The ELT Two Cents Cafe
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The Internet has brought a wealth of new opportunities for educators. So much information is just a keystroke away that it can be daunting for some educators who are used to more traditional resources.

The purpose of this project is to show that one can use technology originally created for the World Wide Web to prepare lessons quite similar to ones that teachers have been preparing for generations. There's no magic, and it doesn't require months of studying computer programming. In fact, with some Web authoring tools explicit knowledge of HTML (currently the principal language used in construction of webpages) isn't really even necessary, although it expands what you can do.

Perhaps the best primer on HTML is a site on the Web called "HTML GOODIES." HTML Goodies says:

HTML is vastly easier to learn and use than most familiar computer languages. In some ways it resembles a form of word processing. As simple as it is, with the use of tools such as WYSIWG (or "What You See Is What You Get") HTML editors one doesn't need any knowledge of HTML at all to generate attractive web pages. Popular WYSIWYG editors include FrontPage, AOLPress, etc.

One format for which HTML is particularly well suited is the dynamic action maze, which can also be called a "choose-your-own-adventure". A dynamic action maze is a story in which the reader is presented with choices which determine the outcome of the story. The story can move in any direction -- forward, backward, or along any of several different paths -- based on the readers' choices and mouse clicks. This gives the reader some interaction with and control over the way in which target vocabulary or grammar is presented. For example, the Collins Cobuild English Dictionary defines the word flight as: "an [airplane] that takes you on a particular journey." In a dynamic action maze, readers can miss their flight by choosing to chase a mysterious character, or catch the flight by letting the character escape -- or perhaps a particularly poor choice could even make the flight crash or explode!

Another technology whose increased use has coincided with the growth of the Internet is the language called "Javascript." HTML enables us to create pages which can be beautifully illustrated with images, but the contents of a given page cannot be altered of affected in any way by the reader. With Javascript the reader's input can be used to bring a greater level of interactivity. For the educator, for example, Javascript can be used to generate interactive tests and quizzes. Students can see the results of their quiz at the touch of a button. One excellent example of this technology (available for free) is Martin's Javascript Quiz Generator:

    "MARTIN'S JAVASCRIPT QUIZ GENERATOR is a program for authoring interactive quizzes for use on the World Wide Web. A teacher can author exercises which students can then access through the Web, using a standard Web browser. The quizzes are created using HTML and Javascript, but the user does not need any knowledge of these languages to create them."

Javscript quizzes can stand alone as simple tests of material covered in class, or can be interspersed among the decision-branches of an Action Maze to review new vocabulary.

Another key goal of this project is to present the use of some freeware and shareware resources, most of which can be obtained absolutely free on the Internet. These include images and image editors, multiple choice test generators, HTML editors, etc. A partial list of free resources is included as an appendix. One good example is Martin Holmes' "Evil Landlady" dynamic action maze, available for free download at the site listed in the free resources appendix.

So let's begin... click on the highlighted text to choose a subpage :

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