SCY-Lab or SCYSnippets?
SCY-Lab is the digital learning environment in which students carry out the SCY missions. There is a web-based version of SCY-Lab, as well as a local version. In order to work with the local version of SCY-Lab, it has to be downloaded and installed on the computers the students will work on (see ‘Getting Started' below).
SCYSnippets are selected tools and components from SCY-Lab. They give an impression of the various tools available in SCY without downloading and registering in SCY-Lab. However, certain features of SCY-Lab are not available in the SCYSnippets as they depend on the integration of SCY-Lab and on server architecture, which is not available for the snippets. SCYSnippets are made to run from the internet browser, so there is no need for downloading or installing SCY software. SCYSnippets can be found on the SCY website http://www.scy-net.eu/.
Technical requirements
SCY-Lab will work on computers with operating systems such as Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OS X and 2 GB or more RAM. A fast internet connection is needed. Wireless connections may not work well, primarily because they are slow.
In order to run SCY-Lab or SCYSnippets, you need a recent version of Java (version 1.6 or newer), a very common software program. It can be downloaded for free at http://www.java.com. Usually, when opening Java programs, the system may ask for confirmation. Simply, click on ‘Run'.
Of course, to be able to install SCY-Lab on school computers, a user will need to have all the necessary permissions. SCYSnippets don't have to be installed.
SCY-Demonstrator: Run For Your Life!
This manual explains in detail how to work with SCY-lab, from getting started to actually working with the ELOs and tools. In addition to this manual, there is also a SCY-Demonstrator tutorial available for getting used to working with SCY-lab.
This demonstrator is a mini-mission called "Run For Your Life!" - an actual mission, but much smaller. It only takes one hour to do this mini-mission. When working in "Run For Your Life!", students and teachers get introduced to most SCY-features. In "Run For Your Life!" students (and others) learn more about the effects of energy drinks. The challenge is as follows:
Figure 1: The challenge of "Run For Your Life!"