Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ JMix

Hot Potatoes™ - JMix

Why use JMix?

A JMix activity produces a jumbled word or sentence exercise. Letters of a single word may be jumbled, or the words of a sentence. JMix uses the standard and drag-and-drop types of output similar to a JMatch activity.

Each time a learner clicks onto the Hint button to see which word should come next in order, the overall score at the end of the activity is reduced.

How to create a JMix activity

The following instructions will help you create the JMix activity shown above.

  1. Start Hot Potatoes™ (Start All Programs Hot Potatoes 6) and double-click on
    JMix.
  2. Enter a title for the activity: Alphabetical Order.
  3. Type the following text into the ‘Main Sentence’ on the left side:
  4. crucial
  5. crumb
  6. crumpet
  7. crunch
  8. crusade
  9. crush.

This is the correct order. JMix will jumble the words before the activity starts.

  1. To add the instructional text, go to Configure Output. (Options Configure Output) or click on the Go to configuration screen button on the toolbar.
  2. In the Instructions box type:

These words all start with the same three letters. Go to the fourth letter and put them into order.

Then click OK.

  1. Save the completed activity (File Save As) on your E-Guides USB memory stick. Note that the file is a .jmx type. This is the file you will need to open if you want to edit the activity.
  2. For a JMix activity there are two choices to view an interactive exercise. To enable the interactive exercise as a drag-and-drop activity (as above) go to File
    Create Webpage Drag/Drop Web page for v6 browsers or click on the
    Export as a drag and drop button on the toolbar.

  3. Once the HTML file has been saved a View or upload the exercise dialogue box opens. Click on View the exercise in my browser.

For the standard option, click on the Export to create Web page for V6
browsers button.

Now that you have tried a JMix activity why not create another one?

Open the activity E-Guides on SDELC ( Module 7.0: E-learning content – sourcing and creatingInformation about using Hot Potatoes JMix: Jumbled word or sentence exerciseE-Guides.(Follow the instructions to create the more advanced activity showing how to add alternate responses to the activity.

Suggestions for use

The following are examples of learning materials produced using Hot Potatoes™ JMix. Individual words, picture and sound files can be inserted to help create a sequenced activity.


Further resources:

  • Aboriginal symbols:
  • Windows:
  • Elasticity:
  • Teach PE:


E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008