| DISCLAIMER.
Please note that the advice below is provided as part of the
support service supplied by SUMS Online to their UK customers, and should not be relied on by any
other user.
IMPORTANT NOTE.
You don't have to be connected to the internet to
use SUMS Online maths software. We supply it on CD to be copied
to the memory of your PDA. We can also supply it already loaded
to SD card if required, or even in class sets of preloaded
SD cards. |
| A. Using Wireless.
1. Turn on the Wireless facility.
Most PDAs have a facility to turn their wireless facility
on and off. This is because it consumes more power when on,
and so drains the battery faster.
On the Acer N311 PDA there is a small icon in the bottom
right of the screen. Tapping this gives you a menu with the
option to "turn WLAN on".
Some PDAs (e.g. the Dell Axiom) have an external switch you
have to press to activate and deactivate wireless.
In the picture opposite the icon has a red cross showing
that the Wireless facility is off. |
Screenshot 2.1
|
| In the picture opposite the icon no longer
has a red cross - showing that the Wireless facility is now
on.
On the Acer N311 the icon first has a blank space where the
red cross was. This means that the Wireless is on but has
not yet established a connection. Once the wireless has a
connection, the icon shows animated 'blue flashes'
|
Screenshot 2.2
|
2. Use the Wireless Manager.
The Acer has a Wireless Manager to aid setting up wireless
connections. You get to this from the START menu at the top
left of the home screen, by going to SETTINGS and then selecting
the CONNECTIONS tab.
Note that if the Wireless manager does not show, this probably
means that you have not yet turned the Wireless facility on.
|
Screenshot 2.3
|
Click the WIRELESS MANAGER to get to this
page.
In the picture opposite you see the word 'Connecting'. This
changes to 'Available', and then the name of the wireless
network to which it has managed to connect (in our case, 'SUMS').
When you are first setting up your wireless connection you
need to click on MENU at the bottom of the page. This gives
you one option, WI-FI Settings.
|
Screenshot 2.4
|
3. The 'Configure Wireless Networks'
screen.
Clicking on 'WI-FI Settings' leads you to
the page opposite. You really need to be in range of your
own Wireless Network before continuing. Here you can see that
our Acer N311 has seen the SUMS wireless network.
|
Screenshot 2.5
|
To set up your PDA to work on your wireless
network, you click on the line showing the name of the network
(i.e. towards the top of the screen).
Now you are on the page that lets youenter security and other
settings. Notice the dropdown box "CONNECTS TO:".
By default this usually shows "The Internet". If
you are trying to connect to the Internet on your home wireless
network then this is fine. If you are on a school network
and planning to use a Proxy server, then you will probably
need to change this - see below.
For the moment however, whether at home or in school, you
still need to connect to your local Wireless router. Click
on the Network Key tab.
|
Screenshot 2.6
|
4. Entering wireless network security
information.
If you set up the wireless network yourself, then you will
already know the type of security it uses, and its password
(or 'network key' as it is called).
If not, then you need to speak to the person who did.
In this picture, the wireless needs the data encryption method
WEP.
For WEP, the network key is normally entered as a string
of alphanumeric characters. For example, it might be "77dfghjkdf".
|
Screenshot 2.7
|
In this picture, you can see other commonly
used data encryption methods such as WPA and WPA-PSK. Any
of these methods may be in use - so be sure to match the settings
already in place for your wireless network.
If in doubt, it can be useful to look at another device that
is already set up to work with the wireless network - a laptop
for example.
IMPORTANT.
If you are trying to connect on a school network that uses
a Proxy Server then you need to skip to Section
6 and complete entering all of the Proxy Server information
etc. |
Screenshot 2.8
|
5. Start Internet Explorer and connect
to the internet
On a simple wireless network, already fitted with a broadband
connection, that should be all you need to do.
The first time that you open Internet Explorer on the Acer
N311, you will see a help page. Notice that the address in
the bar starts file:// (while web addresses
start http://). This means that it is looking
at a file on the PDA itself.
The help page is full of useful information about connecting
to the internet, so have a look before entering a new web
address.
|
Screenshot 2.9
|
|
ALways start by entering a simple web address that you can
be sure is available, such as www.bbc.co.uk (or www.sums.co.uk).
TROUBLESHOOTING
1. We have often experienced difficulty if trying to use
Wireless to connect to the internet at the same time as ActiveSync
is running.
2. Ensure that the 'Connects to' dropdown box is set correctly.
If connecting via a proxy server (see below) this seems to
be a vital setting.
3. PLEASE do let us know if you have helpful advice that
we should enter here.
|
Screenshot 2.10
|
| 6. Connecting to the internet using
a Proxy Server.
Many schools use a proxy server that they must first connect
to before gaining access to the internet.
If you are in this position, then please complete all of
Steps 1 to 4 above before continuing. That will ensure that
there is a connection between your PDA and the Wireless router.
Next, you need to complete a couple more steps.
Based on practical experience over several school networks,
it seems best to use the My Work Network
screens.
To achieve this first go to the general tab on the Configure
Wireless Network Screen and ensure that the drop down box
"Connects to" is set to WORK. |
Screenshot 2.11
|
7. Set up your proxy server.
To get to this screen use the START menu at the top left
of the home screen, and go to SETTINGS and then select the
CONNECTIONS tab. Next click on the Connections icon.
Note that 'proxy Server' appears in both lists, but based
on the above, set up your proxy server on what Windows Mobile
calls your My Work Network. It will then match up the Wireless
Connection and the proxy server information.
|
Screenshot 2.12
|
You next need to get your proxy server details,
and enter them
|
Screenshot 2.13 |
If you use a special PORT number for your
Proxy server, or have to log on for security purposes, you
may also have to click on ADVANCED.
Once you see this screen click on the HTTP line and you get
to the following screen.
|
Screenshot 2.14
|
Complete entering any details needed and you
have completed the setup. You should now have internet access.
Just fire up internet explorer and browse the web ...
... though of course you may have to go back a few times
and check settings before you get there. Nevertheless, once
you have a working setup on one PDA, it is easy to replicate
it on the next 29 or so.
NOTE. Do let us know of any corrections
needed in the above information, or any suggestions for better
or alternative ways of doing things. |
Screenshot 2.15
|
| copyright
SUMS Online Ltd 2007 |