Table of Contents Chapter 16: Optimizing Digital Teacher Web Lesson Page

Chapter 15: Preventing Students from Using Browser tools

In the previous chapter, Chapter 14: Known Issues, we detailed that how using the browser's menus and tools can impact Digital Teacher web-based lessons.

By presenting the Digital Teacher lesson page in full screen, we can prevent the student from using the browser elements such as menus, tools, and bars. Using full-screen mode also allows students to view lessons with fewer distractions, letting them concentrate on the lesson.

Displaying Lessons in Full-Screen

When we present a lesson in full-screen mode, the lesson page loads in a new window and fills up the entire screen, leaving only a scroll bar. All other elements of Browser, such as title bar, menu bar, address bar, buttons, status bar dissapear.

To see a demonstration, click the link at the end of this topic

Important: Once you are in full screen, there are no browser menus and buttons available to close the window or to return you to the current page. Also, the ALT-LEFT ARROW key will not bring you back to the previous page since you are in a new window. To close the full-screen window, you must either

click the Close (or Exit) link on the page, or
press ALT-F4.

Tip: If you need to switch tasks inside from the "full screen" page, press ALT-TAB.

Demonstration presented in full screen

How to Present Full-Screen Lesson

Assuming that you have a student login page (Chapter 6: Deploying Web Lessons) from which your students access your Digital Teacher web lesson pages,

Add the following script to a front page, from which the student should open the login page.

var objNewWin = null;	// Global variable to check if a sub window is already open.
function fullScreen(theURL) {
   if ((objNewWin != null) && (!objNewWin.closed)) {
      // If the new window is current open, warn the student.
      alert('That sub window is currently open. You must close it first.');
   }
   else {
      objNewWin = window.open(theURL, '', 'fullscreen=yes,scrollbars=auto');
   }
}

Add the following HTML to the front page to create a link to the login page. Clicking the link will load the login page in full screen. The Digital Teacher web lesson pages loaded from the login page will also be loaded in full screen.
```
<a href="javascript:void(0);"
onClick="fullScreen('a_Login_page.htm');">
Student Login in full screen</a>
```
Add the following HTML to the login page. This will let you close the full screen window once you are in it. Without this link, you must use the ALT-F4 keys to close.
```
<A href="javascript://" onClick="self.close()">Close this window</A>
```

Disabling the right mouse menu

You might also want to prevent the student from using the popup menu on the browser window.

To see how it works,

Click your right mouse on this page.
Open this page using a text editor (or View | Source), and see the related script.
To disable the right mouse menu on the Digital Teacher lesson page, include the script in the <BODY> section of the lesson file.

Table of Contents Chapter 16: Optimizing Digital Teacher Web Lesson Page