Technology Support

When students do not score well on an Exam, the Acellus system identifies their need for help on specific concepts that were previously covered. It is obvious that students need to review this material further – while at the same time they need just the right intervention or they will end up becoming very discouraged.

Acellus has taken a new approach on helping students ‘recover’ their Exam scores (building upon previous ground-breaking discoveries such as ‘Success Zone’) that will reinvent the way students respond to failed exams. When students fail an exam, they begin ‘Exam Recovery.’ Here, students are presented with each of the problems that they missed on the exam – including the wrong answer that they entered – and given another chance to work each of these problems again. If they are not able to solve the problem with another try, they are given supplemental videos on the topic to help them review the concept. Once students have re-worked all of the problems they failed, they are given another chance to take the Exam and improve their score.

This problem is usually caused by one of two issues. Sometimes there is a Wi-Fi / Internet issue similar to those listed under “Solutions for Video Issues.”

However, sometimes the student reports that the video keeps starting over, when actually they are struggling with the material. When students repeatedly enter wrong answers to questions, Acellus will restart the video, or will start another video on the same topic. Students sometimes try to keep going, even though they don’t really understand the material, but they eventually become discouraged because they feel that they are caught in a never-ending loop.

To determine whether or not this is the problem, you can do the following:

1. Sign into the Parent Interface.
2. Select the student’s name –> Score –> the Course –> the last problem step done by the student.
3. If you see wrong answers interspersed with multiple help videos (and possibly some correct answers), then this is likely the problem.

Possible solutions:

• Acellus provides help in addition to the extra help videos the student has already seen, including an on-screen Textbook and, quite often, Problem Solving Help (short videos explaining how to do a particular kind of problem). To access these help items, in the Student Interface, while looking at the problems, select the Help tab on the right side of the screen. Here you will see buttons for the Textbook, Lesson Videos, and sometimes Problem Solving Help. Often, with additional help from Acellus, students can gain the understanding they need to move forward.

Video issues can be caused by several different problems:

Incorrect software configuration – You can use the latest version of the major browsers for Acellus students, but we recommend that you use the Acellus App. If you are using a browser, check our Technical Specifications page to be sure that your student’s devices are using supported software. In addition, make sure that your students are using the latest version of the Acellus App.

The browser’s cache is too full – Browsers often cache up data in order to minimize loading and buffering times. When students watch multiple videos, their browsers may cache up more data than their computers can hold and still function properly. When this happens, performance suffers, and sometimes Acellus videos will not play. To correct this, clear the browser’s cache.* You can find instructions for how to do this on your browser by doing a quick search on your favorite search engine. If clearing the cache does not work, try having the student use a different browser, reboot the computer, or try a different computer.

*Note: If you are using the Acellus App, clear the cache on Internet Explorer for Windows, on Safari for Mac or iOS, or on the native browser for other devices.

Network/Internet connection problems – If you are using Wi-Fi in your home, we recommend that you optimize your Wi-Fi:

• Use 802.11n wireless for the client computers.
• Use high-quality wireless hardware. Check for interference using the tools provided on your access point.
• Make sure your student’s work area is close to your access point.
• Make sure to avoid mounting the access point close to flourescent lights, microwaves, other sources of electrical interference.
• Use WPA2 with AES security.

If you’re still having issues after implementing these suggestions, you may be experiencing interference from other access points. Contact your Internet service provider.

Video issues can also be caused by insufficient bandwidth. If possible, be sure that you have sufficient bandwidth to handle the number of students who are using Acellus in your home. (Each video stream is approximately 300 Kbps. Typically, an online user plays video 50% of the time.)

This message usually indicates that the student has attempted to sign into Acellus in two different places. Students sometimes do this to try to get through their work faster. Acellus does not allow students to be signed in more than once at any given time, so when they sign in a second time, their first session is automatically signed out. They are informed that they have been logged out when the next step-change occurs – when they enter an answer, or when they finish a video.

If you have made certain that the student is not signing in more than once at the same time and the problem is still occurring, then the problem is usually a Network issue. Please see “Network/Internet Connection Problems” under “Why doesn’t the video play,” above.

To reset your PIN, follow these steps:

1. Open the Acellus App.
2. Select Parent / Teacher Sign-in
3. On the PIN Prompt, select “Forgot your PIN?”
4. Enter a new PIN twice.
5. Enter your phone number.
6. Select Voice Call or Text Message.
7. Select the Send Code button.
8. Enter the verification code you are sent and submit it.
9. Upon completing all of these steps, your new PIN has been set and you will be signed into the Parent Interface.

If your phone number has changed, select an alternative verification method (email or security questions).

This problem sometimes occurs when you have not installed the latest version of the Acellus App for your device. Please download and install the App.

Soft-tokens are only valid on the device where they are created. A new soft-token must be created on each device where you want to sign in. This message appears when you attempt to sign in on a device where you do not currently have a soft-token. Just select the option to create one and proceed using the same email address you used to register your student in Acellus Academy.