The purpose of theHot Potatoesis to enable you to create interactive Web-based teaching exercises which can be delivered to any Internet-connected computer
There are five basic programs in theHot Potatoessuite:
· TheJQuizprogram creates question-based quizzes. Questions can be offour different types, including multiple-choice and short-answer. Specific feedback can be provided both for right answers and predicted wrong answers or distractors. In short-answer questions, the student's guess is intelligently parsed and helpful feedback to show what part of a guess is right and what part is wrong. The student can ask for a hint in the form of a "free letter" from the answer.
· TheJClozeprogram creates gap-fill exercises. Unlimited correct answers can be specified for each gap, and the student can ask for a hint and see a letter of the correct answer. A specific clue can also be included for each gap. Automatic scoring is also included. The program allows gapping of selected words, or the automatic gapping of every nth word in a text.
· TheJCrossprogram creates crossword puzzles which can be completed online. You can use a grid of virtually any size. As in JQuiz and JCloze, a hint button allows the student to request a free letter if help is needed.
· TheJMixprogram creates jumbled-sentence exercises. You can specify as many different correct answers as you want, based on the words and punctuation in the base sentence, and a hint button prompts the student with the next correct word or segment of the sentence if needed.
· TheJMatchprogram creates matching or ordering exercises. A list of fixed items appears on the left (these can be pictures or text), with jumbled items on the right. This can be used for matching vocabulary to pictures or translations, or for ordering sentences to form a sequence or a conversation.
In addition, there is a sixth program called theMasher. This is designed to create complete units of material in one simple operation. If you are creating sequences of exercises and other pages that should form a unit, you may find the Masher useful.
SAVING
This section is important read it carefully as you need to follow the instructions carefully when you have finished designing your quizzes.
There are slight differences for the different quizzes; for example one quiz might offer one option when creating a web page, one might offer two, and one might offer three options; but whichever you choose will only effect the appearance of the web page and not the operation.
1. From the File menu choose Save As and give the file a name. This saves the data of the quiz you have just created.
2. The next step is to decide how you want the quiz to appear on the screen: From the Options menu choose Configure Output. You will be presented with some options for changing:
a. Instructions
b. Prompts
c. Appearance
d. Timer
e. Other
f. Custom
g. CGI
You don’t have to set anything if you don’t want to, Hot Potatoes already has default settings which are quite reasonable, but it is a good idea to check the options out.
3. You are now ready to create the web page your quiz will be accessed through.
4. Click on FILE and choose CREATE WEB PAGE.
5. Give your web page a name, it is a good idea to use the same name as the data file saved earlier in the process, this will help you associate the two files with each other when moving or copying them.
6. Click on SAVE. You will be asked if you want to view the web page, click on YES and look at your handiwork!
JCLOZE
This quiz creates a “fill in the gaps exercise”.
1. In the title bar type the name of your quiz.
2. In the dialogue box underneath type in the paragraph you wish the quiz to be made on (you can have copied this text from anywhere and paste it in here)
3. To create a gap word, select the word and click on the Gap button. This will give you a dialogue box with the options of adding a clue or alternative correct answers.
4. Gapped words remain in red on this screen but will disappear on your web page.
Or
You can select automatic gap (and the software will select the gaps for you)
When finished save your work as explained earlier.
Illustrated below.
Below you see the finished quiz.
By clicking on the question mark a clue can be given.
At the base of the screen there is a hint button that will fill in a letter of the missing word to help you. Using this will lower the student’s score.
JCROSS
Enter the name for your quiz in the small square box under title.
First method –
1. You can select the Make Grid option
2. A new window opens into which you add your solutions each on a separate line
4. Screen will change again to ask you to insert clues
5. Now grid is designed for you, ready for students to play
Or you could design the shape of the grid yourself by entering the solutions directly into grid
With this method you design your own grid - Enter the solutions into the grid as shown above. Then click on the Add Clues button.
Across and down clues are shown. In the lower window type the clue you wish to appear on screen (as in step 4 above).
Remember always save your work as explained earlier.
JQUIZ
In this program you can create multiple choice, short answer, or hybrid quizzes.
1. You type in the title
4. Type in the answers and feedback – (so if the candidate answers wrongly you can have some appropriate message pop up)
5. Click the “correct” box to show which is the correct answer.
6. Then, click the Q box to move on to the next question.
7. Save the quiz as explained before on page 2.
JMatch
This quiz creates a matching exercise. You input pairs of items and then the tool jumbles them up and the candidate has to match them up again. Click Fix for any pair you don’t want jumbled. Add as many pairs as you want using the scroll bar at the Left Hand Side.
Finished quiz below (remember under options you can change the colours of your quiz before you create the web page)
You will notice that when you have created your quiz and select create webpage from the file menu you are given 3 options to create; create webpage for v6 browsers, Create drag and drop or Create flashcards.
(the 3 options all create matching exercises but in slightly different formats, e.g. the drag and drop option looks like this.
(play about with each of these until you find the one you prefer)
(Save Quiz as explained earlier in document)
JMix
In this tool you create a sentence which the package mixes up and the candidate has to put back into the correct order. You input the main sentence in “bites” which the package then orders randomly. You can add alternate sentences if there is more than one order which could be considered correct.
Again you can add a piece of reading text which the user will see as he takes the quiz. This can be typed in or you can browse to an existing file and include the file in the quiz.
When you click on FILE and choose CREATE WEB PAGE there are 2 options in JMix –they all create mixed up exercises but in slightly different formats, e.g. the web page option looks like this
You click on each “bite” to add it to the sentence and then click check to see if the sentence is correct.
Save the quiz as explained previously.
Extra Information
Check out the following site for examples created in each of the programmes from JClose to JMix http://hotpot.uvic.ca/wintutor6/index.htm