Download Hot Potatoes: JMatch (Matching or ordering exercise)

Section 5
Content creation step-by-step guides
Hot Potatoes: JMatch (matching or ordering exercise)
1. Open the activity Know your browser icons located in the ‘Activities’ folder on the CDROM accompanying this pack, and complete it to familiarise yourself with its concepts.
2. Start Hot Potatoes (Start > All Programs > Hot Potatoes 6) and select JMatch.
3. Enter the title for the exercise: ‘Activity: Know your browser icons’. This will become the
main heading of the web page.
For the first part of this exercise you will create the quiz using the drag-and-drop output
as in the example you have just viewed (see the ‘Software contents’ section of the
overview, ‘Hot Potatoes’, for more information on the different outputs available in
JMatch).
Figure 1: The JMatch quiz creation dialog box
4. Before inserting the images you will need to save the file (File > Save) so that Hot
Potatoes can calculate the relative file path to the image files. (When creating a quiz
using images, the image files must be saved with and accompany the HTML file –
images are not embedded into JMatch but are linked by file reference.)
5. To insert the first image click inside Box 1, Left (ordered) items then select Insert >
Picture > Picture from Local File and browse to the E-Guides CD-ROM >
CC_Images > icon_hp_favs.gif. A preview image dialog box will open where you can
create alternative text (which will be displayed by any web browser that does not display
images) and set the alignment of the image, if required. Click OK to accept the image.
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Content creation step-by-step guides
Figure 2: The preview image dialog box
Do not expect to see the actual image in Box 1, but an HTML link to it instead. Images
can be inserted on either the left or the right, depending on whether you want the
student to drag the word to the image or the other way around. It is also possible to
create a drag-and-drop exercise using images on both sides, or you can use words or
sentences instead of images.
6. Enter the text ‘Favourites Folder’ in the Right (jumbled) items column.
The Fix column enables you to display a correctly matched item. In drag-and-drop
output mode, any fixed items will appear within a jumbled list, but once the HTML page
has loaded, they will move to their correct matching position on the left of the page.
Fixing items can be a useful way to demonstrate to the student what is required of
them.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to insert the following images and text:
Image
Text
icon_hp_history.gif
History
icon_hp_home.gif
Home
icon_hp_refresh.gif
Refresh
icon_hp_search.gif
Search
icon_hp_stop.gif
Stop
8. The Default box is only used if you are creating a standard output, in which case Right
(jumbled) items will appear as a drop-down menu. Any text entered in the default box
will appear at the top of each drop-down list. As you will be viewing this exercise in all
output modes, enter the text ‘Select the correct match’ here.
9. Once you have created all the required matching components, select Options >
Configure Output.
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Content creation step-by-step guides
Figure 3: JMatch Configure Output dialog box
The Other tab provides options for shuffling the order of questions when the exercise is
opened by the student. There is also the option to have only a limited number of
randomly selected questions shown each time the exercise is opened. Combining these
options creates a quiz that will be different every time a student opens it, making the
quiz more useful for repeated practice.
The Navigation section under the Buttons tab allows you to link your exercise to other
exercises or web pages, enabling you to build linked units of resources.
JMatch will automatically calculate the student’s percentage score as they complete the
exercise. Clicking the Check button if any of the answers are not correct will incur a
penalty: students should be advised to complete the whole exercise before pressing the
Check button to ensure they do not lose too great a score.
Click OK to exit Configure output once all amendments have been made. The Load,
Save and Save As options can be used to save your configuration settings in a
separate file. This is useful if you are creating a group of quizzes where the same
output settings are required.
10. Save the completed exercise (File > Save and browse to your floppy disk). Although
the Hot Potatoes file is not required to enable the exercise to run, it is good practice to
keep a copy to enable the exercise to be amended or updated at any time.
Note: for this exercise you have made links to the images stored on the E-Guides CDROM. For your file to work from your floppy disk, you will need to have the CD-ROM
running. Alternatively, copy the images to your floppy disk and redo steps 5 and 6 to
change the file links specified.
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Content creation step-by-step guides
11. To enable students to complete the exercise using a web browser, it must be converted
into HTML by selecting File > Create Web page > Drag/Drop Web page for v6
browsers.
A Save As dialog box will open and, once a File name has been entered, the View or
upload the exercise dialog box will open.
Figure 4: View or upload the exercise dialog box
To Upload the file to the hotpotatoes.net Website, you require an additional
registration key, which is only available following the purchase of a commercial licence
(see The Masher in the ‘Software content’ section of the overview, ‘Hot Potatoes’).
Select View the exercise in my browser to review and test your work.
12. This exercise can also be output in standard mode without amendment by following
step 11 but, this time, select File > Create Web page > Web Page for V6 Browsers
and give it a different file name.
Notice that all the answer options appear in each drop-down list. It is not possible to
insert images in the Right (jumbled) items column in standard mode.
13. For both the drag-and-drop and standard output modes, you may want to add in
additional answer options that do not have a correct match: simply add items to the
Right (jumbled) items column, but leave the corresponding Left (ordered) items
column blank.
14. This exercise can also be output in flashcard mode as an aid to helping students
memorise matching items or learn vocabulary in two different languages. Repeat step
11 but, this time, select File > Create Web page > Flashcards for V6 Browsers and
give it a different file name. This exercise can utilise images in both columns, but it
cannot contain additional answer options that do not have a correct match. You may
want to change the instructions under Configure Output for this mode.
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Content creation step-by-step guides
15. Now that you have created your exercise, it is also worth spending a little time
experimenting with the Configure Output options to see the effects of any changes you
make. It is not necessary to save the Hot Potatoes file each time, but you will need to
follow step 11 to see how your amendments will appear in the completed exercise.
Either overwrite your existing HTML file or create a new file.
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