We are hoping to do some testing of hotpot v2 for a production server. Should the v2 version be committed to /contrib/hotpot? Perhaps you want to tag v1, or branch, or create a separate project directory, but I definitely want to be able to work with your latest code and feed back patches.
Pretty please? Sugar on top?
Hi Martin,
what a nice way to make a request
I don't think I am authorized to decide whether or not "the v2 version be committed to /contrib/hotpot". In fact, I don't fully understand the question. Sorry. Probably Tom Robb will know what you are talking about and be able to give the definitive answer.
If it were up to me, I would make a new branch for "HotPot v2", so that the original HotPot is still available.
In fact I would like to put it in cvs:/moodle/mod/hotpot as soon as someone can can confirm to me that it can upgrade itself cleanly from the old hotpot module (if one was in use)
yes please, I have fixes to checkin 
Hi everybody,
regarding upgrading to "HotPot v2", Martin-D has asked us to "confirm to me that it can upgrade itself cleanly".
I'd like to invite anyone who has successfully upgraded from the original HotPot module to "HotPot v2" to add a short message to this thread, telling us how it went.
I'll go first:
I successfully upgraded from HotPot to "HotPot v2"
-- Gordon
i also had no problem with upgrading.
Gordon,
Upgraded both local and shared server ; no problems.
Thanks all for your great work!
-----Dave
I too successfully upgraded hotpot to hotpot v2.
Me, too! I successfully upgraded from HotPot to "HotPot v2" 
I'd like to get out of the 'hotpot business' as soon as possible.
Dear Martin D.,
as you may have seen, there have been messages from 5 of the most active members on this forum confirming successful upgrades from HotPot to "HotPot v2", on both local and shared servers. Is that enough to give you confidence to consider opening a new CVS branch for "HotPot v2" and giving me write access to keep it up to date?
I have created a sourceforge.com account and written to you offlist to request write privileges for the HotPot branch of the CVS. (Initially, there was a slight delay as my anti-spam sytem thought your anti-spam system was trying to spam me 
)
If you have not received the private message I sent containing my sourceforge username, I would be happy to resend it, otherwise I will wait patiently for your decision.
kind regards
Gordon
Hi Gordon:
Is there any way to make the availability of the HotPotv2 module more evident on this list? I would like to join the list of people who have successfully installed/migrated to the new module but can't seem to find a download link that works.
Could you let me know where I could download the latest version of the module?
Great work!
Marc
Is there any way to make the availability of the HotPotv2 module more evident on this list? I would like to join the list of people who have successfully installed/migrated to the new module but can't seem to find a download link that works.
Could you let me know where I could download the latest version of the module?
Great work!
Marc
Dear Marc,
I was reorganizing my server over the weekend, so the "HotPot v2" module was not available for download. Sorry about that. The server's back up now though.
You can download "HotPot v2" from the following URL:
http://bateson.kanazawa-gu.ac.jp/moodle/hotpot-module.zip
This URL is pretty permanent and supercedes all previous URLs I have posted.
Hope the upgrade goes well. At the risk or repeating myself, please be sure to backup your entire Moodle database before attempting the update
Looking forward to hearing how you get on.
best regards
Gordon
Hotpot 2 is NOW IN CVS, in the main tree.
I'm not sure if it'll be in the packages, but those using CVS can just update and they'll get it.
I'm not sure if it'll be in the packages, but those using CVS can just update and they'll get it.
Hi Martin, I just saw your post saying that you want to add Hotpot quizzes as an extra module to Moodle. That would mean that we would have a third independent module with its own assessment questions besides lesson and quiz. Is there any structural reason why Hotpot questions have to be served through their own module?
From what I've seen, Hot Potatoes produces whole standalone HTML pages containing Javascript etc, which are uploaded in bulk to Moodle.
I can't see how this could be compatible with Quiz, but I've not looked into it very deeply at all.
Gordon, can you answer this?
I can't see how this could be compatible with Quiz, but I've not looked into it very deeply at all.
Gordon, can you answer this?
As Martin D. points out, one structural reason that HotPot quizzes need their own module is because they can be uploaded to Moodle as HTML files. It would be tricky to parse these and extract the original questions and answers (but not impossible I suppose).
Another problem is that there is no Moodle equivalent of the "crossword" or "hybrid" questions in Hot Potatoes. These would have to be simplified to current quiz module question types, or we would need more database fields and tables to store the extra settings.
Even quiz types which appear to be the same, such as the multiple choice questions and cloze exercises, have different optional settings, so these would have to added to the quiz module, or lost.
One further reason for keeping the HotPot module and the quiz module separate, is that Hot Potatoes quizzes are not intended as secure tests, as Moodle quizzes are. In a Hot Potatoes quiz, the answers are right there in the javascript. As a result, a HotPot quiz can act more independantly than a Moodle quiz can. It can give feedback during the quiz and give the student a feeling of how they are doing as the quiz progresses. This is only possible because the answers are in the browser, but this fact makes the quiz insecure. Could the quiz module live with such an insecure quiz type?
For me the biggest reason for allowing the HotPot module to exist is because there are alot of teachers who use Hot Potatoes quizzes and are looking for the next step. They want someway to look at the responses the students gave to the questions. They don't want to type in the questions again, or import the questions one by one through their browser. The are relatively newcomers to CAI and are looking to add the quiz, as it is, to an online course with a few clicks, and then wait for the results to role in. The HotPot module offers these teachers an easy route into Moodle, and once they are here, other wonders unfold.
--Gordon
I agree wholeheartedly with Gordon's rationale for keeping HotPot as a separate module. The main reason why I created the original Hotpot module was that I felt strongly that such activities would be much more useful if there were a record-keeping/tracking element. Moodle seemed to be the best way to do this, and I believe that its presence has tapped a new market of potential Moodle users.
Both Tom and Gordon are correct when they say that being able to record the results from HotPot activities is extremely useful to teachers. I know that there are other ways of doing this, but simply uploading into Moodle makes it something anyone can do.
I agree.
it works fine. I only have one wish: that moodle can also use external hotpotatoes for recording the results. There are so much pretty things.
look here: http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Curriculum/modlang/shared/vod_fr.htm
nice greetings from austria
leo