Please review the frequently asked questions and answers below. If you have further questions please let us know by Contacting us

1. Q: What are the system requirements?

A: Essentially you will need

• Microsoft excel 2003 or 2007
• install a small plugin to Excel
• Internet access
• Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7

Here is a list of recommended system requirements:

• Broadband internet
• Video compatible capabilities

Or find out more from our page

2. Q: How do I join the SchoolSims programme?

A: Simply go to the Join us page and fill out a brief enquiry form.

3. Q: Is it available to other NCEA levels and Cambridge?

A: Currently SchoolSims programmes are designed for enhancing learning for students doing year 12. In the near future SchoolSims is looking to expand into other educational qualification levels, Contact us to let us know what areas you are interested using sims for.

At the moment we cover NCEA level 2 and AS/A2/A level Cambridge SchoolSims programmes available in the subject areas of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, history, accounting, economics.

4. Q: How does this programme fit in with my classroom teaching?

A: These programmes should be integrated into your classroom teaching to gain the most benefit. The simulations are based around NCEA Achievement Standards and Cambridge qualifications therefore when you are covering a topic, the SchoolSims products can be integrated into your teaching method. These activities can be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 3 weeks

5. Q: How long do the simulations take? I only have 50 minutes of teaching in this subject per day.

A: It depends on subject and the amount of material in the simulations. These activities can be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 3 weeks depending on what you want.

6. Q: How do students get assessed?

A: Students log on to the SchoolSims programme and take part in the simulation. As they play their performance becomes available for teachers to review, making assessing very simple and fast.

7. Q: Is support provided and what type of support?

A: Briefings for the teacher and students are provided with the simulations. There are written and video instructions for when using the simulations. SchoolSims will also provide 24/7 email support to customers.

8. Q: Do I need special training to run your simulations?

A: No special training is required. The teacher briefing and instructional video will provide you with the information to run the simulation.

9. Q: Are you interested in having teachers author and publish simulations?

A: Yes, you can start with us now and have a big impact on how we develop our range of products and services over the next year. Proceed to the Join us page to learn more.

10. Q: Can I use SchoolSims if I am a MAC user?

A:

11. Q: What kind of internet browser do I need?

A: Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer

12. Q: My proxy settings will not allow me to install/download SpreadSims

A:

13. Q: I tried to open up another Sim and the following exception appeared:

“Exception occurred: A document with the name ‘name of sim’ is already open…”

A: Please close the opened document and restart Excel.

14. Q: SpreadSims has successfully been installed; however I cannot open the network. I receive the following error message:

“Error installing model from server http://server.spreadsims.net: Error parsing model file date time”

A:

15. Q: SpreadSims has successfully been installed; however I cannot open the network. I receive the following error message:

“Exception occurred while opening from network: The remote name could not be resolved: ‘server.spreadsims.net‘”

A:

16. Q: When I attempt to install SpreadSims the computer informs me that:

“A required installation file SKU011.CAB could be found”

A: You can try this:

• In start / execute : Regedit
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> Software -> Microsoft -> Office -> 11.0 -> Delivery
• You should have this key 90000409-6000-11D3-8CFE-0150048383C9
• click on it and (at the right of your screen), right click on the CDCache key
• Type 0 as new value
• This will solve your problem

Alternatively visit this site for a more detailed walk-through of solving the problem:

http://www.sku011cab.com/

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During much of the year 2009, a study of SchoolSims feasibility was completed in partner with Auckland Grammar School. Specifically, we authors have ran five pilot projects in each of the subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Business, Mathematics(with Diocesan) and History.

Positive feedback were received from the students who participated and from 80% to 100% of the students wanted to see more simulations of the kind we offer in the future of their educations. There were also marked improvement in test results among students who trialled the sims showing a great increase in learning. The results supported the benefits in which we knew simulations could enhance education in schools. We are really excited to be a part of the success of simulation learning and helping the next generation to be the best they can be.

Following the success of the pilots, we decided to expand the coverage of our simulations to 50% of year 12 curriculum in NCEA and CIE by February 2010.  To accommodate for the creation of this large amount of contents, we are looking to take on board 10 to 20 new authors during the holiday period. So far the offer has generated an enormous amount of interest, as we have received almost 100 applications to date. The selection period is not due to be finished until late November.

-Robert Wang

For many years, my passion has been making learning more interesting, powerful and fun. The techniques that I have enjoyed the most have been experimental, where people learn by doing and simulation, whether computerised or not, captures this well.

When I first started working on simulations, over 20 years ago, I wanted to create a system that was flexible enough that it could easily be modified to suit any organisation. We realised that the spreadsheet was possibly one of the most flexible calculation engines ever created and so we developed a plug-in into Excel that would make it easier to generate multi-person, multi-user simulations. We used this first with AXA to create a simulation customised for their financial brokers. This evolved into a language and a methodology that we trademarked SpreadSims. Any spreadsheet-user could design, build, test and publish a simulation on the Internet for other people to use. Using SpreadSims we produced a more general simulation called the Great Restaurant sim. This was used in teaching business and team skills to a 1st-year university business class.

The Great Restaurant Sim was a big hit and we always knew that for this type of product to grow, we would need to open it up to others to create their own sims. So we have designed SchoolSims, reconfigurable spreadsheet-based learning simulations. SpreadSims can be easily used by teachers and students to design, share and learn from sims which fit in with their schools curriculum.

Our team has shown much dedication and support in getting SchoolSims products to a quality standard for schools to employ in 2010. Our team can see the benefits in which simulation can enhance education in New Zealand schools and this drives them to do the best they can for the company and the community. And that is where we are right now.

The next step is to empower teachers to make a difference with their schools by getting on board with the SchoolSims programmes. SchoolSims will empower students with the tools to enhance learning, make them think and make thinking fun!

Stay tuned for how this evolves over the next few months.

-Pete Mazany