Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ images and sounds
Hot Potatoes™ - images and sounds
Why use images and sounds in a Hot Potatoes
activity?
A crossword or quiz generally relies on written clues
(cryptic or standard) that the student reads and
responds with a written answer.
Images can be incorporated into a Hot Potatoes™
activity to provide visual clues for the learner. Sound
clips can provide a verbal clue so that a learner needs
to listen to a word or sentence before responding with
the answer in writing.
How to create a JCross activity with picture clues
The following instructions will help you create the JCross activity shown above.
1. Start Hot Potatoes™ (Start > All Programs > Hot Potatoes 6) and double-click on
JCross.
2. Click on Create a grid layout automatically button on the toolbar.
3. Type the following words into the box provided:
a. cup
b. knife
c. fork
d. plate
e. spoon
f.
glass
g. placemat
When finished, click on Make the Grid.
E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008
Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ images and sounds
To insert the picture clues
4. It is necessary to save the activity before
inserting the images as clues. Go to File
> Save As. You will notice in the Activity
files folder on your E-Guides USB
memory stick, there is a folder name
table. Open this folder and save this
crossword as tableware.
NOTE: When you create a Hot Potatoes™ activity and insert images, sound clips or
video clips you must create a folder that will contain all the necessary files in order for
the activity to work.
5. Click on Add Clues on the left side of the screen. The Add Clues
dialogue box opens.
6. Select the first clue. Go to Insert > Picture > Picture from local file. Browse the EGuides USB memory stick: Activity files > table. Open the table folder and you will
notice that several images are
already stored in the folder.
Select fork.jpg and click Open.
7. The fork.jpg dialogue box
opens. As you do not want the
learner to see the name of the
image when viewing on a
computer screen the Alt text
description needs to be
changed.
Change the Link URL and the Title
in the same way. Click OK.
8. Information is placed into the clue section. Click OK.
9. Repeat the procedure
for the next clue.
Select Spoon go to
Insert > Picture >
Picture from File.
Select the image of the
spoon and change the
Alt Text, Link URL and
Title information.
Repeat for the remaining clues. When finished, click OK.
10. Save the changes you have made to the crossword. Go to File > Save.
E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008
Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ images and sounds
11. To enable the interactive exercise the exercise must be saved and converted
to HTML. File > Create Webpage > Web page for v6 browsers or click on
the icon on the toolbar.
12. Once the HTML file has been saved a View or upload the exercise dialogue box
opens. Click View the exercise in
my browser.
Why not have a look at the Hot Potatoes’ ClipArt gallery
(http://hcmc.uvic.ca/clipart). There is a wide range of free images covering
drawings such as clothing, food, jewellery and utensils.
Now that you have tried a JCross activity with images why not create another activity,
or try an activity with sound clips?
How to create a JQuiz activity with sound clips
The following instructions will help you create the JQuiz
activity shown to the left.
1. Start Hot Potatoes™ (Start > All Programs > Hot
Potatoes 6) and double-click on JQuiz.
2. Enter the title ‘quel est cet animal?’
3. It is necessary to save the activity before inserting
the sound clips as clues. Go File > Save As. You
will notice in the Activity files folder on your EGuides USB memory stick, there is a folder
named French animals. Open this folder and
save this quiz activity as animals.
NOTE: When you create a Hot Potatoes™ activity and insert images, sound clips or
video clips you must create a folder that will contain all the necessary files in order for
the activity to work.
4. In the section for Question
1 enter the following
instruction:
Click to listen to the
animal.
Press the spacebar two
times before following the
next instruction to insert
the sound clip.
E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008
Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ images and sounds
5. Go to Insert > Link > Link to local file. Browse the E-Guides USB memory stick:
Activity files > French animals. In the French animals folder and you will notice
that several sound clips are already stored in the folder. Select chicken.wav and
click Open.
6. An Insert Link dialogue box opens. Confirm
OK. You will notice information has been
entered into the question section.
7. Add the following answers into A-D:
a. a cow
b. a horse
c. a chicken
d. a pig.
Ensure a tick is placed against the row containing the correct answer, a chicken.
8. Go to the second question. Click on the UP arrow beside Q1. Enter a new sound clip
and add the options. Make sure you place a tick beside the correct answer.
9. Save the changes you have made to the quiz. Go to File > Save.
10. To enable the interactive exercise the exercise must be saved and converted to
HTML. (File > Create Webpage > Web page for v6 browsers) or click
on the icon on the toolbar. When prompted to save, use the file name
suggested and confirm Save.
11. Once the HTML file has been saved a View or upload the exercise dialogue box
opens
Now that you have tried a JQuiz activity with sound clips why not create another
activity, or try an activity with video clips?
To insert a video clip, follow the same instructions you have followed to insert a
sound clip. Why not create a Hot Potatoes™ activity and insert a video clip? In the
section Content creation on your E-Guides USB memory stick open the folder
Activity files and use the video clip Windows Sample.avi.
Suggestions for use
The Ashcombe School have created a
rich resource bank of videos
incorporated within Hot Potatoes™
activities to check listening skills in
French, German, Italian and Spanish.
http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Cur
riculum/modlang/videos.htm
E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008
Content creation: Hot Potatoes™ images and sounds
Further resources:
File types to incorporate into Hot Potatoes™ activities:

http://help.hotpotatoes.info/teacher/1010.php

French exercises: http://users.fulladsl.be/spb11813/exercices.htm

Extraction of Metals:
http://www.wpbschoolhouse.btinternet.co.uk/page04/Mextract/Mextract5QHonly.htm

Dictation exercises: http://cla.univfcomte.fr/english/dictations/rodspeople/begsindex.htm

Sampling quiz(video) : http://ferl.qia.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=3841.
E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008