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Purchase
Zigzag Reader
Install Zigzag Reader
Zigzag Generator
What taxes are applicable to my Zigzag Reader purchase? The taxes vary as a function of the location to which the product is sent. For example, if the product is sent to Quebec, the taxes of the province of Quebec are applicable. To know the exact amount, click on the Buy button and select the options that apply to you (number of licenses, country and province, payment option) then click on Submit to see the next page where you will find the price of the taxes, among other things. Then you can click Cancel. Don't worry, by clicking Cancel the order is completely cancelled and no information is sent via Internet.
Shipping and transportation costs (regardless of the number of licenses):
What are the minimal system requirements for installing Zigzag Reader? Installing Zigzag Reader requires that you have a computer with:
The installation program will not launch. If the installation procedure does not launch automatically on your computer:
I have Windows 98. When I try to launch one of the three Zigzag programs, I get the following error message: "Unable to open the file IDE21201.VXD." The file IDE21201.VDX is probably missing from your computer's hard drive. You can retrieve this file from your installation disk. It is important to access the CD-ROM manually:
I've installed Zigzag Reader on our school's server. It will not work properly. The
current version 2 of Zigzag Reader cannot be used on a network.
You must install the program on each computer separately, keeping
in mind the number of licenses required to do so. That being said,
a network compatible version will be released in 2007.
I purchased one license for Zigzag Reader version 2. I would like to transfer the program from one computer to another. Is this possible? Yes, that is possible. However, since you have only one license, you must first uninstall Zigzag Reader version 2 from the computer it is currently running on. To uninstall, insert the CD-ROM in the drive and wait for it to automatically launch the uninstall program. If you uninstall Zigzag Reader version 2 in this manner, you will subsequently be able to reinstall it to the same or to a different computer since the number of available licenses will have been adjusted via Internet access to the site www.zigzagreader.com. (A school owning 20 Zigzag Reader licenses can thus uninstall Zigzag Reader from 20 computers to later install them on the same or on different computers.) Any uninstall procedure not in conformity with the instructions described above will nullify the reuse of the license agreements.
I have Zigzag Reader 2.0 (not the French version, i.e. Lecture Zigzag 2.0), but I would like to generate texts in French. Is this possible? Yes, it is possible to generate texts in French (or texts in whichever language can be read from left to right, granted that your system has the appropriate fonts for the target language). That being said, the English version of Zigzag Reader obviously does not contain an French dictionary. Consequently, commands allowing for automatic generation of certain types of distractors in English - for example the command Distractors > Homophones or Distractors > Antonymes - are not useful for automatically generating distractors in French. This does not, however, stop you from manually accomplishing the task of generating distractors, since you can use the command Distractors > Individual Distractors.
I have created a new Zigzag project on my computer at home. Now, how do I use it on the computer at school? If the program is installed on both computers (1 license for each computer), you can transfer the project from one computer to another by using the complementary commands File > Archive Project… and File > Import Project… in the Zigzag Generator. At home, use the File > Archive Project… command (you can save the file to disk, CD-ROM, etc., as you wish). At school, use the command File > Import Project… (the new project will be automatically installed to your project directory). By using the Zigzag Generator, you can select Tools > Build Test Sequence and move the project from the left to the right in the window that opens. Next, click on Close. The new project is ready to be used in Zigzag Test.
I have a text at stage 2 of its generation. All the commands in the Distractors menu are unavailable (can't click on them). Why? Check to see if, accidentally, you have clicked on the box Text without Distractor(s) in the Test Parameters window. (You can access this window via the Tools > Test Parameters, Display tab.) When this box is checked, the text format is one row by one column such that commands for inserting distractors (menu Distractors > …) have no use, generally speaking. There is, however, an exception to this rule: if you have intentionally checked the Text without Distractor(s) box to generate a corresponding text, but once at step 2 of text generation you realize there is an orthographic error in one of the text segments. Having checked this box, you have limited yourself from being able to correct this error, via the Distractors > Individual Distractors command (Modify tab). To get around this problem, temporarily uncheck the box Text without Distractor(s) - which will give you access to the Modify command - and then recheck the box once you have corrected the error.
I would like to create a text in many formats (for example, 2 columns x 3 rows, 4 columns x 2 rows, etc. ) based on a text I have already generated. However, I keep getting an error message saying this is impossible. Is there any way to get around this? Messages denying permission to do something do have a reason for being: they forbid you from creating formats incompatible with the lengths of segments. If you wish to generate a text with a 4 column format based on one with 2 columns, it is possible that the segments be too long given the available space in this new format. To avoid a malfunction in Zigzag Reader programs, it is advised that you respect the error messages you are presented with. If you wish to generate a text in many different formats, we suggest that you begin with the format having the highest number of columns (max. 4) and to continue in descending order. As concerns the number of rows (max. 6), the strategy to use is less obvious. Generating in descending order does make using automatic insertion commands easier and more efficient (for example, you do not need to manually fill the boxes without distractors that appear due to the adding of rows), however, you must verify that no target-segment is located in one of the rows to be eliminated, and if the case arises, move such segments before being able to reduce the number of rows.
I have a text at stage 2 of its generation. When I click on a segment, it turns red, and I am unable to add images or questionnaires to the text. When a segment
changes to be red in color (rather than blue), you are in multi-selection
mode (by holding down the Ctrl key, you are in multi-selection).
This mode allows you to assign a code to many textual segments at
the same time. However, you do not have access to commands in the
Events menu (i.e. adding instructions,
an image,
a questionnaire
or a paragraph):
these commands can only be applied to one segment at a time. To
exit multi-selection mode, release the Ctrl key and click
on a textual segment that is not red.
I imported a project generated with version 1 of Zigzag Reader. I would like to enlarge the font size. When you import
a Zigzag project to Zigzag Reader version 2 (File
> Import Zigzag File, Version 1…), the largest font
size is 14 when the screen's resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels. Though
technically possible, it is strongly recommended that you do not
open a *.zzm file with the intention of modifying the font
size or any other critical parameter during the import operation.
In certain cases, this operation can corrupt your file, making it
no longer usable. For example, by replacing Arial 14 by Arial
22 (or by replacing 2 columns by 3 columns), the
space needed to display the segments on the screen can become insufficient
and trigger a message error.
The test I would like to take is not displayed in the list of available tests. Once you have
completed the generation of a new Zigzag project, it is not immediately
usable in the Zigzag Test application. In fact, you must use the
Tools >
Build Test Sequence of the Zigzag Generator application
to authorize the use of the new project in Zigzag Test.
I would like for my students to read texts in a given order (for example, first read text A, then read text B, then…). Select the
Tools >
Build Test Sequence menu in the Zigzag Generator application.
You will access a dialogue window that allows you to determine whether
the students must follow a given order when doing the tests or not.
Check the box that reads "The reader must do the tests in the
order they are presented."
I would like for my students be allowed to read each text only once. Select the
Tools > Build Test Sequence menu in the Zigzag Generator
application. You will access a dialogue window that will allow you
to control the authorization a reader has to repeated readings of
a given text. To allow repeated readings, check the box that reads
"The reader can attempt a test as many times as desired."
To forbid multiple readings, leave this box unchecked (its default
position).
I would like for my students to be able to see their results at the end of each test. Select the
Tools >
Build Test Sequence menu in the Zigzag Generator application.
You will access a dialogue window with the same name. Check the
option "The reader can see the results at the end of each test."
The
summary score takes into account the success rate (comprehension)
and the fluidity of reading (speed). The summary score situates
each reader as a function of his reference group - the other students
in the class, for example - by increasing or decreasing his success
rate as a function as his reading time. Thus, for two readers having
the same success rate, the faster reader will have a higher summary
score. Such adjustments reflected in the summary score are based
on the results for the whole group of readers. In the equation for
calculating the summary score, two factors - success rate and time
- are first transformed into z-scores. Then, the value of z for
time serves to modify the increases or decreases of the z-score
for success rate, taking into account the importance granted to
each of the two factors. Generally speaking, a weighting giving
more importance to comprehension over speed will be preferred (for
more details, see the following question).
Can I modify the default weightings of the summary score (i.e. 75% success score - 25% time)? Or is there an ideal weighing of success rate versus the reading time that we should respect, regardless of the type of reading being done? The default value for the summary score (i.e. 75% success rate - 25% time) is not an absolute value that must be respected; it does however represent our way of seeing things. This weighting highlights the preponderance of the comprehension factor (one can't read without comprehension!), all the while allowing for the time factor to have a sizeable importance. That being said, every user of Zigzag Reader is free to modify the weightings for the summary score as a function of their convictions and professional experience, or as a function of the specific pedagogical objectives having been previously explained to the readers involved. We can imagine, for example, a text generated with the objective of developing in the reader the automatisms necessary in the domain of grammatical orthography. To incite the reader to make rapid orthographic decisions, we could place more emphasis on reading speed, thus making use of the weightings for an interesting pedagogical manner. Generally speaking, the choice of the weightings favoring either the success rate or the reading time could become a teaching strategy aiming to make the reader more flexible, a strategy that is all the more effective when the reader is informed beforehand of the objective (for example, through the start instructions provided at the beginning of the text). But beware! If a great deal of researchers agree that time is an important factor in reading in terms of its indication of the reading task's complexity (all other things being equal), they also agree that reading time is not the most important factor. This is why certain teachers prefer to speak of speed of comprehension as being the goal to achieve. Remember: one can't read without comprehension! |
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www.zigzagreader.com © 2007
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