Moodle in English: new HotPotatoes module

new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Sunday, 23 January 2005, 7:24 PM

Dear Hot Potatoes Moodlers,

I would like to invite you to come and have a look at a new HotPotatoes module for Moodle.

The new HotPotatoes module is not intended to be a rival for the "HotPot" module; it is intended as the next step in the integration of Hot Potatoes and Moodle.

Like the HotPot module, the new HotPotatoes module allows html versions of Hot Potatoes quizzes to be administered from within Moodle. In addition, the new HotPotatoes module has several new features:

students' responses to individual questions are stored in the Moodle database and are subsequently made available to the teacher
several types of navigation aids may be inserted into the Hot Potatoes quiz
three levels of statistical reports are available
quizzes may be generated from the Hot Potatoes source files (".jcb", ".jcl", ".jcw", ".jmt", ".jmx", ".jqz"), thus eliminating the need to regenerate and upload HTML files and ensuring that the HTML+javascript is always up-to-date

I have set up a course to demonstrate the new module here:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/course/view.php?id=12

The course is enabled for the "guest" user, so you can look around and try out the quizzes without creating a username. I have also set up a "guestteacher" account which allows you to log in as a teacher and look at the reports. If you would like to the password to the "guestteacher" account, please email me (gordon at-sign kanazawa-gu.ac.jp)

At the end of January I will make the new module available as a download, so in the meantime I hope you will have a chance to wander over to my server (see the link above) and try it out. Feel free to take as many quizzes as you like I would also like to encourage you to log in as the "guestteacher" and upload some of your own quizzes - either the HTML files of the source files, which are actually XML.

In parting, I would like to thank Tom Robb and Josep Fontana for their generous and supportive encouragement in helping to bring the HotPotatoes module to its current state.

best regards to all
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Thomas Robb - Sunday, 23 January 2005, 11:32 PM

Wow, Gordon! This is a giant leap for Hot Pot integration! Once the bugs have been ironed out, I hope that we can find a graceful way to phase out my version in favor of yours.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Ger Tielemans - Monday, 24 January 2005, 7:27 AM

Nice Work Gordon, and thanks Thomas for starting this HP integration.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Tom Murdock - Monday, 24 January 2005, 12:33 AM

This is wonderful news. Thanks so much, Gordon. A number of my moodlers will really appreciate this functionality. Feel free to email me off-forum if you need help testing.

-Tom

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Brian Roy - Monday, 31 January 2005, 6:08 AM

Hi Gordon,
Thanks for this info. I'm new to Hot Potatoes (and Moodle) and had a question.
I'm assuming that the appropriate licenses are needed to create the quizzes in HP. Will there be any other license issues with this module?

Thanks

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Brian Roy - Monday, 31 January 2005, 6:08 AM

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 31 January 2005, 8:12 AM

Hi Brian,
glad to hear you're thinking of using HP and Moodle together - they are quite a combination!

As far as the licensing is concerned, you are quite right to point out that it is important to comply with the Hot Potatoes license. As you may know, this says that HP may be used freely (i.e. without payment) by educators to create quizzes as long as the quizzes that are created are openly available on the web. If you are planning to use the HP quizzes on a Moodle course that is NOT openly accessible to the browsing public, then you need to purchase a license from HP. If you work for an educational institution, I would hope they would be understanding and agree to pay for a license. The license is not expensive and goes some way towards encouraging the HP developers, Martin Holmes and Stewart Arneil, to continue their super-human efforts.

The HotPotatoes module that I am writing will use the same kind of license as the current HotPot module and the rest of Moodle, so you will be welcome to use it for any legal purpose you see fit.

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Brian Roy - Monday, 31 January 2005, 12:07 PM

Thanks Gordon
It'll be for a business training site and I want to sure we have the correct licenses. We'll go through the HP site and keep everything on the up-an-up. Thanks for keeping the prices very reasonable.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 31 January 2005, 1:53 PM

Dear Brian,
great to hear about your exciting plans.

By the way, I have no business connection with the creators of Hot Potatoes, so the prices for the the licenses are reasonable only because the HP developers, Martin and Stewart, decide that it shall be so. The money you pay for a HP license goes to them. I am not part of that arrangement.

just in case there was any misunderstanding

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Timothy Takemoto - Monday, 31 January 2005, 4:11 PM

Dear Gordon,

Thanks for the next generation Hot Pot Module. I thought that perhaps you had decided not to implement it but really you were beavering away in silence all along, I guess.

Please may I ask if the hotpot quiz answers are visible in the source code of the pages in the new hot pot module? I think that this may be unavoidable but I am not sure.

Are you (Thomas, Gordon, Don) going to JALT CALL this year? The deadline is today, midnight I presume.

Tim

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 31 January 2005, 7:05 PM

Hi Tim,
sorry for my "silence" - I hope it will turn out to be a case of no news is good news!

At the moment, the new HotPotatoes module delivers the Javascript in the quiz file, so it is all visible, including the answers (if you know where to look). However, you will be pleased/interested to know that I have built in the possibility of adding Javascript obfuscation later on. I have not coded this functionality yet. I imagine this will happen over the summer break.

On simliar lines, I intend for it to be possible to send the stylesheets in a separate css file.

Another functionality that I hope will be added to the HotPotatoes module one day is to use it to send out HotPotatoes XML files to a Flash movie that can administer the quizzes in the student's browser and return the results in a format that the HotPotatoes module can deal with. I think I read somewhere on the Moodle forums about an ongoing project to develop a Flash player for HP quizzes. The merger of the two projects has exciting possibilities, not least that this would make the quizzes more secure. I believe this route, "Flash Potatoes", could also lead to the HP quizzes being available on cell phones - "Small Potatoes"

Good to hear that you are going to JALT CALL 2005. I hope to be there too, doing a Moodle + Hot Potatoes workshop.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 9:56 AM

Hi Gordon, this sounds/looks really really good.

HP was what made me notice Moodle first a few weeks ago and i was convinced more or less on the spot.

Any idea when you could provide a test download?

I am giving a full Moodle demo (courses and all) end of Feb, hoping to convince my college to start using Moodle asap.
It would be marvellous if i had at least a week or so to explore the HP module and create some content with it.

Thx for doing what you are doing. Looking forward to giving back ideas to Moodle soon.

Anke

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 6:28 PM

Dear Anke,

I am currently preparing a downloadable version of the module. I think I will be able to make available on Friday.

The initial release, is intended as an "alpha" release, so I don't recommend putting it straight into a "live" course, but it will give you a idea of what is possible and will probably work well for many quizzes.

I'll try to get it to you as soon as possible.

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Dave Ray - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 9:26 PM

I have used Hot Potatoe's for a while and really
appreciate all your wonderful work! Several questions:

--Can the teacher or Admin have a toggle
as to where to send the quiz results; ie. e-mail
to user, store in data-base, etc.
--Can these Hot Potatoe's be used with 1.5

Thanks again for your work!!

Dave

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 4 February 2005, 5:46 AM

Dear Dave,
at the moment, there is no toggle to allow for quiz results to be emailed to the teacher.

Instead, the new module offers you several reports which can be viewed online or downloaded as Excel or text files. Personally, I find the reports more useful than emails, because the results for a particular quiz are listed by student and some class-wide statistics (average and discrimination index) about the responses are also available. Certainly, saves a lot of copying and pasting

It would not be unduly difficult to add the email capability, but I don't think it will be available in the early versions of the module ... unless a lot of people jump up and say, "Yes, we need it"

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Dave Ray - Friday, 4 February 2005, 7:40 AM

Hi Gordon,
Thanks for your response. Looking forward to working with your module. If I can test any part let me know.

Dave

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 9:46 PM

Thank you, Gordon, this is more than good news. Alpha is fine and very very welcome. I need to be convincing on so many aspects that this will be of great help.

Let me know if you'd like me to note down any "strange" behaviour. I am keeping a kind of test run diary anyway for all sorts of things.

Anke

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Timothy Takemoto - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 10:39 AM

I look forward to your moodle - Hotpotatoes Workshop, and small and flash potatoes.

Tim

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Timothy Takemoto - Thursday, 21 September 2006, 11:14 PM

I see now that I have asked about security ages ago and applauded, lauded and hailed the arrival of flash potatoes.

But since Flash Potatoes is still in the works, please may I ask whether you proceeded with javascript obfuscation?

I guess that the javascript obfuscation would not solve the recently suggested method of "cheating" by downloading the page and using trial and error.

At the same time, I guess that there are javascript ways of making it a little difficult to download. Obviously the page would already be downloaded in the local cache but most of my students do not know even know what a local cache is. So a bit of javascript and some obfuscation might mean that most of my students would find Moodle Hotpot fairly secure.

Tim

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 7:52 AM

Congratulations, fine, superb, ...

power on moodle

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Harry Burgin - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 5:26 PM

This looks great, Gordon. Does your module integate with postgresql? I did try to use Thomas's HP module but it is only functional om MySQL and I don't have that.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 6:39 PM

Dear Harry,

it is my intention that the new HotPotatoes module should work on PostGreSQL, but I have been testing it only on MySQL, so I cannot say for sure what will happen on other databases.

I will look into installing PostGreSQL on my server so I can investigate more fully before offering it to you.

best regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Harry Burgin - Friday, 4 February 2005, 1:10 AM

Thanks Gordon. I look forward to that.

Kind regards
Harry

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Przemyslaw Stencel - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 7:06 PM

As a long-time user of Hot Potatoes, I'd like to thank you for your work on this module, Gordon. I've just had a look at your samples and I'm impressed.

Just one question - upon completion of a hotpot quiz, a javascript popup asks whether results should be sent. Maybe it would be better if this was done automatically, that is, once the student has finished the quiz, the results are sent without asking. What do you think?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 8:36 PM

Dear Przemyslaw,
thanks for your email. You raise an interesting point.

I originally put in the message for my own testing purposes, but a couple of people have said they liked it, so perhaps we could accommodate everyone if we make it an option on the quiz settings page. We can vote on what the default should be

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Nobuhiro Kumai - Thursday, 3 February 2005, 9:10 PM

Dear Gordon and Przemyslaw,

Hi. I've been an ardent fan of Hot Potatoes as well as Gordon's system. I feel that the pop up function comes in handy because the learner can know if their answers are submited or not all right. Otherwise they don't know if the quiz is finished or not.

I'm very much looking forward to getting the module Gordon is workng on soon. Actually I'm deeply impressed with his work! Thanks, Gordon.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Przemyslaw Stencel - Friday, 4 February 2005, 5:05 AM

I agree that it serves an important purpose (as Nobuhiro points out) - it confirms to the student that the results are saved. What I'm not sure of, however, is whether we should give the student an option not to save the results. The javascript asks "save results?" and there are two options: "OK" and "Cancel". Do we want the students to cancel saving?

Another thing, there have recently been some discussions about making the interface of Moodle more consistent across modules. So, maybe instead of this javascript popup, there could be a page saying "Your results have been saved" and "Continue". This seems to be the way to confirm user actions in Moodle (e.g. after posting a message to a forum)

What do you think?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 4 February 2005, 8:01 AM

Thanks Przemyslaw, I see what you mean.

It would seem preferable just to inform the user that results have been saved, rather than allow them to opt out of saving them. This also accommodates the view which Nobuhiro kindly expressed, namely that it is reassuring and useful for users to know what is going on.

I will add this message to the module and then make a downloadable zip file available for "alpha" testing later today (Fri)

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 4 February 2005, 4:06 PM

Here is a link to a zipped version of the new HotPotatoes module, which you can download from my server
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=168

This is an "alpha" version, so please do not use it on a "live" system.

Despite my best efforts, there are probably some bugs and unimplemented features that could cause you some kind of shock, varying from mild disappointment to ranting rage If you are at all worried by the consequences, please do not install it and wait till a more stable and widely tested "beta" versions is available.

On the other hand, if you do decide to try it out, I would be delighted to know how you get on

Some things to look out for are embedded media and non-ascii characters. They caused me considerable difficulties, but I think I was able to work things out. At least, they worked OK on my server on the quizzes I was able to test on.

You may have questions about the reports. What do all those number mean? I prepared a few help files, but no doubt these will be unsatisfactory. If you can write a better explanation, I encourage you to do so and send it to me.

Other than that, I leave it with you. Please send questions, comments and feedback to me via this list or privately on "gordon at-sign kanazawa hyphen gu dot ac dot jp"

many thanks in advance for helping my knock the module into shape!

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Friday, 4 February 2005, 7:16 PM

Just a quick and excited thank you! Install went fine, thanks to the readme file ( that was my first Moodle install ever...), and this looks very very promising. I tried matching first (drag and drop), that's what I missed most in Moodle, and so far it has worked well.

Gee --- I just had to air this: I am so happy to have stumbled over and into Moodle after years of working and trying out things mainly on my own. This feels like a truly great environment. Community included. Looking forward to teaching that aspect too...

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Saturday, 5 February 2005, 9:35 AM

Great news Anke.
It's good to hear things are going smoothly for you.

I have heard from other folks that an error appears if you try looking at reports with no students enrolled in the course. To correct this, I have amended the report script and which I will try to attach to this message. The new report script replaces the old one at "mod/hotpotatoes/report.php" in the download that was made available yesterday (Fri).

There also seems to be a problem with the display of some characters, which I am still investigating.

Please let me know about any furher problems (or successes!) you have

many thanks
Gordon

report.zip

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Monday, 7 February 2005, 6:36 AM

Hi Gordon,
your great module works fine. i have tested with 3 hotpot quizzes i used on blackboard last year. Sysstem 1.4.3+ with w3k iis6 php5.1 and mysql. It runs perfecly and calculates right, Also the import into moodle quiz is perfect. Only jmatch with drag and drop imported as quiz when using pictures for drag and drop doesn´t work, but thats cause moodle don´t know drag and drop.

nice greetings from austria
leo

power on moodle

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 7 February 2005, 7:59 AM

Hello Leonhard,
many thanks for the encouraging feedback.

If you have time, I wonder if you could send me the ".jmt" file for the jmatch drag and drop quiz using pictures which doesn´t import as required, so I can test it out on my system? Please could you send it to me at "gordon at-sign kanazawa hyphen gu dot ac dot jp".

Also, since you are based in Austria, I would be interested to hear if you have any umlauts or other accented characters in your quizzes, and whether or not they are being handled correctly.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Monday, 7 February 2005, 5:00 PM

Hi Gordon,
here is the zip. Import as jmatch works fine. Only importing the jmatch to moodle test pool shows only img src to match, not the picture. So i think i have to upload the pics in an other folder. Can you tell me where i have the pics to store?

power on moodle

Jmatch.zip

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Tuesday, 8 February 2005, 5:44 AM

Hi,

the umlauts Breites Grinsen are shown correct (ä ü ß ö).

I tried out the jmatch quiz form above with a class today. One prob is that the filename of the pics is shown as alt-text. I have given the solution - word as filename. So the kids can see the info from the pic as alt-text.

Is it possible to hide alt-text in imported hotpot files?

thx

Leo

power on moodle

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 7 February 2005, 8:40 AM

Attached to this mesage are updated versions of "lib.php" and "hot-potatoes-full.js".

They correct a problem regarding the display and input of accented and multibyte characters. (Many thanks to "JPL" for alerting me to the problem )

To install the new scripts, unzip them and put them into your "mod/hotpotatoes" directory.

Please keep the feedback coming in!

regards
Gordon

lib-php-and-hot-potatoes-full-js.zip

Average of ratings: -

Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Anders Berggren - Thursday, 10 February 2005, 9:36 PM

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for a great contribution. Everything I have tested so far seems to
work just fine. I have also taken the liberty of editing the help-files for
the new Hot Potatoes module and validating them as XHTML. Doing that
I also added an index.html and a simple mods.html, in accordance with
Moodle standard.

When validating e.g. navigation.html it turns out to be XHTML alright but
I also get this kind of warnings.

Warning:

Line 13, column 110: processing instruction does not start with name

Line 13 is as follows:

<? print_string('modulename', 'hotpotatoes') ?>

Warning:

Line 15, column 56: processing instruction does not start with name

Line 15 is as follows:

<? echo $hotpotatoes_navigation[navigation_bar] ?>

I expect that this means that something should be viewed
in navigation.html through PHP.

Below you can see how the page is viewed though.

Is this how it should be?

Cheers, Anders

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Saturday, 12 February 2005, 12:54 PM

Dear Anders,
thanks very much for validatin the help files with the XHTML checker.

I was not too worried about the fact that the XHTML checker doesn't like the embedded PHP tags (<? ... ?>) in the help files. That may be because I don't know enough to be worried . Anyway, if you have time and the inclination, you could try changing all the "<?" to "<?php". It might make the file more palletable to the XHTML parser, but probably it would not like the "?" coming straight after the "<". That can't be helped I'm afraid, without resetting some more fundamental settings in PHP.

I wonder if you could post a copy of the new help files you created, "index.html" and a simple "mods.html", so I can try to add them to the downloadable version of the module?

If you could attach them to a message to this forum, or to my personal email (gordon at-sign kanazawa hyphen gu dot ac dot jp), I will add them to the module.

many thanks in advance
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Martin Dougiamas - Saturday, 12 February 2005, 1:50 PM

A couple of related notes ...

The Moodle coding guide says to always use long tags (<?php ?>) because short tags will break on some systems.

You shouldn't validate help files in raw form, but rather how they appear in Moodle (because the PHP stuff won't show).

Also, keep PHP to a minimum within help files ... if possible there shouldn't be any at all.

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Saturday, 12 February 2005, 4:25 PM

Hi Martin,
thanks very much for the lead on the "Moodle coding guide". Having read it, I realize I should change all the php tags and a few of the variable names.

For (my) future reference, here is the URL of the guide:
http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=2932

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Svar: Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Anders Berggren - Saturday, 12 February 2005, 7:19 PM

Hi Gordon,

I have added 'php' to the instructions and all the (raw) HTML-files

are validated but I still can't view anything more than what's in the

regular (X)HTML. In the attached .zip-file you'll find all the help-files

edited, validated and index.html and (a simple) mods.html included.

Cheers, Anders

hotpotatoes_help.zip

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Martin Post - Tuesday, 15 February 2005, 1:41 AM

Gordon,

I have a question regarding your (great

) Hot Potatoes module for Moodle.

We have installed it on our Moodle test site and it seems to work fine. One problem, though, arises when HTML code is added in the Hot Potatoes forms.

We are building JMatch exercises with images and/or (Flash-based) audio players on the left ("Ordered Items") side. Exporting these to HTML works fine; we get HTML pages where students can align images or sounds on the left with text on the right.

When we try to integrate these JMatch files in Moodle using your Hot Potatoes module, though, the HTML code for the image or sound file is replaced by the word "Array" or deleted altogether. So it seems that somewhere along the line, the complex JavaScript building the actual Matching Exercise chokes on HTML.

Are you aware of this problem and do you think it could be fixed?

We are running Moodle 1.4.3 and have patched your Module with the files you have provided in this thread.

Thank you for helping.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Tuesday, 15 February 2005, 8:24 PM

Dear Martin P.,
thanks for the feedback. I believe I have fixed things so that it is now possible to have any kind of HMTL tag in any part of any quiz - this includes embedded media in a JMatch.

I have made a zip file a new alpha release of the module available here:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=168

The new release incorporates numerous tweaks and bug fixes in response to the feedback from the first release. Most notably, these include:

correct display of accented and multibyte characters
removal of unused columns and rows in the reports
correct setting of relative URLs used anywhere in a quiz
import of JCross XML files into Moodle's Quiz module
help files "index" and "mod.html" (thanks Anders)
correction of PHP start and end tags and variables names, so as to confirm to the Moodle coding guide

I can say for sure that it handles images in a JMatch (thanks Leonhard!) ...
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/hotpotatoes/view.php?id=178

... and Flash media in a JCloze (thanks Edgar!) ...
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/hotpotatoes/view.php?id=137

... so I am hopeful that it will work as required in your situation. If it is still not working, I would be grateful if you could send me the quiz and the Flash files so I can work on it.

I have been working with Tom Robb to get the restore and backup functionality working. I was hoping to be able to include it in the latest release of the module, but it is not quite reliable enough, but I believe it will be available in a few days time.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Stefaan Plets - Friday, 18 February 2005, 4:37 AM

I'd love to test this module, as it looks very promising. But when I go to the given link, all I get is "Sorry, the requested file could not be found". Is the module still available for download?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 18 February 2005, 8:32 AM

Dear Stefan,
sorry about the broken link. I have fixed it now.

For convenience, here is the link for the download of the latest version of the new HotPotatoes module:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=168

It is still an "alpha" version, that is to say it is released primarily for the purposes of testing and feedback. I don't recommend using it yet on a live site.

Probably, a "beta" version will be available next week, once I have finished implementing the backup and restore functionality. Once this has been demonstrated to work satisfactorily, it will be possible to offer the module for use in "live" courses.

As always, all feedback on your experience using the module is gratefully received

best regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Dave Ray - Friday, 18 February 2005, 11:23 AM

Hi Gordon,
I have installed your module on linux and windows
systems using 1.4.3 + and have not encountered any problems.
Will this version work with the upcoming 1.5?

Much thanks for all your work!!
-----Dave

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 18 February 2005, 12:37 PM

Hi Dave,
great to hear that the new module is behaving well for you.

I don't know about Moodle 1.5 yet, but I am hopeful that the new HotPotatoes module work work with it, because internally the module uses Moodle's standard interface for accessing the database and the file system.

I'll confirm more definitely, after I can get my hands on Moodle 1.5. I'd be interested to know how to get my hands on a copy.

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Tim Allen - Friday, 18 February 2005, 12:49 PM

I'd be interested to know how to get my hands on a copy.

The downloads page: http://moodle.org/download/

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 18 February 2005, 1:57 PM

Thanks for the link TIm. Much obliged.

Looks like I'll be testing this weekend
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Markus Knierim - Friday, 18 February 2005, 9:54 PM

Hi Gordon,

Your new Hot Potatoes Module rocks cool

(Thanks also to you, Rob, for your pioneering work!)

The basics work just fine for me, but I've discovered a few problems with JCross and JCloze (Version 6 of Hot Potatoes).

JCross:

When importing a .jcw file containing an exercise with images (see attached), the HTML tag of the image (instead of the image itself) gets displayed, e.g.:

<img src="http://XXXX/file.php?file=/118/./raspberry.gif" width="150" height="131"></img>

As far as I can see, there are two problems:

1. In lib.php, function get_baseurl(), the following lines insert the extra "./" (right after "118" in the example above) in the src value, resulting in a wrong file path:

if ($dir = dirname($this->reference)) {
$this->baseurl .= "$dir/";
}

2. The left/right angle brackets of the img tag get mistakenly converted into HTML entities.

JCloze:

Choosing "Moodle Navigation Bar" in the activity settings renders the clue, hint, and check buttons useless because of some kind of javascript error in /hotpotatoes/view.php, e.g.:

'State[...].AnsweredCorrectly' is null or not an object (code: 0)
'State[...]' is null or not an object (code: 0)

All other display modes (e.g., "Moodle Navigation Frame") work just fine

I hope my error descriptions are specific enough for you, or anyone else who has more than my very limited PHP and javascript skills, to fix these problems, especially the image-tag problem in JCross.

Please let me know if you need more details. In the meantime, I'll keep on testing wink

Cheers,
Markus

JCross_with_pics.zip

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Jim Edgar - Friday, 11 March 2005, 12:15 PM

Gordon,

I've noted that you've successfully embedded the Flash movie and jpeg in the falconry hot potatoes reading exercise - I haven't been able to replicate that type of activity. I've put a jqz and the swf file in the same directory, then used Add a Hot Potatoes XML to create the activity. The Jquiz exercise is created, but it won't load the movie. I can't see where else to move the swf file so the hot potatoes links to it. Any suggestions?

Also, just wondering if anyone has tested your module with TexToys activities?

Thanks for your terrific work!

Jim

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 11 March 2005, 11:15 PM

Hi Jim,
sorry not to have replied earlier - the update script is taking a lot of my energy.

Did you try setting the "Force plugins" to "yes". This will force a Moodle comaptible plugin to be inserted in the quiz. The other option is to try to figure out a way for the media file to be specified using an absolute url that DOES NOT go via Moodle's "file.php". For some reason, the media player on your quiz does not like the media file when it comes via "file.php". That is what I have done (I think!) on the version of your quiz that you see on my server.

There is "basic" support for the two Textoys activity types, Rhubarb and Sequitor. I think your only get a score back. If you have ideas about what other information might usefully be extracted from Textoys quizzes, please let me know and I will try to include it in the future enhancements

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Martin Post - Saturday, 19 February 2005, 9:58 PM

Gordon,

thank you again for your efforts.

We just did a clean install of your Hot Potatoes module, and it *seems* there is a problem with absolute paths.

To make sure the error isn’t in my files, I took the liberty to download the .JMT file for "Leonhard (jmatch from XML" (hotKnospen1.jmt) from your site, which uses images in a Drag-and-Drop quiz. I replaced a relative image reference ("zweizeilig.jpg") with an absolute path ("http://[XXX]zweizeilig.jpg") - which resulted in a broken link, although the image is definetely there.

The same happens with absolute path links to the Flash player and audio files.

We have changed nothing with your default configuration, and all other features seem to work.

Do you think you could take a look at this?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Saturday, 19 February 2005, 10:57 PM

Dear Gordon, I just sent you a mail with your login data, in case you find the time have a look at the audio/path problem on site. Martin and I are working on this together, and I am supposed to present my demo on Thursday... so any help before that would be a great help indeed.

Hope this is okay.

Best wishes,

Anke

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 1:39 PM

Many thanks to the feedback from Markus, Anke, Martin and others. I have made the following modifications to the "alpha" release

HTML tags are alllowed in JCross clues (fixed by new "lib.php")
absolute URLs are allowed anywhere (fixed by new "lib.php")
unnecessary rows columns and rows are not displayed in reports (fixed by new "report.php" and "reports" directory)

As always, the most recent version of the module, is available from the following URL:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=168

I am working currently working on the restore feature and ensuring the module works with PostGreSQL and Moodle 1.5

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 3:58 PM

Hi Gordon,

it seems to work fine.

One Question i have: could it be possible that i can use foreign Hotpotatoes from the Internet with this module? That i Insert a URL, for example:

http://www.cyberteacher.it/esercizi/ing_2howmuch.htm

an italian site

thx

Leo

power on moodle

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 6:49 PM

Dear Leo,
the Hot Potataoes quiz, either the XML source file or the HTML, is assumed to reside on your Moodle server. At the moment, if you wanted to use quizzes from another server, you would have to copy them (assuming you had permission ) to your course and run them from there.

It might be possible to allow quizzes on other servers to be used, but this might cause problems; firstly, with the copyright on the original quiz, and secondly, if the creator of the quiz and the teacher of the Moodle course have a different kind of Hot Potatoes license.

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Timothy Takemoto - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 7:49 PM

Hi Gordon, Thomas

So to clarify, if one has permission from the creator, the relevant licence, and the HTML, it is possible to plug that html into the new Hot Potatoes module?

Also I have done a very bad thing, I told Thomas Robb ages ago I would pay $100 towards hotpot if it worked on Moodle. I let this slip, forgot, and when I remembered, used the excuse, to myself, that hotpotatoes is not fully integrated since one can stil see the answers. It seems that one will always be able to see the answers, so I don't think that I will be able to use Hotpot. But it is integrated, so I will be donating $100 to the moodle trust today in gratitude for your work.

Thanks very much!

Timothy
PS Jamie's flash thing does some hotpot like stuff, with no answers visible, by the way. But not everyone is into the whip.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 8:47 PM

Dear Timothy,
to further clarify, you can administer any Hot Potatoes quiz created by "Hot Potatoes v6", as long as either its HTML file or XML file is in the "Files" folder for the course to which the quiz is to be connected.

The answers are visible on the source, but with a few more hours programming it would be possible to put them in a different file and obfuscate them.

However, I think the programming effort would be better directed toward creating a Flash or Moodle viewer for the XML files. Then there would be no chance of viewing the answers and the data reporting could be standardized across all quiz types. "Jamies's Flash thing" seems like the right direction for this, but since he has already proceeded quite far with his line of development, I don't know how easy it would be to send the results back to Moodle in the format expected by the HotPotatoes module.

Finally, good for you for making the donation to Moodle!

cheers
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Leonhard Küllinger - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 8:02 PM

Hi Gordon,

but there are Open License for HotPot. There are many Sites (http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/sites6.htm) with HotPots.

For the License:

Do I Need a Licence?

Hot Potatoes is free for use by individuals working for state-funded educational institutions which are non-profit making, on the condition that the material you produce using the program is freely available to anyone via the WWW. However, you need to purchase a licence under any of the following conditions:

You are working for a company or corporation, or an educational institution which is not state-funded.
You are in business for yourself.
You charge money for access to the material you make with Hot Potatoes.
You do not make the material freely available through the WWW.

I don`t think that free availaible HotPots making a copyright problem.

thx

Leo

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 8:36 PM

Hi Leo,
thanks for reproducing the Hot Potatoes license. After further thought, I agree with you, that using publicly available Hot Potatoes quizzes based on another server would not cause problems with the Hot Potatoes license.

This would be an interesting enhancement to consider doing in the future. I don't think I will aim to include it in the first official release, which I currently imagine will happen at the end of Feb.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by John Rodgers - Friday, 25 February 2005, 8:40 AM

Hi Gordon:

My compliments on this module: What a fine piece of work approve

.
I downloaded and installed the module two days ago on my test server, with good results.

I proceded to my live install and we observed some rather peculiar behaviour later that day.

There was no choose option when we went to add an xml quiz. As we thrashed around we used the old hotpot module, which gave the option of choosing the xml file, and returned us to the new hotptoatoes interface, successfully inserting the quiz surprise

.

With a little further experimenting I found I could insert the xml quiz by entering the filename directly.

I'm wondering if there is some strange incompatabilty between the old and new module.

Thanks for any advice here Gordon, and keep up the great work.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 25 February 2005, 10:55 AM

Dear John,
thanks very much for the feedback.

I have received two other reports of the "Choose" option not being available and I am puzzled by what could be causing it because I cannot reproduce the problem on my server (Windows-Apache-Moodle1.4.3).

When you click the "Choose or upload a file ..." button, the HotPotatoes module uses a standard Moodle component, "files/index.php", which is the same script that is used when you click "Files" on the "Administration" menu of the main page for a course. Perhaps I have not understood how this script works and it needs some extra parameters.

Originally, I was using another script, "mod/resource/coursefiles.php", but apparently this was phased out in Moodle 1.4.3, so I switched to "files/index.php", which seemed to be the approved method. Perhaps I need to use "coursefiles.php" in versions of Moodle prior to 1.4.3?

I have heard that if you upload the XML file via the "Files" item on the course's Administration menu, you do get a "Choose" option when you click the "Choose or upload a file ... " button on the quiz's settings page.

I would very much like to experience this phenomena with my own browser. Would it be possible for me to have "teacher" access to a test course on your site? Please contact me off list (gordon at-sign kanazawa hyphen gu dot ac dot jp), if you would like to arrange this.

thanks once again for your help with the testing
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 25 February 2005, 2:55 PM

Dear John,
thanks for letting me in to your course. Seeing is believing!

It seems that between Moodle 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 the "Choose" function was moved from "mod/resource/coursefiles.php" to "files/index.php", so I have modified the settings page, "mod.html", for the HotPotatoes module to take account of this and branch to the correct script for the Moodle version.

I have attached the modified file, "mod.html" to this message. I recommend that anyone using Moodle 1.4.1 or less who has downloaded and installed the HotPotatoes module should replace "mod/hotpotatoes/mod.html" with the attached file.

OK, I guess you can zap me from the teacher list on your Moodle site, John. I enjoyed looking round!

all the best
Gordon

mod.zip

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by John Rodgers - Friday, 25 February 2005, 8:48 PM

Thanks for your help Gordon. Thats fantastic. I'll leave you on the teacher list for just a few days, if its alright with you. The kids will get a bit excited to see a teacher from Japan.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Friday, 25 February 2005, 7:12 PM

Thank you back for your help and efforts!

my college demo yesterday went very well and I'll have a little more time now to check details.

A few things I noticed may have nothing to do with your module (I am still not quite sure what is Moodle-specific, or a possible HotPot problem):

When I say "Choose an XML file", the path then always contains two slashes: "mymoodledata//my.xml"

It seems not to matter though, I have tried deleting one slash and the exercise still works. Is this "normal"? Is it important? I have not noticed it with other Moodle activites, just with your Hot Potatoes module.

Another thing is that with my Cloze exercises the gaps use the color of the exercise background (e.g. blue) instead of being white. Has anyone noticed this as well, or is this maybe s.th. I have configured so by mistake in HotPotatoes itself? I can change this in the corresponding source files in Moodle, so it is not really a big thing. I just wondered.
Occasionally I use an add-on script my Michael Rottmeier (www.teaching-tools.de.vu) which turns a Cloze activity into a FindIt or "Spot the mistake" exercise. I must refer to the HTML files in Moodle (which is probably due to the added code) and when used with sound and FlashPlayer, the files must be linked to as an external resource, otherwise they do not work. (They do locally, though). Again, has anyone tried this?

I assume that some of the above probs may be caused by my trying out too many things at the same time right now, and not yet always fully understanding what I am doing , so please ignore this, if it wasting everyone's time and has nothing to do with the module itself.

Best wishes

Anke

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Monday, 28 February 2005, 9:11 AM

Dear Anke,

thank you for pointing out the double slashes that appear in the "File name", if the quiz file is located in a subfolder of the course "Files" area. I have fixed this in the lastest version of "mod/hotpotatoes/lib.php" which can be downloaded from here:

http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=500

I had a look at a Jcloze quiz on your site (http://anke.website.com/.../view.php?id=294) and the background to the gaps appears "white" in my browser. Is that correct? You mentioned that on one of your JCloze exercises, the gaps have "blue" background. Perhaps you have found a way to fix this yourself, but if there are still any quizzes that are showing the wrong color, I wonder if you could send me a link (off list if you like), so I can investigate further.

Generally, when the navigation for a HotPotatoes quiz is set to "Moodle navigation bar", the colors used by Moodle will override those specified by the quiz. If you want the Hot Potatoes colors, you should set the navigation for the quiz to be either of the following:

Moodle navigation frame
embedded IFRAME
Hot Potatoes quiz buttons
a single "Give Up" button
none

Also, please could you send me a link for the quiz that uses the ingeneous add-ons by Michael Rottmeier, so I can look at the source and check the media links.

best regards

Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Anke Tröder - Wednesday, 2 March 2005, 6:37 PM

As always thank you ... I wonder if clocks in Japan have added an extra Moodle hour or two for you

A separate mail to you is on the way.

The Problem with the bg color has solved itself after your latest update
I just had a few mails asking about that link above. This is obviously just a pseudolink to my site. I am testing Moodle and sound stuff on my private server right now as i have not yet been assigned a budget or school-server space ... and with all my Flash and sound experiments this is beginning to create pretty heavy traffic. And cost. As soon as all this changes I'll happily create an open guest account, so far all i can share is ideas and questions
Actually, over at the Moodle Exchange forum (which is obviously one of the less frequently visited on Moodle) I have suggested to start a kind of Voice Exchange/Audio Swap. Ideas on how to organize would be more than welcome.

Best wishes,

Anke

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 18 March 2005, 11:03 AM

Dear Anke,
this note is just a public statement of what what we discussed off-list regarding Michael Rottmeier's Hot Potatoes extensions.

At present they cannot be used with the HotPot module, because they use different data structures from the standard Hot Potatoes quizzes. However, I am planning some to enhancements HotPot module to be able to handle Michael's popular and useful add-ons.

I expect the enhancements will be available by the end of April.

kind regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Henri de Marcellus - Friday, 2 March 2007, 11:57 AM

Woah, this is slick! It "just worked!"

One question. I'm using fairly extensively customized jquiz files. One of the things that I had to customize in the HotPotatoes code was to eliminate the grade reporting. (The student simply has to finish the exercise for full credit - it's not really a "quiz.") But, having now migrated to Moodle (rather than using FormMail for reporting), I don't see any way to hide/eliminate the grade. Is this possible to customize?

Also, I have HotPots keeping track (in a string) of which questions the student have trouble with. Is there any way to pass this to the Moodle report (for me to see - not necessarily for the student to see)?

Thanks for doing this integration! It is really the missing link!

Your fan,

Henri

Henri de Marcellus
The Branson School

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Örjan Hansson - Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 2:37 PM

Very informative and a great step forward. I am using Hot Pot in the traditional way and I am trying for the first time to get to know Moodle. I have just set up Moodle with linux on my home machine and I am going to try out your way of working with Hot Pot.

Thank you

Örjan H

orjan.hansson@gnejsen.se

Average of ratings: -

Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Anders Berggren - Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 5:24 PM

Hi Gordon,

I need to report that I can't use a .jmt-file to create a

visible exercise. I can view it as a sort of "shell" but there's

no content in it. If I choose the correspondent .htm-file

everything works just fine. I have downloaded the latest

beta.zip from your site. The patch too, but I don't quite

know how to use that one. I added it to the hotpotatoes

folder overwriting everything with the same name but then

Moodle "couldn't create a new instance of the Hotpotatoes... etc."

Just thought you might want to know. Maybe it's just me

having done something "clumsy".

Cheers, Anders

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 7:50 PM

Hi Anders,
thanks for the report.

I am just in the middle of testing the script to update from HotPot(v1) and/or HotPotatoes to HotPot(v2), so my server is in a bit of mess, and I can't investigate just at the moment. However, I will definitely look at it tomorrow and report back.

out for now
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Thursday, 10 March 2005, 8:30 PM

Dear Anders,
I see you logged into my server and were experimenting. Thanks!

I added the Swedish quiz from its HTML file you uploaded, and as you said it seems to work fine:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/mod/hotpotatoes/view.php?id=1794

The Swedish letters appear OK on the reports too. Great!

I wonder if you would be able to upload the XML file, as that seems to be causing the problems. Maybe you did already, but if so I couldn't see it

many thanks as always for your help with the testing and development of this module
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Svar: Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Anders Berggren - Friday, 11 March 2005, 3:15 AM

Hi,

I made another .jmt-file, tested, and uploaded it at

your site. I don't know what was wrong with the first

one but now it seems to work OK. I am impressed stora ögon

and happy.

Cheers, Anders

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 11 March 2005, 6:30 AM

Great news Anders! I'm glad to hear the matching quiz is working as expected.

Actually, I didn't know my server knew how to serve up Swedish vowels, but it seems to handle them just fine. Thanks for the revelation!

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Tom B - Friday, 11 March 2005, 8:55 PM

If I install the new HotPotatoes module does that overwrite the more standard hotpot module? Do I install this module the same way I would install any other module?

Average of ratings: -

Re: Svar: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Friday, 11 March 2005, 11:06 PM

Hi Tom,
the new HotPotatoes module does not overwrite the HotPot module, so there is no danger of losing any quizzes.

Installation is the same as any other module. The README file in the download has some pretty detailed instructions, but if anything is not clear, please let me know.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by sen yang - Tuesday, 7 June 2005, 3:37 AM

Hi, Gordon

It's realy an exciting news that Hotpot moodle conbination is done.
But I'm not an expert if IT, how can I make it?
Is ther someone who can help me out?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Tuesday, 7 June 2005, 7:14 AM

Hi Sen,
fortunately, you don't have to be an IT expert to use Moodle or Hot Potatoes or the HotPot module.

Now, after reading your message, I am not sure what you want help with.

Perhaps you want to ask one the following questions?

how do I make a Hot Potatoes quiz?
how do I install Moodle's HotPot module?
how do I add a Hot Potatoes quiz to a Moodle course?

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by sen yang - Wednesday, 8 June 2005, 1:23 PM

Hi Gordon,

Nice to hear from you.
I am skilled in makeing quizes with Hotpotaoes.
I've got tons of Hotpot quizes .
The problem is how to install Moodle's HotPot module?
And how do I add a Hot Potatoes quiz to a Moodle course?
Could you advise me the know-how?

Thank you.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Wednesday, 8 June 2005, 2:24 PM

Hi Sen,
I assume you have a Moodle site that you can access somewhere? OK, then here's how to install the HotPot module:

download the module from the download page on the Moodle site:
http://download.moodle.org/modules/
put the module's zip file into "moodle/mod" folder on the server that hosts your Moodle site
unzip the module's zip file. It should create (or overwrite) the "moodle/mod/hotpot" folder
move the messages file, "moodle/mod/hotpot/lang/hotpot.php", across to "moodle/lang/hotpot.php"
log in to your site as an administrator and view the Administration -> Configuration page. At this point, Moodle should detect the new module and install it. You should see a page of messages confirming that various tables have been created in the Moodle database

Now, you have the HotPot module installed, you can add a Hot Potatoes activity to a course. Here's how:

login to Moodle as a teacher or administrator
navigate to the main page of the course
click the "Turn editing ON" button, if necessary
locate the section where you want to add the HotPot acitivity, and chose "Hot Potatoes quiz" from the "Add an activity" drop down menu. At this point, the "Add a new Hot Potatoes activity" window should appear
click the "Choose or Upload a file" button. The course files screen appears
if necessary, click the upload button and upload the quiz from your PC to the server
click the "Choose" link for the Hot Potatoes quiz you wish to add (the files window will close at this point)
check the other settings for HotPot activity
click "Save settings". The HotPot activity will be added to the course, and you should see the quiz appear on your screen

Please try it out and If you have any problems, please let us know where you got stuck.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: Useful (1)

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by sen yang - Thursday, 9 June 2005, 12:18 AM

Hi, Gordon,

I've got Hotpot module successfully installed.
It works well, including the grading results ,for which
I must select "Give Up" .Why?

Another problem is that I am using Chinese Language,
so on the top of my quiz, it goes like this:
The quiz is available until: 2006Äê 06ÔÂ 8ÈÕ£¬Thursday£¬07:35 AM
How can I solve the problem?

Thank you for your assisstance

Sen

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Thursday, 9 June 2005, 5:54 AM

On the settings page for a HotPot activity, there is a "Navigation" setting which allows you to use various navigational aids at the top of your quizzes. If you don't like the "Give Up" button, you can choose another one

Here's some more information:
http://moodle.org/help.php?module=hotpot&file=navigation.html

The garbled message at the top of your quiz, probably appears because your browser has not correctly detected the encoding for your page. You can force the encoding using the "View"-> "Encoding" menu on your browser.

regards
--Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Aidan McCanny - Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 12:01 AM

Hi Gordon

I am using the hotpotatoes module with great success - it is brilliant to have a self marking assessment which is so easy to use and provide the range of reports that it does.

My query is this:
When adding a new Quiz, I am getting double brackets for example, For the Name: option, I get textsourcespecific, the Summary option is: textsourcequiz and so on. Even the label addquizchain comes in double brackets. I think this is something to do with the installation of appropriate code in the language block but am not sure. I vaguely remember downloading this module?? but can't find any links to allow me to download it again.
I am able to work around this but my colleagues are finding it a bit difficult to understand. Have you any suggestions?

My second (unrelated) query is :

Are you aware of any quiz or feature of the likes of hot potatoes that allow the user to type in a short answer and the quiz software would look for keywords mentioned in the answer and gives marks accordingly?

Aidan

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 7:29 AM

Hi Aidan,
the query about double brackes is the same one you asked in April 2006, so I will direct you to the same answer:

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=42444#202519

If you do not understand the answer I gave in the above thread, or if you feel it does not apply to you, please let me know and I will try to do better

I am afraid I don't understand the following part of your "second query":

the quiz software would look for keywords mentioned in the answer and gives marks accordingly

Perhaps you could give us an example of what you mean. It would be better to start a new thread because this one is rather old and jumbled up.

regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: The masher in Moodle

by Mabel Quiroga - Sunday, 26 November 2006, 1:18 AM

Dear Folks,

I've just bought a one user licence for HP and created a unit with five exercises.

When I upload the Masher File I get a legend : could not open template

If I upload the index (although I have included all the constituent files in the Moodle File section) I get error message and also Moodle does not recognize it as HP quiz. So which of the files from a Masher unit should I upload in Moodle?

Or what is the trick to get proper access to all exercises. I refuse to think that I will end up uploading the exercises one by one and have a never ending list of HP icons in the homepage

Many thanks

Average of ratings: -

Re: The masher in Moodle

by Gordon Bateson - Sunday, 26 November 2006, 6:54 PM

Hi Mabel

thank you for your question:
> which of the files from a Masher unit should I upload in Moodle

Please upload the quizzes from the unit. Moodle does not need the masher file. In fact, it may help you to think of Moodle as replacing the masher.

If you put the quiz files from the Masher unit in the same folder on your Moodle course, you can add them as HotPot activiites to a Moodle with just a few clicks. Here's how:

on your PC, put all the quizzes you wish to add to Moodle in the same folder. For the time-being, I suggest you use the "htm" files, which are the ones that you click on to view the quiz in your browser. Let's call this folder "my_hotpots"
if you know how, "zip" the "my_hotpots" folder into a single file, upload the zip file to your Moodle course, and unzip it there. If you don't know about zip files, that'S OK, just upload the "my_hotpots" folder and it's contents one at a time to the "Files" section of your Moodle course
if you haven't done so already, turn edit mode on, on the Moodle course page
in the section where you want to add the HotPot activities, locate the "Add an activity " drop down menu, and select "Hot Potatoes Quiz" on that.
in the "File name" field enter "my_hotpots"
set "Add Quiz Chain" to "Yes"
set "Show Next Quiz" to "Yes"
click the [Save Changes] button at the bottom of the page

At this point the Hot Potatoes quizzes will be added to the Moodle course as HotPot activities. To start the first HotPot in the sequence you just added, click the link for that quiz on the Moodle course page. After that quiz is finished, the results will be saved and Moodle will automatically send out the next quiz.

best regards
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: The masher in Moodle

by Mabel Quiroga - Monday, 27 November 2006, 4:30 AM

Dear Gordon,

Thank you very much for your answer. It certainly is the solution and quite simple! Only problem is that I'm working in an old version of Moodle sad so I don't have the " Add Quiz Chain" option. I do have the Show next quiz though.

But I 've tried your procedure in the demo features section of Moodle.org and it worked fine. So I'll have to ask my hosting provider to upgrade it asap.

Many thanks

Best regards,

Mabel

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by henny jellema - Friday, 2 March 2007, 11:50 PM

Beste Gordon,

A bit slow and late, but if your offer for a test account is still available I would like to use it.

Then I can maybe try out why I have no correct results in a short-answer quiz. Whatever a student does, he always gets 100% in a dictation.

Here is a test thing with 2 questions and the answers are abcde and 12345

http://moodle.etine.nl/mod/hotpot/view.php?id=808

But maybe I should test it myself in your newest versions of everything. My school is pretty lazy with updates and so on. So maybe it can just be solved by you without me knowing it.

When I looked at your page with test links I got a page with a few links, but didn't exactly to understand how to get in that test environnement.

And can one do Moodle on a mobile phone nowadays? Tjee.... I'm getting old!

Hartelijke groeten van Henny.

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by robert maran - Saturday, 3 March 2007, 11:42 AM

Hi Gordon,
A couple of queries if I may regarding the new hotpot module:
1. several types of navigation aids: could you amplify exactly what you mean by this? I have looked at your site for testing hotpotv22, but can not seem to see any difference between hotpotv2.1 and the new one. I am probably missing something here..
2. A while ago, someone inquired about putting a stopper on the automatic continue mode so that students could review their answers. Is is part of the "navigation aids"? or is it something completely different? Is it something you plan to add in the future as a option?

In relation to (2), if I were to tweak the code as you suggested so as to prevent automatic continue, would students still be able to "click" on the continue button after they have reviewed their answers?

Cheers,
Robert

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by Gordon Bateson - Saturday, 3 March 2007, 2:34 PM

Hi Robert,
this thread is 2 years old, so most of the information is out of date.

This thread introduced a "new" hotpot module, but it is not new any more. It is the same one that you have. Moodle 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8 all use roughly the same HotPot module, except that it was improved to handle "roles" in 1.7, and standardized for accessibility in 1.8.

The navigation aids are explained here:

http://moodle.org/help.php?module=hotpot&file=navigation.html

I intend to allow several options about what to do before and after a HotPot in the next version of the HotPot module. I am writing that now. I hope it will be finished and ready for initial testing by the end of March.

I can't locate the "tweak" about the "continue" button at the moment. Please could you give me a link to the post you are referring to.

all the best
Gordon

Average of ratings: -

Re: new HotPotatoes module

by robert maran - Saturday, 3 March 2007, 4:54 PM

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for the info.
My question refers to the following, where you advised someone on how delay the "continue" that seems to automatically kick in when a student completes a hotpot activity:
http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=61994

thanks
robert

Average of ratings: -