problems using the masher

Re: problems using the masher

by Jack Drolet -
Number of replies: 13

I'm replying to my own post here, but the other thing that I don't understand is that if I "add a resource" - "link to file or website" and then if I upload just the index.htm page created by the masher, then the student will only see that index page - they aren't able to access the activities on it.

I have tried using WS_FTP_Pro and uploading the files from there, but no matter what, I can't seem to use the masher in the way I thought I would be able to.

Do I have to upload my activities to hotpotatoes.net? And then get them from there? I even tried that but that didn't go as planned either.

Thanks to anyone who has some advice,

Jack

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In reply to Jack Drolet

Re: problems using the masher

by Gordon Bateson -
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Hi Jack,
Moodle can't use the masher file, ".jms", that you created. It only knows how to deal with the files for individual quizzes. Put another way, Moodle replaces the masher.

If I understand correctly, you have already created the quiz files and they are already linked together into a chain, that is to say the previous and next buttons, [<=] and [=>], all point to another quiz in the chain? If so, it will be easy to add the quizzes to Moodle with just a few clicks. Here's how:
  1. make sure you have version 2.1 of the HotPot module.
  • if you are using Moodle 1.6 then you are already using HotPot v2.1
  • if you are using Moodle 1.5, please download HotPot v2.1 from the Moodle downloads page and install it on your Moodle site.
upload you Hot Potatoes quizzes to your Moodle course.
  • if you have a lot of files, it is quickest to "zip" them into a single file, upload the zip file  to your Moodle course and unzip it there
if you haven't already done so, click the [Turn editing on] button on the main page for the Moodle coursein the section where you want to add the chain of Hot Potatoes quizzes, click the "Add an activity ..." drop menu and select "Hot Potatoes Quiz"click the [Choose or upload a file ...] button, navigate to the folder containing the chain of Hot Potatoes quizzes and click the "Choose" link next to first quiz in the chain. (not the jms file or the index.htm)
set "Add quiz chain" to "Yes"set "Navigation" to "Hot Potatoes quiz buttons"
set "Show next quiz" to "Yes"click  the [Save changes] button at the bottom of the pageAt this point Moodle will add all the quizzes to your course - one HotPot activity for each Hot Potatoes quiz in the chain.

On the Moodle course page, you will see the first HotPot activity is in normal text and the other HotPots are dimmed, which means they are hidden from the students. The students only see the first acitivity and can only start the chain by clicking on the link. Once an acitivity in the chain is completed, the results are stored by Moodle and the next activity in the chain is automatically displayed (without returning to the Moodle course page)

I hope I have understood your intention correctly smile
Gordon
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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: problems using the masher

by Jack Drolet -

Thank you very much for this - it's very helpful.

Before you responded I got it to work when I figured out I was misusing a WS_FTP_Pro. I was trying to upload the index file from the ftp pro, when I should have been typing in the address http:www.myserver/file_where_I_put_the_activities/index.htm

When I figured this out, it worked fine. Thanks very much for your response. That will help me a lot in the future.

Jack

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In reply to Jack Drolet

Re: problems using the masher

by Gordon Bateson -
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> Thank you very much for this - it's very helpful.

Your welcome! Sounds like you're up and running. That's good to hear smile
all the best
Gordon
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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: problems using the masher

by robert maran -
Hi Gordon,
I read this with interest, but i have some queries.
1. When you say "quiz" are you only refering to Jquiz or can any of the hot potato exercises be used? ( i.e. Jcloze, Jmatch, etc).
2. When you say "if you have a lot of files, it is quickest to "zip" them into a single file, upload the zip file to your Moodle course and unzip it there" , are meaning zip into one folder? i don't really follow how it is possible to zip into a single file.

3. "you have already created the quiz files and they are already linked together into a chain, that is to say the previous and next buttons, [<=] and [=>]" Could you tell me exactly how you link them into a chain? i can't seem to find anything within Hot potatoes other than masher to make them into a single file.

thanking you

cheers
robert
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In reply to robert maran

Re: problems using the masher

by Chad Evans -

Hi Robert,

I have used crossword and match and they both work as normal. For zipping, put them all in one folder, zip it, and send up the zipped folder i as a file. In "My files/folder" in Moodle yhere will be the option to unzip, next to it.

Hope this helps

Chad

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In reply to robert maran

Re: problems using the masher

by Gordon Bateson -
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Hi Robert,

  1. When I said "quiz", I was referring to any type of Hot Potatoes quiz
  2. I think Chad has described very nicely how to zip up a folder on your PC and unzip it on your Moodle site, but please let us know if this point is still not clear smile
  3. I think that when I talked about a "chain", I was referring to what the masher calls a "unit", i.e. several Hot Potatoes quizzes which form a single entity, but which are attempted one at a time and have navigation buttons to allow the student to go to the next and previous quiz. If so, then you have already created the chain surprise

regards
Gordon

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In reply to robert maran

Re: problems using the masher

by Jack Drolet -

Hi Robert,

1. Any of the hot potatoes exercises, not just the JQuiz.

3. These can be linked together if you go to Options --> Configure Output   --> Buttons and then -->Navigation. Where it says "Include Next Exercise" and "Include Back" button, check those boxes and then go to Browse, and select the quizzes you want to be next and previous.

2. Do you have WinZip? You can download it for free and use the evaluation version. Right click on the folder where you have all the quizzes, and then go to WinZip, --> Add to zip file. This will create a zipped folder with all your quizzes. Then, when you go into Moodle, go to Files, and then Upload a file. Upload that zipped file into whatever folder you want on moodle. Once you upload that, you can click on unzip and all of your quizzes will appear in that folder.

I'm not sure at this point, but I think you have to then "add an activity"       -->Quiz, and add each one separately. But another way you could do it is "add a resource" --> display a directory, and choose the folder in moodle where all your quizzes are. When students click on that folder they will get a contents page, I think, and they can go to each quiz.

Hope that helps - I'm definitely not the expert though,

Jack

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In reply to Jack Drolet

Re: problems using the masher

by Gordon Bateson -
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I would just like to clarify Jack's last point ...

Please add your HP quizzes to Moodle by selecting "Hot Potatoes Quiz" on the "Add and activity ..." drop down menu in the section of the Moodle course where you want to add the quizzes. Moodle will then record lots of juicy details about who took the quizzes and how the individual questions on the HP quizzes were answered. You can add an HP quiz as a Moodle resource but you won't get the results of the quiz and you can't add several quiuzzes at once.

Also, please note that if you are adding many HP quizzes to a Moodle course, it is NOT necessary to add each one individually. You can add them ALL with just a few clicks:
  • on the "Adding a new Hot Potatoes quiz" page, you can add several HP quizzes at once by setting set "Add a quiz chain" to "Yes"
    • If the "File name" is a file, it is treated as the start of a chain (=masher "unit") of Hot Potatoes quizzes and all quizzes in the chain will be added to the course with identical settings
    • If the "File name" is a folder, all Hot Potatoes quizzes in the folder will be added to the course as a chain of quizzes with identical settings.
  • to have only the first HP quiz be visible to the students on the Moodle course page, and so force the students to start with the first quiz and follow the chain, set "Show next quiz" to "yes" when adding the HP quizzes. Otherwise set "Show next quiz" to "No" and the HP quizzes will be added as seperate activities, each of which is accessible to students from the course page, i.e. the quizzes can be attempted in any order
cheers
Gordon
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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: problems using the masher

by robert maran -
Hi Gordon,
Sorry for not replying immediately. Thanks for your kind and detailed explanation. I think that I have figured it out now. Once again thank you.
cheers,
Robert
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In reply to Jack Drolet

Re: problems using the masher

by robert maran -
hi Jack,
Thanks for that. I think I have worked it out.
Robert
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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: problems using the masher

by John Hennessy -
Gordon
I would like to thank you for your generous help which is always crystal clear and to the point.

I have version 1.5.2 but would like to mix together quiz, cloze, match and cross examples in chains.
I downloaded the newer version of hotpot (http://download.moodle.org/download.php/modules/hotpot.zip)
as you suggested but when loaded and moodle accessed I get
fatal error as moodle launches. See att. Seems need a newer version for the hotpot to work?

My questions are:
(i) Can I get around this? All I have done is rename the original hotpot folder in the mod folder and load the new hotpot folder into mod
(ii) If I can't get around this then is there a way to use chains with the older version? I have tried to chain examples together in HP but these do not link together when the chain is included in an HP on moodle. It would be unproductive to try to chain with absolute references.

I hope this makes sense and you can see clearly where I am going wrong.
Thanks and all the best
John

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In reply to John Hennessy

Re: problems using the masher

by Gordon Bateson -
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Good day to you John!

it seems that over the summer the HotPot module has lost its compatability with earlier versions of Moodle. For the time being, it looks like HotPot v2.1 will not work with Moodle 1.5. Therefore, I'm afraid that to fix your immediate problem, you need to retrace your steps and remove the HotPot module that you just tried to install.

Now, I can tell from your error message that you backed up the earlier version of the HotPot module before trying to install the new one. Very prudent! It makes it simple for you to get back to a working Moodle system:

  1. change to your moodle directory:
    cd   /home/nsense/public_html/b
  2. delete the entire new hotpot directory:
    rm   -fR   mod/hotpot
  3. reinstate the backed up version of the HotPot directory
    mv   mod/hotpot0   mod/hotpot

Chaining exercises is possible with HotPot v2.0 (which is what Moodle 1.5 uses), but it is laborious to create a chain because you have to add the exercises one-by-one.

I will have a look at HotPot v2.1 today and see it it can be easily tweaked to run with Moodle 1.5 (and earlier). If it turns out, to be a lot of fiddley work to maintain the compatability, a better solution may be to upgrade your whole site to Moodle 1.6 surprise

P.S. I was in Ireland a weeks ago visiting my sister in Co. Rosscommon. I had a great time and can't wait to go back smile

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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: problems using the masher

by John Hennessy -
Thanks Gordon

Original Hotpot restored and suspicions confirmed. We will probably update in a few months so will wait until then to chain. Let me know when you plan another visit.

All the best
John
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