:

Select the microphone to record from and then press ‘Start Recording’. The audio level bar confirms the audio is being detected. When complete press ‘Stop Recording’. You may then play the recording or re-record if desired. Press the exit button when complete. Audio tags are displayed along with standard tags when viewing a lesson. Selecting an audio tag causes playback to pause and the audio recording to be played. Audio tags are not included in reports.


USING STAR LITE IOS DEVICES A ‘Star Lite’ device is an Apple iOS device (primarily an Apple iPod Touch) running the Star Lesson app. Star Lite devices may be used record or observe lessons using their own camera or to control Star View mobile units which have no user interface screen of their own. Star Lite devices may be used on their own, paired with another Star Lite device, a Star View mobile unit or a Star Orbit mobile unit. Installing The App On New Devices Please see the “Setting Up A New Apple iOS Star Lite Device” administrator guide on the Star Lesson support site. Starting The App On start-up the app will attempt to connect with the Star Lesson Land server. If this is successful the Log In page is shown. If the app is unable to connect to the Star Land Lesson server a message is shown to the users. Press the settings button to verify the settings are correct. Pressing the ‘Settings‘ button and then the ‘Done’ button will cause the app to try and connect to the Star Lesson Server again. Home Screen

Press the ‘Username’ button to select your username from the available Star Lesson Land users.


Recording To The Server For schools with WiFi coverage of classrooms this is the normal method of recording lessons to the Star Lesson Land Server. From the home screen, select your username and press the ‘Record To Server’ button.

The app is based around being the status screen for the Star Lite devices own camera or a Star View camera (a mobile unit which doesn’t have its own status screen). It may also be setup or paired with a second camera for dual camera recordings. The following options are available when in the ready screen:

Status screen button A large button is optionally shown in the centre of the screen to perform operations such as commencing and stopping teaching, in the same way as if a dibba card is swiped over the range of other Star Lesson mobile units. The button press is actioned for the currently logged in user (as if that user had swiped their dibba card over the screen of other mobile unit models).

Select Cameras To configure the camera or cameras the app uses this button may

be pressed. This allows Star View cameras to be selected or the Star Lite devices own camera optionally paired with a second camera

Pair / Unpair If the camera the Star Lite device is using is currently paired with

another camera for dual camera recordings pressing this button will unpair it back to being a single camera.

Alternatively press the button and then press the pair button on a Star Orbit, Star View or another Star Lite device running the app to pair the two cameras together.

If the camera is currently paired an icon is shown in the top right of

the screen.

Connect dibba tag To use a dibba tag device with this camera press this button and follow the screen instructions. If the camera is currently connected to a dibba tag an icon is shown on the right of the screen.

Log Out Press this button to log out of the app back to the main home

screen. Selecting Cameras


Press the Camera A button to select the first camera you wish to use (the devices own camera or a Star View Camera). Press the ‘Preview’ button to display a preview of the camera picture and manually adjust the camera position as required:

If you will be using two cameras select the second Star Orbit, Star View or another Star Lite device running the app by pressing the Camera B button. Star Orbit and Star View devices may be previewed using the preview button. Setting Up To Record Or Observe A Lesson

Use the ‘Select Cameras’ function to preview the view of the camera. If using a pair of cameras do this for each camera and then ensure they are paired by selecting them both or alternatively by using the pair button on each device. Once they have been setup log out, but leave the app running ready for the lesson to be observed or recorded (or turn them off but ensure they are turned back on prior to them being used).

To Self Record A Lesson

Setup the camera or pair of cameras as above. Press the “Commence Teaching” button. The app will trigger the Star Lesson Land server to start recording the lesson. Once the lesson is complete press the Stop Recording button. If recording using a Star View camera (i.e. not the devices own camera) you may close the app and re-open it at the end of the lesson if you wish to save battery life.

Remote Observe Using The Selected Cameras

Setup the camera or pair of cameras as above. You may log out of both.


If you are going to be peer observed (i.e. observed by a teacher you have given peer observe permission to rather than an admin user) it is a good idea to remain logged into the camera so you can quickly respond to the peer observe request, although the app will still beep to notify you of the request even if no-one is currently logged in, in which case you can alternatively log in then and authorise the request. If a Star Lite devices own camera is being used for a remote observe the app will automatically use it without a user needing to be logged in as long as the app is running.

Recording To The App For schools without WiFi coverage of classrooms the app allows you to record lessons to the devices internal memory for later upload to the Star Lesson Server. From the home screen, select your username and press the ‘Record To App’ button.

Choose the number of cameras you wish to record your lesson using. If you are using two cameras to record your lesson:

The following screen will then be show:

Get to this screen on both of the devices you are using to record your lesson, ensuring you have selected the same username on both. Press ‘Use Me As Camera 1’ on one of the devices and ‘Use Me As Camera 2’ on the other.

You will now see a preview of the camera. Press the ‘Start Recording’ button once you are ready to start your lesson. If you are recording with two cameras ensure you press the button on the other device too (it is fine for there to be some delay while you walk over to the other camera. Once you have finished press the ‘End’ button. If you are recording with two cameras ensure you press the button on the other device too.


Transferring Recorded Lessons If the Record To App feature has been used the recorded lessons will need to be uploaded to Star lesson Land at some point. As the recorded video files are large and slow to transfer this is often a task which is best done at the end of a day, leaving the device to complete the transfer overnight ready for it to be used again the next day. Whenever the device is able to connect to the Star Lesson Land server via WiFi the button will be enabled. Pressing it will start the transferring of lessons. It is recommended to power your device using its charging cable during this as transferring large files over its WiFi connection is quite power intensive and will cause it to discharge much faster than normal. Closing The App If remote Star View cameras are being used rather than the devices own camera the app may be closed or the device turned off while the lesson is being recorded if desired and started again when you wish to stop recording.


UPDATING STAR LESSON LAND Star Lesson Land will periodically check for updates via the internet. The options for this may be adjusted via the Help Menu.

UNDER THE BONNET Database Backup From V3.00 onwards the recording server Star Lesson Land triggers a database backup between midnight and 1am every other day (or the next time it is run) and backups are retained for 8 days. The backups are saved to the following file on the SQL server:

C:\StarLessonDBbackup-[DatabaseAccountName] In the event of a database failure the first step should be to immediately copy this file to a safe location.


Revision History V2.00

Original V2 software release V2.01

Changes made for V2.07 software release. V2.02 General updates for Star Lesson V3.02 and above. V2.03 Added Word Lesson Observation Form instructions. V2.04 Updated export functionality for new Star Lesson V3.06 release. V4.00

Updates for Star Lesson V4.00 release. V4.01

Star Lite iOS devices section added. V4.02

Updates for Star Lite iOS app new features. © Copyright Star Lesson The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Star Lesson makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. Star Lesson shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in conjunction with the furnishing, performance or use of this material.

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