FAQs

An ItS Online Seminar is a presentation, conference, or workshop that is delivered entirely over the Internet through a system called Mediasite. No telephone connection is needed. You simply connect to a private link that will be emailed to you and access the seminar online through your computer. Through our parent company, Magna Publications, we’ve delivered thousands of such programs to educators.

During an ItS Online Seminar, the presenter speaks on a topic in his or her area of expertise. ItS Online Seminars are presented in a special browser window that features a slide show presentation in one panel and sound and playback controls in another panel. If the seminar happens to include video, this will be presented in another panel just above the sound and playback controls.

You simply need either Internet Explorer or Firefox with the Microsoft Silverlight plugin (it can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/get-started/install/default.aspx). The seminar can be viewed on a single computer screen or be projected onto a larger one for a group setting.

Click here for a demonstration of how an ItS Online Seminar works: Online Seminar Demo

You can submit a question at any time during the live seminar by clicking on the “Ask” icon near the top left-hand portion of the computer screen. A separate window (a web form) will pop up on your screen, where you can type in your question. After you click Submit, your question will go to our moderator who will relay questions from participants to the presenter(s) during selected portions of the seminar. You may submit your question anonomously.

That the “Ask” icon will bring up an email client in place of the web form for “on demand” presentations.

The slides are presented one at a time as the presenter goes through them. They will advance automatically whenever the presenter moves onto the next slide. Copies of the slides are typically included in the printable handouts that are offered with each ItS Online Seminar.

While viewing the seminar on CD or on-demand, you do have the ability to skip ahead or go back.

Three days prior to the ItS Online Seminar you will receive an email from Inside the School with the link to the online seminar and a link to the presentation handouts. You will also receive an email reminder the morning of the ItS Online Seminar with the same information. If you did not receive yoru connections instructions, make sure to check your SPAM filter for the e-mail containing that information.

We send all information regarding access to the online seminars and handouts to the email address that was given at the time of registration. If you didn’t get the email at this address, please check your spam or junk mail folder or check with your internal IT staff to see if emails coming from Magna Publications have been blocked or filtered. If you still cannot locate the email, contact Inside the School’s Customer Service by email at custserv@magnapubs.com or by phone 800-433-0499 ext. 2 or 608-227-8182.

You can still register for the seminar if you’re not available to view it live. Approximately one hour following the close of the live event, the seminar will be available to watch on-demand at any time, typically for the following week. The recorded version has the added feature of allowing you to rewind/fast forward or skip to certain portions in the recorded program. However, it does not feature the ability to ask live questions of the presenter.

You may also purchase the recording of the seminar on CD-ROM and/or in a transcript format. For your convenience, visit our online catalog or just search for the seminar by title.

ItS Online Seminar registration fees are priced per internet connection to the private seminar link, not per person. That means one PC can be connected to the live seminar, but an unlimited number of people can gather together and participate using that single connection. Many users purchase a single connection and view the seminar on a large screen using a video projector.

For seven days following the live presentation the same link can be used by any staff member of the subscribing school building to access the presentation “on demand.”

The live presentation can be viewed from only one computer, but can be viewed as a group in a conference room. The “on demand” program can be shared, as long as that colleague is part of your school building’s staff. That individual may access the presentation from any Internet connected computer, even at home. But it IS NOT PERMISSIBLE to attempt grant access to individuals who are not members of the staff of the subscribing school. Inside the School takes the attitude that we’re all professionals and these intellectual property restrictions are understood. Above all, we want to make it simple and easy for everyone from the subscribing school to participate, and we make technical and security considerations as simple as possible.

Each registration to an ItS Online Seminar constitutes one location where it can be viewed by as many people as can be accommodated there. Any recording, relaying, or other retransmitting of an audio/web seminar is prohibited.

Inside the School offers a 20% discount for 2 to 6 connections, a 40% discount for 6 to 20 connections and a 50% discount for 21 or more connections. To arrange for additional connections, please contact our Customer Service staff at 1-800-433-0499 ext. 2 to register or add locations.

Due to copyright laws, recording the presentation is not allowed. We do offer the program on CD for purchase once the seminar is concluded. If you participate in the live seminar, we offer the CD to participants at a greatly reduced discount. There is an order form in the handouts you receive three days prior to the seminar to order the CD at the discounted rate.

I will have more than one person viewing the ItS Online Seminar – can I photocopy the handout for the other participants?

You are allowed to make as many photocopies of seminar handouts as you need for other participants.

Yes, we create print transcripts of all ItS Online Seminars. They are usually available and shipped 10-14 days after the live seminar is held.

Product Cancellation policy:
All cancellations need to be submitted to Inside the School in writing or by email to custserv@magnapubs.com. All of our products have a 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee. The 30 day period is based on the date the product is received. All product returns require a Return Authorization (RA) number. You may obtain an RA number by contacting Magna Publications Customer Service by email custserv@magnapubs.com. or by phone (800-433-0499 or 608-227-8182). Products ineligible for return include:
•Any product not purchased from Magna Publications
•Any product that is returned without all original packaging, including binders, CD/DVD cases, and all other items originally included with the product
•Any product that exhibits physical damage or is not in re-sellable condition.

Online Seminar Cancellation policy:
All online seminar cancellations need to be submitted to Inside the School in writing or by email to support@magnapubs.com. Up until the week prior to the Online Seminar, you may cancel your registration and receive a refund, minus a cancellation fee of $25.00. If you cancel your registration less than one week prior to the scheduled seminar date, you will be charged the full registration fee.

Yes, we accept institutional purchase orders for all of our products & services. You can fax, mail, email, or contact our Customer Service staff by phone with your registration or ordering information. Be sure to include the email address of the contact person at your location, as that is how we send confirmation & connection information. Our contact information is:

Inside the School

2718 Dryden Drive

Madison WI 53704

Phone: Toll-free 800-433-0499; Local: 608-227-8182

Fax: 888-936-4400 or 608-246-3597

Federal ID # 39-1286980

We do accept bill-me orders and institutional purchase orders for ItS Online Seminar registrations. You can print our downloadable PDF order form, and fill in the date and title of the online seminar(s) in which you would like to participate. Then complete the registration and payment information and fax or email it back to us as directed on the form. Download the seminar registration form to order on paper.

At this time we do not offer any Continuing Education Credits for any of our programs. If you would like to see CEU’s offered for future programs, please include your comments in the electronic evaluation you will receive shortly after the program, or email your comments to onlineseminars@magnapubs.com.

All ItS Online Seminars use the Central Time Zone (either Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Time). To determine the presentation time for your location, please refer to the link below to determine what time the program will begin in your time zone. NOTE: Magna Publications is located in Madison, WI, and is in the same time zone as Chicago, IL and Houston, TX.

http://www.worldtimezone.com/

1. Broadband Internet connection, at least 256 Kbps.
2. Either Internet Explorer or Firefox with the Microsoft Silverlight plugin (it can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/get-started/install/default.aspx).
3. Sound card with speakers.
4. Projector if you will be viewing the program as a group.

Through our parent company, Magna Publications, we have delivered thousands of programs and rarely have a technical problem. We recommend that several days prior to the presentation you test the ItS Online Seminar demonstration links, preferably using the same PC and equipment that you will be using for the live event. If there are any problems or questions with the demo, our customer service department should be able to help you resolve them well before the live event.

For an ItS Online Seminar Demo, click here.

Specific Requirements:

No, you do not need a phone line or connection to participate in an ItS Online Seminar. All of our presentations are done online, over the internet. The audio (and video, for presentations with a video component) comes through the internet, so you will need is a computer with internal or external speakers.

Please check that you meet the minimum requirements, including having bandwidth speed of at least 256 Kbps.

If you can’t hear the audio, make sure your computer’s speakers are properly connected, turned on, and not muted. Also verify that your PC’s volume control is turned up (typically, this is found in the system tray in the bottom right corner of the Windows task bar or under Control Panel > Sound).

If you are still having playback issues, you can also try adjusting the streaming protocol settings in Media Player:

1. Open Windows Media Player and click Tools/Options.
2. Go to the PLAYER tab and be sure “Connect to Internet” is marked with a check.
3. Go to NETWORK tab, and under the heading “Streaming Protocols”, be sure all of the boxes EXCEPT the box that says UDP are marked with a check.
4. Close out of Media Player and re-connect to the presentation link (you may have to exit your browser first before the changes take effect).

Please note: if you are uncomfortable making these changes, or are unauthorized to do so, please consult with your IT staff before attempting to change these settings.

For IT staff: Please ensure the following ports are open for the Windows Media stream:

• UDP: 554, 5005
• TCP: 554
• HTTP: 80

It is likely that your computer has the Flip4Mac Windows Media component for QuickTime installed. This interferes with the Media Player plug-in that is required to play an ItS Online Seminar. To disable the Flip4Mac plug-in:

1. Click your desktop, and select Apple > System Preferences to open the Mac System Preferences.
2. Click Flip4Mac WMV under Other.
3. On the Plug-in tab, clear the “Use Flip4Mac WMV Internet Plug-in” checkbox.
4. Exit the dialog to save your changes.
5. Try to play a presentation. You may have to re-launch your browser for the change to take effect.

The recorded presentation on CD has the same requirements as viewing a live seminar online with one exception: you do not need an internet connection, only a CD-ROM drive.

Click here to view the requirements for a live ItS Online Seminar.

To play the seminar on CD on a PC: 1) Insert the CD into your computer. 2) A “start page” will automatically launch in your browser which will contain links to play the presentation and to access the PDF handouts. If not, do step 3: 3) Open My Computer from your desktop or Start menu. Locate your CD drive in the list of available drives (usually D: or E:) and double-click on it. This will launch the “start page” in your browser. If not, do step 4: 4) Locate the file named “index.html” on the CD and double-click on it. This will launch the “start page” which contains links to play the presentation and access the handouts.

To play the seminar on CD on a Mac: 1) Insert the CD into your computer. 2) A CD icon will appear on your desktop. Double-click on the icon to access the CD drive. 3) On the CD, locate the file “index.html”. Double-click on the file. The file will launch in your web browser. 4) The “start page” should appear in your browser which contains links to play the presentation and to access the PDF handouts. 5) If you have not already done so, you will be prompted to install the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in when you click to play the presentation.

Because of copyright laws, creating and distributing copies of CDs is not allowed, even for internal use. If you need additional copies of a specific title, contact custserv@magnapubs.com for a reduced rate on additional copies, or to purchase a Campus Access License for that title.

Yes, it would be within copyright guidelines to have the original CD on reserve in your library. The CD, like any of our newsletters or books, can be routed or placed in a central location for others to use. Duplication is not permitted. As the purchaser of the CD, you probably want to add something to the jacket to make it known that others cannot duplicate it.