FAQ's - Chester Creek Technologies

Q. What's with all the color?

A. Chester Creek is all about color.

It is one of the things that sets us apart and captivates the thousands of people out there who use Chester Creek computer keyboards, mice and computer accessories. It’s a known fact that color impacts most every area of life.

So, why “color-code” keyboards and mice? Well, color can cause a reaction, attract attention, improve retention, and enhance a student’s (or anyone’s) ability to learn. Color improves memorization and comprehension. Color helps students better cope with dyslexia about 85% of the time. Color goes hand-in-hand with the active, energizing nature of children and helps students of all ages recall classroom instruction. There is little doubt that color plays an important role in learning!

Take for instance, the LessonBoard, which we designed specifically to make learning keyboarding/typing much easier. By breaking up the solid black field, like on most keyboards, into uniform zones of color, Chester Creek has devised a proven and effective method to master keyboarding, endorsed by teachers and students everywhere. Likewise, many young children are fascinated with the computer mouse. Add a red “stop” button and a green “go” button; take away the scroll wheel (small kid’s just love to fixate on the scroll wheel) and reduce its size to fit a child’s hand, and you have a super-excellent teaching tool.

And that’s just for starters…

At Chester Creek, we’ve given color a lot of thought. And although we understand that not everyone will agree with everything here, we’re sure you will all agree, Chester Creek is pretty “colorful”!

Here are just a few of the facts behind our use of color. To read more, please click on the link below.

Color coding: using a repetition of colors can enhance memory in nursing home residents and senior citizens.
Color can be used to give "cues" to the brain, about where to find information or an object in the classroom.
Color overlay: 80% of dyslexic children had increased reading comprehension when a blue or gray overlay was placed on the page.
The careful use of bold colors such as red or orange may increase IQ by as much as 12 points.
Blue increases productivity. Shades of blue can also slow down one's heart rate; hence "cardiac blue" is often used in hospitals. In general, cool hues such as blue are relaxing.
Shades of red can actually increase one's heart rate, stimulate brain activity, and attract attention.
Green is very relaxing, is associated with nature, and often associated with creativity.
Yellow heightens concentration.
Purple is not readily found in nature, but children usually prefer it.
Color and light have medical, therapeutic implications, hence the use of phototherapy units of blue lights to treat newborns with jaundice, or the use of white light to treat patients with depression because of "winter blues".
According to Alschuler and Hattwick, "Small children have a natural preference for 'luminous' colors such as red, orange, yellow and pink."
Brown, black and gray are seldom chosen by children, except to outline.
Bold colors, such as orange, red and shades of lemony yellow demand attention.
Research shows that an occasional bold stroke of red or orange attracts the learner's attention to details.
Both red and orange are useful for alerting children to specific points of knowledge or new concepts.
Colors help children to express themselves. Color stimulates learning!

http://www.excellence.dgs.ca.gov/MaxStPerformance/S4_4-2.htm

Q. Hey, my VisionBoard has started puting out numbers instead of letters. What's up and how do I fix it?

A. In some rare instances a computer will communicate to the keyboard that it thinks the right half is a numeric keypad. To correct the issue, download this keyboard driver and install it. Simply download the file, accepting any warnings along the way, and double click it when the download is complete. You will have to restart your computer to finish the installation of the new driver so make sure you have saved any open work.

Q. My operating system is Windows Vista (Windows 7, etc.), and I am wondering if Chester Creek Products will work?

A. Yes, Chester Creek keyboards and mice are compatible with Windows operating systems.

Q. I purchased a VisionBoard and am having trouble getting it to work with my MAC. Do I need to download a driver?

A. No, you do not need a driver. Following are some instructions to assist you:

Plug your Chester Creek keyboard into your Mac.
Click "Continue" when the Keyboard Assistant pops up telling you that the keyboard is unrecognized.
Follow the screen prompts:
- Press the key to the right of the Shift Key on the Left side of the keyboard. On the VisionBoard2 or KinderBoard keyboard, this is the "Z" key. Note – you need to press the Z key on your Chester Creek keyboard (not on your MAC keyboard).
- Press the key to the Left of the Shift key on the Right side of the keyboard. On the VisionBoard2 or KinderBoard keyboard, this is the "/?" key. Note – you need to press the /? key on your Chester Creek keyboard (not on your MAC keyboard). Although the standard VisionBoard does not have a Shift Key on the Right side of the keyboard, the "/?" key should still be pressed.
- Click "DONE" on the "Conclusion" screen.

Your VisionBoard2 or KinderBoard keyboard should now function properly. Note – Print Screen, and Insert, will not function. Home and End will function more or less like Page Up and Page Down. The Alt key should function like the MAC Option Key.

If the Keyboard Assistant does not appear when you plug the keyboard in (and the keyboard does not work), complete the following steps:

Go to System Preferences,
Double-click Keyboard and Mouse
Select "Change Keyboard Type". This will bring up the Keyboard Assistant, and you can proceed through the instructions noted above.

Q. I am shopping for my grandchildren, and I am concerned about the lead-in-toys scare. Are your children's products safe?

A. Yes, all Chester Creek keyboards and mice are RoHS Compliant. In addition, all Chester Creek children's products have been tested to CPSIA requirements. This means that they meet stringent regulation of lead, mercury, cadmium, and a variety of other hazardous substances. Please refer to our environmental statement for more details.

Q. I purchased an adapter so that I could use one of your keyboards with my computer, and it is still not working. Is the keyboard defective?

A. No, your keyboard is fine. In order to use a PS/2 keyboard with a USB computer, you need a converter (NOT an adapter). A converter actually includes a computer chip inside of the device, while an adapter does not. You can purchase a converter locally, or you can order one online.

Q. I am looking for a German keyboard. Does Chester Creek manufacture keyboards in other language-specific formats?

A. Yes, Chester Creek manufactures a variety of country-specific large-key keyboards. See our page with links to our international distributors.

Q. Will the Tiny Mouse work with my laptop?

A. Yes, Chester Creek Tiny Mice will work with any computer that has an available USB or PS2 port. Plus the Tiny Mouse makes the perfectly-sized traveling companion.

Q. I sometimes have difficulty pressing a key only once. Is there anything I can do that would help?

A. Yes there is. Please see this tutorial for PCs on Microsoft's web site: Filter Keys
or this information for MAC OSX at Apple: Accessability

Q. I have a PC and there is no "Print Screen" key on my VisionBoard/KinderBoard/MyBoard, what can I do?

A. There are a variety of free screen capture utilities available on the internet that are far more robust than the Print Screen key on a PC keyboard. Most of these let you designate a key or sequence of keys to perform several types of screen capture. Two that we have found are: ScreenHunter 5 and MWSnap but there are several more available to suit your needs.