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This is the second part in a series of tutorials based around using word processors to create interactive and multimedia materials. This tutorial looks at how you can use a word processor to create a close text - also known as a 'gap fill'- that users can interact with on their computer. This is quite a common type of activity that we use in the classroom. The students usually do it in a book and then the teacher tells them the answers. But we can create these materials to be used on the computer. Here is an example text that I created based around a Shakespeare sonnet. Click on the gaps and then hit F1 at the top of your keyboard. You should get a clue to help you fill in your gaps. Example: Sonnet 130 At the end you can scroll down and check the answers. Here is a short tutorial movie showing how the interactive 'gaps' were created (Using MS Word 97) Tutorial movie: Adding help text How to use this with students This feature could be used in a number of different way...

Phonetics Focus is a really wonderful new free resource produced by Cambridge English Online Ltd. Basically it is a collection of interactive multimedia Flash based games and resources that can be accessed through the CEO website at http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/ What is it? In all there are almost 20 different interactive tools all accessible through the one page. These vary from an interactive phonemic chart where users can click on the symbols to hear the sounds and so develop their knowledge of the chart and the phonemic alphabet, through to more fun games which involve shooting the correct sounds to make a word in a ‘duck shoot’ type game. What I liked about it All of the activity types are pretty intuitive as they draw on standards like hangman, odd one out, word searches etc and they all have clear instructions. Many of the games and quizzes also have more than one level so this isn’t just for beginners. Some of the really exceptional features are: ‘Record ...

With the growth in interest in mobile and handheld learning, I thought I’d investigate one of the many new Web 2.0 type start ups that are offering free (at the moment at least) services for setting up websites and web based communities to be accessed on mobile phones and other mobile devices. The one I’ve started with is a service called Winksite . On the home page of their website the company claims that, “Winksite makes it easy to publish mobile websites and communities that can be viewed worldwide on any phone.” So I thought I would try to set up my own site as an extension of this blog. What’s good about it I was actually quite impressed at just how easy it is and at the number of features on offer. Once you have registered, Winksite offers users the opportunity to set up as many as 5 websites for mobile devices. Each site can have a range of features that you can select and edit from a fairly easy to use web based interface. Some of the possible features for your mobile website i...

For a while now I’ve been a fan of the virtual 3D world There.com . Although it isn’t as developed and hasn’t had a fraction of the publicity of Second Life I think there are a few things in its favour and for anyone wanting to take some steps into teaching in virtual worlds or for students who are interested in finding others to chat to or practice their language skills with, they could do far worse. What is there.com? It’s a simple 3D online virtual world where multiple players can create avatars, create worlds, build and interact with each other. The interaction is mainly through movement gesture and text chat, but voice chat is also possible too if you opt to pay for a premium membership rather than free. Have a look here if you want to see the maker's description. If you want to see what it looks like, there is a video here created by the company, but it's quiet a big download (30Mb) What I like about it. There are a number of attractive features within There.com . The ...

This is the first in what I hope will become a series of tutorials on exploiting the teaching / learning potential of some of the more common desktop applications like MS Word. Like many people I’m a regular user of this application and it’s probably the one I use most, with the exception of my web browser. Despite the amount of time I have spent using it, I’m often surprised to discover another useful toolbar or technique that I can use to make life easier or my teaching more effective. This first tutorial shows how to use the ‘comments’ feature that can be found on the ‘Reviewing’ toolbar. The ‘comments’ feature allows you to add comments to the text of a document. These comments don’t appear in the text itself, but can be seen on screen whenever you hover the cursor over the part of the text that the comment refers to. To find out how it works, Watch a tutorial (450k Flash movie) What I like about it This tool enables me to start a dialogue with my students about their work on the...