WeekFive

Week Five

This week you will have to work a bit. There are various sites on-line with the purpose of helping teachers develop their own webpage activities. Some are better than others. Some aren't really ESL/EFL oriented, but can be used. It is up to you to decide which one or ones you like and how you can use it or them.

The sites:Visit these sites and decide which one you'd like to work with this week.

HotPotatoes ( http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/ #downloads ) is a program you can download free (unless youare an institution). It's a small program and doesn't take long to download.

Once you have the program you can make a number of different types of activities. Most are fill-in-the-blanks and other passive formats, but they can be used for different kinds of purposes. The links below will take you to some activities I developed (I am not an expert, so there might be errors). http://www.oocities.org/idiomas_coordinators/GL1.html . These were developed to supplement a course using the text Global Links by Pearson. I also played around with using it for a reading practice (http://www.oocities.org/idiomas_coordinators/reading.htm). All were created using HotPotatoes.

Quandary (http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/index.htm?quandary/ ) is made by the same people who made HotPotatoes. It is another downloadable program. It's free, but the program you download free is more limited than the version you can pay for.

I have to admit I haven't done anything with this program yet. It does look interesting. Follow the link above to see some examples of activities.

WWW4Teachers sites (http://www.4teachers.org/ )We'll just look at one of them in detail. I've tried to use QuizStar (http://quiz.4teachers.org/index.php3) , but I haven't been able to get it to do anything I want. There are also sites for project-based teaching: NoteStar note-taking tool (http://notestar.4teachers.org/ ), RubriStar for making rubrics ?go there, they'll explain what rubrics are?(http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ and TrackStar for making lists of websites?we'll look at Filimentality's version in a couple of weeks?(http://trackstar.hprtec.org/ ).

We'll look at the Web Worksheet Wizard (http://wizard.hprtec.org/). Here is an activity I made using it: http://wizard.hprtec.org/builder/worksheet.php3?ID=13119.

In two weeks we will work with Filimentality my favorite.

NOTE: See letter from Quia that I got a few weeks ago so you'll see why I haven't included it. I am trying to give you free options only. You can investigate this one on your own.

Pros and Cons: in my opinion

Pros

Cons

1. Once you understand how to use it, it's easy. It does take a little while to learn.

1. You need a webpage to post them to the web (that's next week) or just use them on disks.

HotPotatoes

2. There's a somewhat useful tutorial.

2. You have to be used to using word processing programs...it's similar.

3. It's free.

1. The activities can be interesting, especially for reading comprehension.

Quandary

1. It requires a lot of previous preparation and a logical mind.

2. Students could use it as a tool to develop their own exercises.

2. You need a webpage to post them to the web (that's next week) or just use them on disks.

3. It has a tutorial included.

3. The full version costs money.

Web Workshop Wizard

1. You have to register to use the site.

1. You can make easy Web activities.

2. They give you webspace so you don't need a website of your own.

2. You have to know what you are doing before you start working.

3. It is easy to use.

3. II had trouble saving my work: maybe it was an off day for me.

4. If you hit your BACK button, you erase everything and have to start over.

5. Filimentality does the same and I think it is more user-friendly.

Making your activity:

Once you have decided on which program you'd like to use this week and what kind of activity you are going to develop follow these instructions (unless you are like me and would prefer to head out and experiment on your own.) You can work alone or in groups:I know some of you know each other either face-to-face or virtually.

HotPotatoes (http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/ -#downloads)

Go to the webpage above and download the program. Once it is installed, go to the Tutorial (it should be easy to find, if not, just go into the program and look under the HELP menu). You might want to go through the entire tutorial, or just visit that part that corresponds to the activity you want to do. Be sure to visit the last five or six steps to see how to configure and save your work. If you have any problems?just write in to the group?I can help and I'm sure some of your classmates can too.

Quandary (http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/index.htm?quandary/ )

The instructions are similar to HotPotatoes. Go to the tutorial and follow it step-by-step. I can try to help you, but, as I've said, I just haven't had time to get a good activity organized.

Web Worksheet Wizard (http://wizard.hprtec.org/). Be careful: DON'T USE YOUR BACK BUTTON..

(1) Go to the webpage and click on "Let me get started". (2) Read the instructions on the next page and be sure you have thought through what you plan to do. (You might want to cheat and go on in, just to see what is expected of you before you get completely organized.) (3) The first step is Personal Information? (4) Step two is easy..choosing the layout you want. (Note: You can preview at any stage). (5) Step 3 is more work?you add the page content. You really don't have to have all the information when you get here. Once you have saved your page at the end of the process, you can return to edit whenever you want. (6) Step 4 is Links and images. Here you will add your links (use cut and paste so you won't make errors). You can even add an image. (6) Step 5 is aesthetic?fonts and color. (7) Step 6 is the Conclusion?you check basic information and save your work. You will be given the number of your webpage so you can return and edit your work at any time. Again, if you have problems, just write?

Sharing your work

Now, don't be selfish. Share your work with everyone. If you make an activity with the Web Worksheet Wizard, just send us the link. If you do something with one of the other programs, either post it under FILES or wait until next week and put it on your webpage.

Note about Quia ( http://www.quia.com/):

Important news for all Quia.com users from Paul Mishkin, founder

Quia.com is a true success story in online education. Since I launched the site nearly four years ago, more than 300,000 people in over 100 countries have created accounts, making Quia one of the Web's most popular education sites. And, unlike the other top sites, only Quia has grown through word of mouth alone, without a dollar spent on advertising. From the beginning, our sole focus has been on building technology that truly improves education, with the belief that a quality product will generate its own publicity. Today, the numbers speak for themselves -- Quia.com is educational technology that works!

What's changing: For the past four years, Quia.com has been completely free. On February 4, this will change.

Beginning Monday, February 4, you must be a paid subscriber in order to use Quia's Activity Manager. In other words, you must subscribe in order to:

* create and edit games, activities, and quizzes

* create and edit class pages

* view and analyze student results from quiz sessions

It will still be free to use any activity on Quia.com, so your students won't need to pay anything. Anyone can still play your Quia

games, take your quizzes, and view your class page for free.

If you prefer to cut to the chase, just scroll down to the bottom of this message to find a link to subscribe. For the reasoning behind this change, please continue reading....

Why we're making this change

I know this change may come as a shock to many. However, all things considered, it is a positive development. First, let me explain what has compelled us to make this change.

We've offered Quia.com for free for four years now. Early on, the costs of running the site were low, and selling advertising banners helped offset the costs somewhat. Since then, Internet advertising revenues for all but the top general-interest sites (like Yahoo and AOL) have dwindled nearly to zero. At the same time, as usage of Quia.com has skyrocketed, so have the costs of running the site, which include engineering staff, equipment (over a dozen high-end computers), and Internet bandwidth (approaching 1 Terabyte per month - that's a million megabytes of games, quizzes, and class pages!).

Simply put, we're now at a point where it is no longer feasible for us to subsidize Quia.com by keeping it free. As much as we would like to continue to keep the site free, just as it has been for the past four years, economic realities prevent us from doing so.

What's the good news? It's that converting to a subscription model will allow Quia.com to continue growing and improving indefinitely. By tying Quia's costs (which increase as usage grows) to Quia's subscription income (which also increases as usage grows), we putQuia.com on solid ground as a financially self-supporting entity.

Costs: The other good news is that a subscription to Quia.com is a good value. A subscription to Quia.com costs just $49 (U.S.) per year. While there's nothing else on the Web comparable to Quia.com in functionality, other more limited Web-based education sites charge $30-$100 per month for subscription access. At just $49 for a whole year, Quia costs no more than a computer video game or educational CD-ROM.

Features: Quia is the only Web site that lets you do all of the following (no other site or software product even comes close!):

* Create 14 types of games and learning activities: Matching game, Flash cards, Concentration game, Word search puzzle, Challenge board, Columns activity, Hangman game, Jumbled words, Ordered list activity, Picture perfect activity, Pop-ups, Rags to riches game, Scavenger hunt, Cloze activity, Create quizzes with 8 types of questions: Multiple choice, True-false, Pop-up, Multiple correct, Fill-in, Initial answer, Short answer, Essay, Create class pages for communicating with students, Maintain an online schedule and calendar, Upload images and audio clips, Copy and modify any of Quia's 1.2 million activities to suit your own needs, Share your activities with students, friends, colleagues, anyone in the world!

New developments: We're continuing, as always, on our mission to make Quia.com the best educational technology resource on the Web. In addition to the features outlined above, new functionality coming in February will include surveys and better support for math symbols and foreign language symbols, including Asian character sets.

By subscribing, you are helping us develop these and more new features, so that Quia.com is always getting better. Please support Quia.com by (1) subscribing promptly before February 4, and (2) encouraging your colleagues and friends to subscribe.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Mishkin

Founder, Quia.com