===USING THE DISCOVERERS====================================================
This section explains how to use each activity and explore all that The
Discoverers has to offer.
Ready to begin?
There is no "right" way to play with THE DISCOVERERS. You decide when,
where, and how you want to move around in the program and which activities
you want to do.
If you have not yet installed and started THE DISCOVERERS, see "How do I
install the program?" for instructions. For information about The
Discoverers that was added recently, type readme and press <Enter>
from the DISCOVER directory or click on the Read Me icon in Windows.
SOME BASICS
What if I don't have a mouse? If you do not have a mouse, use the arrow
keys on your keyboard to move the pointer around on the screen and press
<Enter> in place of clicking the mouse button. You can also press <Tab>
to move the pointer to each button on the screen in turn; press <Shift-Tab>
to cycle backward through the buttons.
Note the balloons: Many of the items on THE DISCOVERERS screen are labeled
with note balloons that appear whenever the pointer touches that spot on
the screen. If you want to know more about an item on the screen, move the
pointer around that area to see if there is a note balloon to read.
Turn off the sound: If you want to turn off the sound at any time, press
<Esc>.
What if I get lost? If you're not sure how you got to a certain place and
would rather be somewhere else, look for the Return to Movie button, usually
in the lower right corner of the current screen, and click on it to return
to the Main movie screen.
MAIN MOVIE SCREEN
The first still screen you'll see after you start THE DISCOVERERS is the
Main movie screen. You can interrupt the opening sequence and go
immediately to the Main movie screen by clicking your mouse button. The
function buttons below the viewing window let you start and stop the movie
and travel to related information and activities.
Function buttons
Preview the movie: Click on the Preview button to start a self-running
preview of the movie. To interrupt the preview and return to the Main movie
screen, click your mouse button.
Play the movie: Click on the Play button to start the movie. You can click
on any of the other function buttons to interrupt the movie while it is
playing. Otherwise, it will play through to the end.
Move through the movie: Click on the Click Forward button to move ahead
through the movie one "key frame" at a time, or on the Click backward button
to move back one "key frame" at a time.
Go on a knowledge adventure. Click anywhere to stop the movie. Simply move
the pointer around within the movie screen, read the note balloons and click
on them. See the section "THE DISCOVERERS Reference," for information about
using THE DISCOVERERS Reference.
Experiment with discoveries: Click on the Discovery button to see a menu of
activities. See the section "Discovery,", for information about each
activity.
Play the games: Click on the Games button to see a menu of the games you can
play. See the section "Games,", for information about each game.
Leave THE DISCOVERERS: Click on the Exit button or press <Alt-F4> to exit
from THE DISCOVERERS.
Key frame mouse scroll
Click on the key frame mouse scroll icon. Then move your mouse right or
left or use the right and left arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through
the "key frames" of the movie. When you reach a key frame you want to
explore, click your mouse to return to the Main movie screen. Then move the
pointer around the key frame screen, read the note balloons and click on
them to go to THE DISCOVERERS Reference.
THE DISCOVERERS REFERENCE
The picture window in the right center of the screen and the text window in
the lower left corner display information about a topic related to the key
frame from which you left the movie. Different pictures and text will
appear in these windows depending on where you click--in the picture window,
on the time line below the picture window, or in the map window above the
text window. The seven control buttons along the bottom of the screen
provide additional options.
Picture window
Move the pointer. As you move the pointer across the picture window, you
will see a note balloon appear. Continue clicking within the picture window
to follow the knowledge adventure that is linked to the key frame from which
you left the movie.
Map window
Travel to a new location: Click anywhere in the map window to visit the
entry that is most closely related to that location. To rotate the globe,
click on one of the arrow buttons surrounding the map window. You can also
rotate the globe by placing the pointer at any spot on the earth, except the
very center, then pressing and holding down the mouse button. The longer
the line that appears when you do this, the faster the globe will rotate.
To move closer to or farther from the earth, click anywhere on the slider
bar below the map window. You can also click on the slider and hold down
the mouse button as you drag the slider to another part of the bar. To get
a full screen view of the map window, click on the button below the map
window slider bar or press <Alt-Z>.
Time line
Select a date: Click anywhere on the time line to visit the entry that is
most closely related to that date. If you want to move just one entry
forward or backward on the time line, press <+> or <-> or click once on the
right or left arrowheads at either end of the time line. You can also click
on the slider and hold down the mouse button as you drag the slider to
another part of the bar.
Text window
Read all about it: Click on the single up and down arrow buttons below the
text window to scroll the window so you can read all the text. The text
will scroll as long as you hold down the mouse button, and will stop when
you release the mouse button. To scroll quickly one page at a time, click
on the double arrow buttons below the text window or press <PgUp> or <PgDn>.
Look for more information: To go to THE DISCOVERERS Reference index, click
on a word in the text window that interests you. The text window will
change to display an index of words used in THE DISCOVERERS Reference and
the entries in which they appear, with the word you chose (or a similar
word) at the top of the window. From the index, you can click on the name
of the entry you want to see, or press <Esc> or click on the Retrace button
to return the text window to its previous display. To move forward and
backward in the index one page at a time, click on the single up and down
arrow buttons below the text window. To scroll quickly to the next word in
the index that has a different second letter, click on the double down
arrow button below the text window. Similarly, to scroll to the previous
word in the index that has a different second letter, click on the double
up arrow button.
NOTE: To get to a specific word in the index as quickly as possible, just
start typing the word!
Control buttons
Get help: Click on the Help button to get information about using The
Discoverers.
Go back the way you came: Click on the Retrace button, or press
<Backspace>, to travel to the entry you visited last. Each time you click
on it you'll travel back one more entry. You can also move forward in the
"history" of your travels by holding down <Shift> and clicking on the
Retrace button, or by pressing <Ctrl-Backspace>.
Play the games: Click on the Games button to see a menu of the games you
can play. See the section "Games" for information about each game.
Experiment with discoveries: Click on the Discovery button to see a menu of
activities. See the section "Discovery" for information about each
activity.
Replay the narration: Click on the Narration button to replay the audio
associated with the current entry.
Print the text: Click on the Print button to send the contents of the text
window to your attached printer that accepts ASCII text.
Return to the movie: Click on the Return to Movie button in the lower right
corner of the current entry to return to the Main movie screen.
DISCOVERY
From the Discovery menu, click on the name of the activity you'd like to try
or click on the Return to Movie button in the lower right corner to return
to the Main movie screen.
Eclipses
View the yearly solar and lunar eclipse cycles. Click on one of the Eclipse
buttons to begin. The button on the left shows movement at the rate of one
month per second. The button next to it shows the cycle at half that speed.
The third Eclipse button shows only the eclipse portions of the cycle.
Click on the Stop button to halt the cycles at any time. Click on the
Return to Menu button in the lower right corner of the screen to return to
the Discovery menu when you have finished with this activity.
Planetary Mapping
Click on either Mars or Jupiter and watch the planet appear in space. Then
click on the Play button to begin mapping the surface of your chosen planet
with a deep space probe. Watch both the vertical and horizontal views.
Click on the Stop button at any time to stop the simulation. Click on the
Return to Menu button in the lower right corner of the screen to return to
the Discovery menu when you have finished with this activity.
Talking Art
Click on any of the four "talking art" buttons: the Native American
pictographs, the Northwest American totem, the Lascaux France cave art, or
the Aborigine rock art. Then move the pointer over the picture and click on
the note balloons to hear the stories that the early artists tried to tell
with these first attempts at recording history. Click on the Return to Menu
button in the lower right corner of the screen to return to the Discovery
menu when you have finished with this activity.
Newton's Prisms
Recreate the experiment in which Isaac Newton used a pair of prisms to prove
that white light contains all of the colors of the rainbow. Click on the
left Prism button to activate the prism and see the spectrum. Then click on
the right prism and move the prism across the spectrum by clicking on the
series of colored buttons. Watch as all the bands of color are captured and
refracted and the light returns to a pure white beam. Click on the Return to
Menu button in the lower right corner of the screen to return to the
Discovery menu when you have finished with this activity.
EXTENDED LEARNING MODULE
Make your own discoveries by trying these activities: construct a time line,
make a viewer, make a compass, make a kite, make a map, use a prism,
investigate how sound travels, and observe rocks to determine topography.
The complete text of the extended learning module, plus helpful
illustrations, is included in Appendix B.
Meet the creators of THE DISCOVERERS movie and software. The first to appear
in the picture window of THE DISCOVERERS Reference section is Pulitzer
Prize-winning author Daniel J. Boorstin. Read the text about him in the
window to the left of the picture. Click in the picture window to move on to
the next creator. By clicking in the picture window, you will continue to
cycle through the entries about the creators. Use the index, the time line,
or the map window to travel to different entries in the Reference section.
See the section "THE DISCOVERERS Reference" for information about using The
Discoverers Reference. Click on the Discovery button at the bottom of the
screen if you want to return to the Discovery menu when you have finished
with this activity.
GAMES
From the Games menu, click on the name of the game you want to play or click
on the Return to Movie button in the lower right corner to return to the Main
movie screen. At any time during a game, click on the nearest Return to Menu
button, or press <Alt-F4>, to return to the Games menu.
Name the Historic Discoverer game
The object of this game is to match the picture of a historic discoverer with
his or her name. Listen to the narration and look at the name that is shown
at the top of the screen. Click on the picture of the corresponding
discoverer below. The narrator will let you know whether you are correct.
Click on the Return to Menu button in the lower right corner of the screen to
return to the Games menu when you have finished with this activity.
Name the Contemporary Discoverer game
The object of this game is to match the picture of a contemporary discoverer
with his or her name. Listen to the narration and look at the name that is
shown at the top of the screen. Click on the picture of the corresponding
discoverer below. The narrator will let you know whether you are correct.
Click on the Return to Menu button in the lower right corner of the screen to
return to the Games menu when you have finished with this activity.
The Mis-Discovery game
The object of this game is to read each series of statements by a specific
discoverer as quickly as possible and select the one that was a "mis-
discovery." A mis-discovery is a discovery that turns out to be wrong. Use
your mouse to drive down the "Hall of Mis-Discovery" while a timer ticks
away. As you are traveling, three statements will appear, one at a time.
Read each one as quickly as you can and then click on it to make it
disappear so you can continue your journey. Which of these statements was
a mis-discovery? You'll be presented with three possible answers. When you
have read each of these quickly and clicked your mouse to make them go away,
decide on your answer (and remember it!) until you reach the end of the
hall. There you will need to turn left, continue straight ahead, or turn
right in order to click on the letter of your answer: A, B, or C. If you
are correct, you will move up to the next level; there are three parts to
the game, with five levels in each part. If you are not correct, the
program returns you to the beginning of the same level to try again. Click
on the Return to Menu button in the "Room of Discovery" to return to the
Games menu when you have finished with this activity.