Support

Tech Support
Help

Get instructions to troubleshoot technical issues with your devices, student account, and parent account.

Device Requirements & Compatibility

We recommend the following minimum specifications for accessing Power Homeschool courses.
 
Windows
Mac
iPhone/iPad
Android
Chromebook
  Operating
  System
Windows 10, 11
macOS 11.0 or
higher
iOS 15.4 or higher
8.0 (Oreo) or higher
Chromebooks that
support Android
Apps
  Browsers
Edge
Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Chrome
Firefox
Acellus App
Chrome
Android (Built-in
Browser)
Acellus App
All operating systems require an Internet connection. We recommend a download speed of at least 2 Mbps. A faster connection may be needed if multiple students will be signed in at the same time.

Troubleshooting – Student Account

Exam Recovery Mode Results in Multiple Exam Retries – Here’s Why

When students do not score well on an Exam, the Acellus system identifies their need for help on specific concepts that were previously covered. It is obvious that students need to review this material further – while at the same time they need just the right intervention or they will end up becoming very discouraged.

Acellus has taken a new approach on helping students ‘recover’ their Exam scores (building upon previous ground-breaking discoveries such as ‘Success Zone’) that will reinvent the way students respond to failed exams. When students fail an exam, they begin ‘Exam Recovery.’ Here, students are presented with each of the problems again. If they are not able to solve the problem with another try, they are given supplemental videos on the topic to help them review the concept.

Once students have re-worked all of the problems they failed, they are given another chance to take the Exam and improve their score.

Video Spontaneously Restarting May Indicate a Student is Struggling

This problem is usually caused by one of two issues. Sometimes there is a Wi-Fi / Internet issue similar to those listed under “Solutions for Video Issues” (see below).

However, sometimes the student reports that the video keeps starting over, when actually they are struggling with the material. When students repeatedly enter wrong answers to questions, Acellus will restart the video, or will start another video on the same topic. Students sometimes try to keep going, even through they don’t really understand the material, but they eventually become discouraged because they feel that they are caught in a never-ending loop.

To determine whether or not this is the problem, you can do the following:

    1. Sign into the Parent Account. (Need step-by-step instructions?)
    2. Select the student’s name -> Score -> the Course -> the last problem step done by the student.

If you see wrong answers interspersed with multiple help videos (and possibly some correct answers), then this is likely the problem.

Solution:
Acellus provides help in addition to the extra help videos the student has already seen, including an on-screen Lesson Manual and, quite often, Problem Solving Help (short videos explaining how to do a particular kind of problem). To access these help items, in the Student Interface while looking at the problems, select the Help tab on the right side of the screen. Here you will see buttons for the Lesson Manual, Lesson Videos, and sometimes Problem Solving Help. Often, with additional help from Acellus, students can gain the understanding they need to move forward.

Student repeating Lesson Video and Problem Steps

Lessons may repeat under a few different scenarios:

 

Vectored Instruction – If a student does not get a passing grade on a practice problem step, the system may automatically put them into Vectored Instruction, which will include one or more video lessons to help them master the material of that lesson. After completing the Vectored Instruction steps, the student will be presented with the original Lesson Video and Practice problems again, to see if they can now reach a passing score and move on.

 

Switching Between Teaching Mode and Tutoring Mode – If a course is switched into Tutoring Mode so that the parent can get extra ‘tutoring’ on a particular lesson, the student’s position in the Teaching Mode track will be saved. When the course is switched back to Teaching Mode, the student will pick up where right where they left off in Teaching Mode.

Solutions for Video Issues

Video issues can be caused by several different problems:
 
Incorrect software configuration – You can use the latest version of the major browsers for Acellus students, but we recommend that you use the Acellus App. If you are using a browser, please check the Device Requirements & Compatibility (see above) to be sure that your student’s devices are using supported software. In addition, make sure that your students are using the latest version of the Acellus App.
 
The browser’s cache is too full – Browsers often cache up data in order to minimize loading and buffering times. When students watch multiple videos, their browsers may cache up more data than their computers can hold and still function properly. When this happens, performance suffers, and sometimes Acellus videos will not play.
 
To correct this, clear the browser’s cache.* You can find instructions for how to do this on your browser by doing a quick search on your favorite search engine. If clearing the cache does not work, try having the student use a different browser, reboot the computer, or try from a different device.

*If you are using the Acellus App, clear the cache on Internet Explorer for Windows, on Safari for Mac or iOS, or on the native browser for other devices.

Network/Internet connection problems – If you are using Wi-Fi in your home, we recommend that you optimize your Wi-Fi:
 
    1. Use 802.11n wireless for the client computers.
    2. Use high-quality wireless hardware. Check for interference using the tools provided on your access point.
    3. Make sure your student’s work area is close to your access point.
    4. Make sure to avoid mounting the access point close to fluorescent lights, microwaves, or other sources of electrical interference.
    5. Use WPA2 with AES security.
If you are still experiencing issues after implementing these suggestions, you may be experiencing interference from other access points. Contact your Internet service provider.
 
Video issues can also be caused by insufficient bandwidth. If possible, be sure that you have sufficient bandwidth to handle the number of students who are using Acellus in your home.

Each video stream is approximately 300 Kbps. Typically, an online user plays video 50% of the time.

Student is signed out with message “Your session has been logged out”

This message usually indicates that the student has attempted to sign into Acellus in two different places at the same time. Students sometimes do this to try to get through their work faster.
 
Acellus does not allow students to be signed in more that once at any given time, so when they sign in a second time, their first session is automatically signed out. They are informed that they have been logged out when the next step-change occurs – when they enter an answer, or when they finish a video.
 
If you have made certain that the student is not signing in more than once at the same time and the problem is still occurring, then the problem is usually a Network issue. Please see “Network/Internet Connection Problems” under “Why doesn’t the video play,” above.

Students can also be signed out if their session has timed out due to no activity for an extended period of time.

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Troubleshooting – Parent Account

Finishing Enrollment Process – Session Timed Out While Setting Up Account

If your session timed out while you were in the process of creating your account, you will need to sign into the Parent Account to complete the enrollment process. To do this you will need to install the Acellus App on your computer or device.
 
 
Once you are signed into the Parent Account, click on “Manage Account” and you will be given the option to complete the setup process.

How to reset PIN for Parent Account sign in

To reset your PIN, follow these steps:
    1. Open the Acellus App
    2. Select “Parent/Teacher Sign In”
    3. Select “Forgot Pin”
    4. Enter and confirm a New PIN
    5. Complete Phone or Email verification

How to complete identity verification when your phone number has changed

If your phone number has changed, select an alternative verification method (email or security questions).

PIN prompt for Parent/Teacher Sign In is missing

This problem sometimes occurs when you have not installed the latest version of the Acellus App for your device. To resolve this issue, please download the Acellus App.

How to setup Parent Sign In (Soft-token) on more than one device

Soft-tokens are only valid on the device where they are created. A new soft-token must be created on each device where you want to sign into the Parent Account. To create a soft-token on a new device, follow these steps:
 
    1. Open the Acellus App
    2. Select “Parent/Teacher Sign In”
    3. Select “Create a Goldkey/Soft-token”

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