Frequently Asked Questions...
If you have questions not answered below, please contact us.
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General FAQs |
What does 'Melissi' mean?
Take a look here: 
Is there an annual licence fee for software?
No. Once you have paid for your Melissi software licence(s), the software is yours to use for as long as you wish. An optional Technical Support Licence is offered after the first 12 months' free support:
Do I need to buy or rent specific hardware from you - like a dedicated server?
No. If you already have networked PCs, Melissi will run fine. We can recommend specific hardware, but we don't require or supply it.
Can my students combine sound, text and video content?
Melissi software can be used to create an audio track and then to link a second track to the first, for listen-and-response recordings, etc. Audio tracks can be locked to video in order to create and edit dub tracks. Melissi also has a powerful subtitling module; text files from this can be exported to RTF files. Text is handled by an on-board word processor using standard text formats. All sound, text, video outputs can be combined by the teacher into an ‘Activity Package’ for easy distribution to the class/group.
How do I get work to my students?
Exercises can be sent directly to individual students, differentiated groups, or entire classes, or they can be collected by the students from various sources. Melissi users have access to files located anywhere on the network that their permissions allow. The central server can be located on the staff machine, so teachers can drop their resources there when a class is not in session. In addition, Melissi has a versatile class management system, which allows teachers to make exercises available to students, groups and classes working in class or in ‘Self-Access’ mode away from the teaching session.
What audio formats can I use?
Melissi plays audio files in all the usual sound formats (wav, mp3, ogg, etc.). The default recording format is mp3.
What if my students lose files?
Response files are automatically pinned to the original and so are not easily lost. These files can be played back together or separately. If an attached audio/video file has been deleted from the student’s computer, the system will automatically search and gather it from the server for playback.
Can my students work in groups?
Melissi offers an automatic group generation mode, enabling the teacher easily to create groups of between 2 and 6. These groups can also be 'tweaked' by the teacher, who can interact with each or all of these groups.
5. Users to communicate with each other and with staff via voice and text.
Staff can speak to and listen to any or all students, or a group of students. Text messages can also be sent by and to students via chat room, internal e-mail, or on-screen prompt. Students can speak to each other using the ‘telephone’ system. All communication modes can be controlled by the teacher; for example, she may limit speech between students within their own working group. Students call the teacher for assistance at any time.
Staff can select and view any student screen from their own computer. They can also speak and listen to any student as well as join conversations between students.
6. Staff to control users’ screens for demonstration purposes, pushing their own or a selected learner’s screen to all displays simultaneously.
In a traditional fixed class setup, the screen and projector at the front of the room is effective for this. However, Melissi can be used across the wireless network, so students could be working on laptops in groups in the library, in another classroom, at the SEN centre, etc. The teacher can then send whatever is on her screen to all student screens; if she is viewing a student’s screen at the time, this will go out to all users. The teacher can speak via headsets to all students during demonstration.
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Technical FAQs |
How easy is it to install the system?
With Roaming and Free Login selected the only requirement is to allow the Melissi programs through the security firewall (if any). It’s that easy! Simply install and run.
Does Melissi run on Windows 7 and 64-bit systems?
Yes. We have spent a long time fine-tuning the program suite to ensure the best possible experience on the new platforms. In fact, we have delayed some other developments to ensure that the base system is highly stable.
What’s your recommended best configuration?
Using a fixed computer on the network (running XP, Windows 7, or Server 2003 upwards) to hold user names and other data, our new automatic service will handle thousands of users and also provide very fast 'Roaming' connections.
Can Melissi run across the Internet?
Technically, yes – but this requires 20 ports to be opened, which ICT managers are usually reluctant to do. We are working on completely new models which will eliminate the need for this. Roll-out target: 2012.
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'Open Sessions' FAQs |
Can I combine a ‘fixed’ classroom with an Open Session?
Yes. Suppose that you have 20 students in your usual classroom. You can publish your session and allow up to 20 more students to join. This may be very useful if you have to provide cover for a colleague who’s ill by picking up their students. With the Roaming Sessions Licence you could have, for example, a student with disabilities who cannot come to the class. If they live in a student house or hostel which is on the campus network, they could be included remotely.
What are the other advantages of Open Sessions?
Many educational institutions now operate laptop-based ICT systems, often with wireless networking. With the roaming technology, teachers may simply gather their students in any appropriate space on the wireless or wired network: in the library, a vacant classroom or outside in the sun!
What happens to student work in Open Sessions?
Students can still send work to the tutor, and the tutor can still collect work from the student computers. Students who need to keep their own work can write it to a pen-drive, or store it on their laptop.
| More on Open Sessions... |  |
