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.
Zoom and Kaltura (Spanish 1 and World Campus Only)
- Group meetings do not need to be scheduled in Zoom.
- Whoever is hosting the Zoom meeting simply needs to share their Zoom Room link with their group members, and have everyone join it at an agreed date and time.
- Click on the Zoom Room link given to you by someone from your group, or copy and paste it into the address bar in your browser.
- You may be prompted to check your microphone and speaker settings.
- If the meeting host has their waiting room set up, you may have to wait until you are let into the meeting room.
No. Zoom is completely web-based so you will not have to install any new software onto your computer. Using Zoom with Safari may require downloading the Zoom app, but you are encouraged to use Firefox or Chrome when meeting with Zoom. 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.
- NOTE: Only one member of your group needs to record a meeting. That task should be done by the group leader.
- Wait until everyone is in your room and all audio/video has been checked and is working properly.
- At the bottom of the Zoom window, click the Record button.
- If you do not see a Record button, expand the Zoom window. If the Zoom window is too small, some buttons can be hidden.
- Click the pause icon if you want to pause the recording.
- Click the start icon when you are ready to resume recording.
- Click the stop icon when you’re ready to stop the recording.
- Make sure you end the Zoom meeting. The recording will not begin processing until the meeting ends.
- Every time you start and end a recorded meeting in Zoom, the video file from that recording is automatically sent to Kaltura, Penn State’s media storage platform.
- NOTE: Only one member of your group needs to submit the recording. That task should be done by the group leader.
- After your meeting has ended, make sure to click the stop button in Zoom to end the recording.
- Follow the steps in this guide on Kaltura: Sharing a Link to your Media File
- Also be sure to follow the steps in this guide on renaming your Zoom recordings in Kaltura to rename the recording according to the requirements found in the Speaking Assignment’s instructions.
- When you finish working through that guide you should have the link to your media file copied and ready to paste.
- Enter the page in Canvas for that particular Speaking Assignment
- Click “Start Assignment”
- Paste the link to your video in the field labeled “Website URL”
- Enter any comments you wish to include (optional)
- Click “Submit Assignment”