Technical Issues
General
For account, purchasing, or password-related MyLab Spanish questions, contact MyLab Spanish support. For questions about Spanish or grading, talk to your instructor. All other issues, check the FAQ here or fill out the Help Form.
There are a number of ways to type accents. Please consult the page on “How to Type Spanish Accent Marks” for information on doing this with your Mac or PC. Please see the Laptop Accents page for more information on typing accents on a laptop.
Canvas
It is highly recommended that you have your Canvas email forwarded to another email account. This makes it easier to check your mail and to reply to your instructors.
- Select the Account option on the left menu in Canvas
- Select the “Notifications” link
- Your Penn State email will be selected already.
- In the right column select the “check mark”, “clock”, “calendar” or “x” icons to indicate how frequently you would like to get email notifications.
- The icon definitions at the top of the page define the meaning on each icon.
These will unlock for you if you do the proper assessment such as the Academic Integrity Form. Check your syllabus for assessments that need to be done before you start on your main work.
You have an issue that needs admin support. Fill out the Help Form and let the administrator know what is happening.
MyLab Spanish
To register for MyLab Spanish, you’ll need the access code that came with your book. Follow these steps:
- Click on the Pearson Access link in the Canvas course navigation
- Click Open Pearson
- Click Open MyLab & Mastering
- Read the License Agreement and Privacy Policy and click I Accept
- Login or create a new Pearson account:
- If you have a Pearson Account – Fill in your username and password. (Note: This version of MyLab is not necessarily compatible with other MyLab products. You may need to create a new account if you already use Pearson products for non-Spanish courses.) You will need to provide a new email address, but any email address will work.)
- If you do not have a Pearson account – Create a username and password per the guidelines provided. We recommend using your PSU ID.
- There are also links to use if you forgot your username or password, or you are not sure if you have an account.
- Please retain your username and password, you may need them when accessing the MyLab course in the future.
- After logging in or creating your new account, click Access Code to register.
- Enter your MyLab student access code and click Finish.
- If your book has not arrived yet, you can request a 14-day free trial by clicking on the temporary access link at the bottom of this page.
- After registering with temporary access or using your MyLab access code, a message will appear saying that your registration is being processed.
- Once your enrollment is complete, you will receive an email from Pearson.
- Use the Pearson Access link in Canvas to return to MyLab at any time.
It is very likely that you have a popup blocker turned on. It’s very common, and simply needs to be disabled for all the MyLab Spanish pages. Run the browser tuneup, and if it tells you you have popups blocked, let it tell you how to fix it.
Either the login or password actually are correct, or the account is wrong. Sometimes students will have accounts on similar sites (like MyMathLab or MyEconomicsLab), and the correct account needs to be used. Check your confirmation email for the correct username. If you don’t have any other accounts, double check your password and do a password reset if need be.
Grades are transferred from MSL to Canvas once a week. If your grades still do not transfer after a week, then you should fill out the Help Form.
Bongo (Spanish 1 and World Campus Only)
Bongo is set up to work with the Chrome and Firefox browsers. Using other browsers may result in performance problems. If one of those browsers isn’t working please try the other.
- Enter the page in Canvas for that particular Speaking Assignment
- Click the circle with a plus sign inside it at the bottom of the page
- Click the top (calendar) icon that appears
- Give your meeting a title, date, and time, then click Submit
- Illustrated instructions are available from the Bongo Learners Portal
- Enter the page in Canvas for that particular Speaking Assignment
- Find the area titled “Scheduled Meetings”
- Click the options button (three vertical dots) associated with your meeting, then click Launch
- You will be sent to the meeting’s “lobby” in a new browser tab, some useful information is available under the “Session Management” header
- Click “Enter Meeting Room” when you’re ready
- NOTE: You will not be able to enter the room until the scheduled date and time.
No. Bongo is completely web based so you will not have to install any new programs or software onto your computer. However, you may need to install your camera and/or microphone in order to successfully complete the assignments.
A headset with a built-in microphone is recommended to reduce audio echo and feedback. Penn State ITS recommends a camera and headset with USB or Firewire connectors, rather than a headphone plug connector. A built-in camera and microphone will work, however it is highly recommended to use headphones to reduce feedback.
We recommend wearing headphones while using this program. It will reduce the amount of sound coming out of your speakers, especially if you are using a built-in microphone.
- Wait until everyone is in your room and all audio / video has been checked and is working properly
- Click the button next to the words “Not recording” at the top-center of the screen. It looks like a circle with a dot inside it
- After being clicked, the button will turn red and the text next to it will read “Recording”
- To stop recording click the same button again. It should turn white and display “Not recording”
- Click the red dot again and select ‘stop recording’
- Illustrated instructions are available from the Bongo Learners Portal
- When you have stopped recording, end the meeting by clicking the options (three vertical dots) button, then click “End meeting”
- Close that browser tab
- Enter the page in Canvas for that particular Speaking Assignment
- Find your new recording listed in the area titled “Work in Progress.” It may take some time for the recording to appear
- The recording is being processed when the icon next to it is an hourglass, and the message Your video will be available once it’s done processing” appears above it
- When the recording is finished processing, click the options button (three vertical dots) associated with it, then click Preview to watch it
- If your group is pleased with the recording, click options then “Mark as Ready” to move it to the “Ready to Submit” section
- When in the “Ready to Submit” section, click “Submit Assignment” to submit it.