A:

TVOParents.com is broken up into 6 sections (the tabs across the top of the page):

• Activities (online and offline activities for you and your kids)
• Your Voice (an interactive parenting show)
• Events (a calendar listing of community events in Ontario)
• Discussion (discussion forums where you can have your say)
• Blogs (blogs from TVOParents.com contributors seeking your comments!)
• Articles (articles and video to inform you on a wide variety of topics)

Articles are further broken down into:

• The Family Room: Find articles on reading/math, developmental milestones, raising good citizens, computers and TV and family time ideas.
  
• The Classroom: Find articles on special education, safe and healthy schools, evaluation and assessment, curriculum, your relationship with the school and homework issues. 
  
• Research: Find the latest research on child development and education written and summarized in plain language.

A: Articles are short written pieces, often with video clips that give you information, expert advice and tips on various topics. Activities contain information on educational online activities that you can do with your kids, most of which are from TVOKids.com. The information we provide in the Activities section helps parents to figure out what the online game is all about and why your kids would benefit from playing!

A:

You will see video clips within many articles on the site. Each one will have a control bar at the bottom. Simply click the PLAY button to start the video. If you want to stop it, click the PAUSE button. You can also REWIND or FAST FORWARD the video to a specific place. You can also adjust the volume using the control in the bottom right hand corner.

If the videos are not playing, ensure your pop-up blocker is disabled.

In Firefox, click on Tools>Options>Content and leave the Block Pop-up Windows box checked, but enter www.tvo.org and www.tvoparents.com under the Exceptions button to the right.

In Explorer, click on Tools>Pop-up blocker and click "Turn off Pop-up Blocker". If this option is not visible, consider upgrading your browser.

A:

Although many of TVO’s shows are relvant to families, TVOParents.com actually has a web-based parenting show called Your Voice. Simply come back to the site every Tuesday at 1pm. You can ask your questions to experts, chat with other parents, participate in polls and more. Don’t worry if you miss it, we keep a full listing of past Your Voice webcasts, along with additional resources on the site.

A: The Events Calendar is a listing of events within Ontario that we feel would be beneficial to children, parents and families to attend. Some events are TVO events whereas others are simply community events. The events should fulfill the following criteria:

• Event is occuring in Ontario
• Event informs and/or supports parents of children aged 2-12.
• Event supports public education

A: “Tags” are like topics: they are words that we use to describe some of the overall topics or subject areas that are covered in an article, blog, or even video. An article about speaking with your child’s teacher, for example, might have some useful tips in it about homework, so we might add the tag “homework” to the article. If you are interested in seeing everything else in the website that touches on “homework”, you can just click that tag, “homework”, and you will get a whole page with everything we have written or produced about “homework”, from all areas of the site. Tags are a really great way to find information that interests you!

A: Some of our videos are in a format called Windows Media Player, a format that was created for use on Windows computers. If you are on a Mac, you can download a plugin called “flip4mac” that will allow you to view these kinds of videos.

A: If you are on a hi-speed light connection, or a modem, the videos can take longer to load into the player and play. Even if you are on a high speed internet connection, if the network is very busy, the videos can take a few minutes to load. We are always striving to make our audience experience as good as can be, so if you find the videos are taking a really, really long time to load, please let us know!

A: TVO has a long history of both high quality educational content, and solid journalism. Our articles are written by some of our best educators and journalists, many of whom are also parents! We have details about all of our contributors on our “About Us” page. But don’t forget: we hope that all of our visitors will find an opportunity to tell their own stories throughout the site, on our blogs and discussion boards.

A: An avatar is usually a pictoral representation of a user. Right now, we do not have this feature.

A: Choose the appropriate sub-forum for your questions or comment and click the “Start a new topic” button.

A: Yes! Click the “Go to Dashboard” at the top of each page within the discussion boards. You can Private Message members who have not disabled the PM function.

A: Not yet.

A: Yes! The search feature is near the top of each page within the discussion boards. You can select which subforums to search and narrow the search by date.

A: If you’re in a thread, click the “Post a reply” to the specific post you want to address. If you don’t see the “Post a reply” button it is because you are not signed in or you are not a registered member. Registration is free and secure and allows you to participate within the TVO community.

A: After you have registered, you may set your signature. This is a piece of text that you would like to be inserted at the end of all your posts, a little like having headed note paper.

If the administrator has enabled signatures, then you will have the option to include your signature on any posts you make. If you have specified a signature, then the forum will automatically append your signature to any messages you post. You can disable signatures on a per-post basis by un-ticking the ‘Show Signature’ checkbox when you compose your message.

You may turn the signature on and off on posts you have already made by editing the post and altering the state of the ‘Show Signature’ option.

You can set your signature by editing your profile.

A: Yes! Use the emoticon icon (a yellow smiley face), one of the many editing features at the top of the reply box.

A:

In order to keep track of a thread, you must subscribe to that thread. When you have logged in to the site, a ‘Watch This Thread’ option will automatically appear with each thread. If you click on that option, you will be notified by e-mail when someone posts a reply to that thread. You do not have to be the original author of the thread nor do you have to participate in the thread in order to receive those e-mails.

In order to stop receiving e-mail notifications, you simply go to the thread and click on ‘Stop Watching This Thread’

A: Moderators oversee specific forums. They generally have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads, and perform other manipulations. They may also ask certain users with specific knowledge and expertise to contribute to a particilar thread or topic.

A: It will create a reply for you, but will also quote the text you are replying to.

A: Yes. When you are logged in, you will see an “Edit this post” option at the bottom of your post.

A: Sure! If you really want to, you can use html to enhance your posts. Or, just use any of the editing functions at the top of the reply box. Just make sure you look at your post when done to see if it looks the way you had intended.

A: To participate in our discussion boards, or comment on our blogs or articles, we need our visitors to become TVOParents.com members. This is completely free! All we need from you to make you a member is your email address and postal code; you can choose a screen name (username) and password. Once you have signed up, you’ll have to check your email because we will send you a message that contains a link that will complete your registration. We do this to make sure that everyone who registers to particpate in the website is a real person, and not a machine!

A: Your username is simply your e-mail address. If you forgot your password, simply click the “Forgot your password” link in the blue login box.

A: Not quite: becoming a member of our website is free, and it allows you to participate by posting your own thoughts and comments. Being a TVO donor is an additional way to show your support and helps TVO be the best multi-media educational organization it can be.  To make a gift to TVO just click on “support TVO” at the bottom of our homepage.

A: Of course not! TVOparents.com is a website for anyone and everyone to enjoy. You can read anything on the site, including blogs and articles as well as the latest news in parenting and education, you can download fun, educational activities to enjoy with your kids, and you can check our events calendar for TVO and other events in your community. We want parents to use our site: but what we also really want is for parents, like you, to help us shape and grow our website into a healthy, thriving community, and in order to do this, we would like you to consider becoming a site member!

A: When you join TVOParents.com, you will have the opportunity to receive our free e-newsletter, you will be able to participate in our discussion forums, comment on blogs and articles, and chat with parenting experts as well as other parents (after all, who knows more about raising kids than parents like you?!). You will also be able, using the same username and login, to participate in any other tvo.org discussion boards, comment on blogs such as Steve Paikin’s, and receive other TVO news and offers.

A: Not yet.

A: Sure! Simply login and click on Edit My Settings in the blue login box.

A: After you have registered, you may set your signature. This is a piece of text that you would like to be inserted at the end of all your posts, a little like having headed note paper.

If the administrator has enabled signatures, then you will have the option to include your signature on any posts you make. If you have specified a signature, then the forum will automatically append your signature to any messages you post. You can disable signatures on a per-post basis by un-ticking the ‘Show Signature’ checkbox when you compose your message.

You may turn the signature on and off on posts you have already made by editing the post and altering the state of the ‘Show Signature’ option.

You can set your signature by editing your profile.

A:

From the Activities pages, you search several ways:

• by age (simply check the appropriate box(es) and click GO
• by subject area  (simply check the appropriate box(es) and click GO

You can search by BOTH age and subject area by clicking all the appropriate boxes and then clicking GO.

Finally, you can search by keyword by filling in the box with a keyword and clicking GO.

To come back to the search page, simply click on the Activities tab at the top of the page. 

A:

Many TVOKids activities do have guides to allow caregivers to understand the games.

To check if there is a guide available for a specific game,  search for the game under the Activities tab. When you click on the link to the game, you will see information on how the game fits into the Ontario curriculum as well as ideas to maximize your child's learning. A link to the guide will be on this page, if one exists.

A: The Events Calendar is a listing of events within Ontario that we feel would be beneficial to children, parents and families to attend. Some events are TVO events whereas others are simply community events. The events should fulfill the following criteria:

• Event is occuring in Ontario
• Event informs and/or supports parents of children aged 2-12.
• Event supports public education

A:

Sure! If the event fulfills our criteria (occuring in Ontario, informs and/or supports parents of children aged 2-12, supports public education) feel free to pass it along.

We need you to email us at tvoparents@tvontario.org with the following information:

• Event title
• Short description of the event (Is this a workshop, lecture etc.? What is the goal? Who is putting this on?)
• Date(s)
• Time
• Registration fee, if applicable. If not, please specify FREE event.
• Location (full address)
• Contact name and phone number/email/website for more information.
• A related promotional graphic, if you have one.

Please note, we reserve the right to make the final decision on what is posted on the events calendar.

A:

Although many of TVO’s shows are relvant to families, TVOParents.com actually has a web-based parenting show called Your Voice. Simply come back to the site every Tuesday at 1pm. You can ask your questions to experts, chat with other parents, participate in polls and more. Don’t worry if you miss it, we keep a full listing of past Your Voice webcasts, along with additional resources on the site.

A:

Your Voice is live at TVOParents.com every Tuesday at 1pm. During that time, users can

• submit questions to experts online or by phone
• talk to other parents in the chat
• vote in the poll

A: We archive all our shows so that you can watch them on demand. Simply Visit the Your Voice page at TVOParents.com and click on Past Shows.

A: You don't need to create an account to participate. Simply type in a username for the chat.

A:

We recommend Internet Explorer as the browser to use to watch Your Voice. You'll also need Windows Media Player to see the video. You can download this from our site.

If you're a MAC user, you need to install "flip 4 mac" software first. 

A: Assuming you have a fast enough connection and computer, try refreshing your browser. Keep in mind, you'll have to log back into the chat if you refresh the page.

A: If you are on a hi-speed light connection, or a modem, the videos can take longer to load into the player and play. Even if you are on a high speed internet connection, if the network is very busy, the videos can take a few minutes to load. We are always striving to make our audience experience as good as can be, so if you find the videos are taking a really, really long time to load, please let us know!

A: Some of our videos are in a format called Windows Media Player, a format that was created for use on Windows computers. If you are on a Mac, you can download a plugin called “flip4mac” that will allow you to view these kinds of videos.

A: A Podcast is a multimedia file distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. TVO Podcasts are free. Once you subscribe to a Podcast feed, new files, or episodes, will automatically be downloaded to your computer as they become available.

A: The great thing about Podcasts is that you can listen/watch when you want, where you want. There are Podcasts available for many TVO shows, including The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Big Ideas, and Allan Gregg in Conversation. Also, you can listen to featured lectures, and interviews with special guests from various shows or from Your Voice or TVOParents.com

A: Subscribing to a Podcast is kind of like subscribing to a magazine: as soon as a new Podcast is available, it will automatically be delivered to your computer, into your Podcast software program.

A: 1) On the tvoparents.com website, click on the (sample icon) XML button. A new page will open, with some strange-looking characters. What is important about this page is the URL in the address bar of your browser. Using your cursor, highlight and copy this URL and paste it into your Podcasting software program.

2) Clicking on the (sample icon) iTunes button will automatically launch iTunes on your computer and take you to the Podcast subscription page. If you don't have iTunes, a new browser window should open where you can download it, or go to: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

A: Nope. You can listen to/watch Podcasts right on your computer, or you can transfer the files into any device that will support MP3 (audio) or MP4 (video) files.