Quick Guide
Contact Information United States United Kingdom Renaissance Learning PO Box 8036 Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495-8036 Technical questions or problems: Phone: 087 0120 0718 Email: neosupport@renlearn.co.uk Technical questions or problems: Phone: (800) 338-4204 Email: answers@renlearn.com Web: www.renlearn.com/support Latest support information: Web: www.renlearn.co.uk/renaissancezone Purchase NEO products, general information, or sales questions: Online store: www.renlearn.
W HAT’S IN THE N E O 1 K IT? W HAT ’ S IN THE NEO 1 K IT ? You’ll find these items in the NEO 1 kit: • your NEO 1 • three AA batteries • a standard USB cable for connecting NEO 1 to your computer or printer • the NEO Manager installation CD • the NEO Documentation CD, which includes your manuals • the NEO 1 Quick Guide (this guide) NEO 1 Quick Guide 1
P A RTS O F TH E N E O 1 P ARTS OF THE NEO 1 The drawings below will help you identify parts of your NEO 1: C A D B E F A The NEO 1 screen. B The keyboard. The top row includes keys that are unique to NEO, including on/off, the eight file keys, print, spell check, find, clear file, home, end, applets, and send. C The green light is on when your NEO 1 is connected to a computer, to a SmartOption Mobile Lab, or to an AC adapter.
I NS TA LLI NG T HE B AT TE RI E S I NSTALLING THE B ATTERIES Follow these steps to install the AA batteries: If you purchased the rechargeable battery pack, insert it instead of the batteries and connect the cable on the battery pack to the matching cable next to the NEO 1 battery compartment. Then, connect the AC adapter to your NEO 1 and plug it in to an outlet as soon as possible after receiving the NEO 1.
S TAR TIN G TH E N E O 1 OR S HU TTIN G I T D O WN S TARTING THE NEO 1 OR S HUTTING I T D OWN To start the NEO 1, press the on/off key in the top-left corner of the keyboard. The NEO 1 will start AlphaWord Plus, and you can begin typing immediately in the open file if you wish. Notice that you have eight files available to type text in; to switch between files, press one of the file keys (file 1, file 2, etc.). You can also save and name files on your NEO 1.
I N S TALL ING N E O M A NA GE R Installing NEO Manager on Windows Computers Installing NEO Manager on Windows Computers NEO Manager works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. 1. Make sure you’re logged in to the computer as the administrator or that you have administrator privileges. 2. Insert the NEO Manager CD into your computer and view the contents of the CD. On Windows 7, you may be asked whether you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Click Yes to continue. 3.
I N STA LLI NG N E O M A NA GE R Installing NEO Manager on Macintosh Computers you can select your products and the information you would like to receive. When you have finished, click Quit. Installing NEO Manager on Macintosh Computers NEO Manager works with OS 10.4.x, 10.5.x, or 10.6.x. 1. Make sure you’re logged in to the computer as the administrator or that you have administrator privileges. 2. Insert the NEO Manager CD into your computer. 3. Double-click NEO Manager Installer on the CD. 4.
C O N N E C T I N G N E O 1 T O YO U R C O M P U T E R Connecting a Single NEO 1 to Your Computer C ONNECTING NEO 1 TO Y OUR C OMPUTER Connecting a Single NEO 1 to Your Computer 1. If this is the first time you have connected the NEO to your computer, check the following: • Make sure you are logged in to your computer as an administrator or that you have permissions that allow the device drivers to load properly. • Start the NEO Manager software if it isn’t already running on the computer. 2.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 What Are SmartApplets? S MART A PPLETS I NSTALLED ON THE NEO 1 What Are SmartApplets? SmartApplets are programs that are installed on your NEO 1. These programs allow you to write with the NEO 1, practice keyboarding skills, perform calculations, change settings, administer quizzes to your students, or “beam” files from one NEO 1 to another or to a NEO 2.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About AlphaWord Plus About AlphaWord Plus When you start your NEO 1, AlphaWord Plus opens automatically (unless you’ve changed settings to have another SmartApplet open.) AlphaWord Plus is the program that lets you write with NEO 1. Simply press one of the file keys (file 1, file 2, etc.) to choose the file to write in and start typing.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About KeyWords St arting the KeyWords SmartApplet 1. Press applets on the NEO 1. 2. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor next to KeyWords; then, press enter. Addi ng Your KeyWords Students You must add each student who will be using KeyWords on the NEO 1. You can add up to eight students on each NEO. To avoid confusion on reports, don’t add the same student to more than one NEO 1 or NEO 2. Follow these steps to add students: 1.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About KeyWords 3. Type your password and press enter. (The password was assigned when you were added as a student.) 4. Move the cursor down next to Pre-Test and press enter. The arrows on the screen show you that there are more options above or below the ones you’re viewing. 5. For the pre-test, after viewing instructions, type the text as instructed.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About KeyWords Learn New Keys This part of the lesson helps you learn to type the keys. When you choose this option, KeyWords asks you to type the keys you’re learning and to type combinations of the keys in different sequences. If you type the wrong key, KeyWords will make corrections, but if you continue to type the wrong keys, KeyWords will give you a hint and show you the keyboard layout with the key highlighted to help you find it.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About KeyWords 4. Move the cursor next to the report you want; then, press enter. The Student Progress Report includes all lessons you’ve worked on. It shows you your goals and your actual words per minute and accuracy, the accuracy and speed builders you’ve completed, and whether you’ve passed the test. The Last Lesson Report shows this information for the last lesson only.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About KeyWords • Transfer to AlphaWord file: Choose this option if you want to send the report to an AlphaWord Plus file in one of the eight file spaces on the NEO 1. Then, type the number of the file you want to send the report to. If a password is required for the file, enter the password (or the master password). If the NEO warns you that the text that’s already in the file will be deleted, press Y for yes if you want to continue.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About Beamer About Beamer The Beamer SmartApplet uses infrared (IR) technology to send data from one NEO 1 or NEO 2 to another without using a cable. (You can also send data between a NEO and an AlphaSmart 3000 running System 3 software, a Palm OS device, or a Dana.) You can also beam files to your computer using the AlphaBeam software. For more information, see the NEO User Manual.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About the Control Panel About the Control Panel You can also change settings using NEO Manager, which can send setting changes to several NEOs at the same time. For more information, refer to the NEO User Manual on the Documentation CD or at www.renlearn.com/neo/ downloads. 16 The Control Panel lets you define settings for your NEO 1. To use the Control Panel, follow these steps: 1. Press the applets key. 2.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About the Control Panel Setting Description Change Default AlphaWord Font Lets you choose the font size for AlphaWord Plus only based on the number of text lines that will fit on the NEO 1 screen. (Changes to font size don’t apply to other SmartApplets.) Turn Calculator Off Lets you disable the calculator for this NEO 1. Two-Button On Option When this is on, you must press enter and on/off together to turn NEO 1 on instead of just pressing on/off.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) AlphaQuiz allows students to take quizzes right on their NEOs. The results can then be sent back to the teacher’s computer. Quizzes can include true/false, multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions. To create quizzes, teachers will need to install QuizDesigner. To send quizzes to NEOs and receive answers, teachers will need QuizManager.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) 10. Read the license agreement. (You can print it if you wish; on Macintosh computers, you can save it.) On Windows computers, click the first option (“I accept...”); then, click Next >. On Macintosh computers, click Accept and go to step 12. 11. On Windows computers, click Install. After the software is installed, the final panel may ask you to choose whether to restart the computer now; click one of the options. 12.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) 3. Click the Advanced tab and make any changes you wish. These options let you decide whether passwords will be needed, whether other SmartApplets will be blocked on the NEO 1 during the quiz, and whether students can export their answers to AlphaWord Plus or print them. For more information about these options, see the instructions on the Documentation CD or at www.renlearn.com/neo/downloads. 4.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) 8. When you’ve finished creating the quiz, click the save button in the toolbar (Windows) or click the File menu and choose Save. In the dialog box that appears, choose where to save the quiz and click Save. Administering the Quiz to Students on NEOs Using QuizManager Follow these steps to send the quiz you’ve created to student NEOs and to then receive and grade their answers. 1.
S M A RTA P P L E TS I N S TALL E D O N TH E N E O 1 About AlphaQuiz (for US NEOs) 14. When all students are done, connect the NEO(s) to your computer again (see page 7) and start QuizManager. 15. Click Retrieve Responses. 16. Find and select the quiz you’ve administered and click Select. 17. QuizManager will find the students’ work on the quiz and display what it has found. Check the box next to each student whose responses you want to retrieve.
S M AR TA PP L E TS I NSTA LLED ON THE N E O 1 About the Calculator About the Calculator To use the calculator, follow these steps: 1. Press the applets key. 2. Press to move the cursor down next to Calculator. Then, press enter. To copy calculations so that you can paste them into an AlphaWord plus file, press shift--C. Then, press applets, scroll up to AlphaWord Plus, press enter, and open the file you want to paste into. Press ctrl-V. 3. Enter the calculation using the keys listed below.
24 NEO 1 Quick Guide
About Renaissance Learning Renaissance Learning, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-based school improvement and student assessment programs for K12 schools. Adopted by more than 72,000 schools, Renaissance Learning’s tools provide daily formative assessment and periodic progressmonitoring technology to enhance core curriculum, support differentiated instruction, and personalize practice in reading, writing, and math.
