{START}{QUIZ
Quiz=demonstration}
{SECTION}
This tutorial shows
you how wtutor can deliver simple
interactive tutorials over the Web.
With wtutor you can
In this tutorial you
will learn
In addition, this
tutorial is an example of wtutor!
Click on [OK] to
continue.
{SECTION}
wtutor has four main components:
·
The wtutor program, which must be installed
on the Web Server that delivers your web pages.
·
The tutorial
itself, which must be stored in HTML format.
·
A quiz script
file containing the quiz questions to be asked in the tutorial.
·
The qedit program, which is a free Windows
program that can be used to simplify the creation of quiz script files.
A wtutor tutorial is just an HTML file
containing embedded wtutor
commands that is delivered from a web server by the wtutor program. The wtutor program delivers the tutorial in
individual sections where each section ends with an [OK] button, or ends (like this
one) with a quiz question. The quiz
questions themselves are stored in a separate file, also on the web server and
accessible to wtutor. The quiz questions are stored in a very
simple format in a text file, but to make authoring quiz question simple there
is a Windows program called qedit
that helps you build and test quiz questions outside tutorials.
{ASK
Number=1}{SECTION}
wtutor is available in source form and also as an
executable program for Windows computers.
You may need to get your system manager to install it; tell him (or her)
it’s a “CGI program” written in ‘C’. qedit can be just be downloaded to run
on any Windows computer. Downloading
and installation instructions can be found at the wtutor web site at http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/wtutor/.
Think out what
sections you will need in your tutorial.
In what order will you present the information? What concrete questions might you ask to
check that the student has understood the material? You may need to structure the teaching material around the
questions rather than vice versa. What
are the learning objectives for your tutorial?
How can you make your tutorial interesting enough for a student to
bother with?
Use the qedit program to create some quiz
questions. These will be things like
multiple choice questions, or choosing N from M questions, or questions that
ask you to type in a word. Don’t worry
at this point about the order they will be used, or whether you need all of
them. The qedit program allows you to test out the quiz questions on
yourself, so you can see if they make sense.
Here are examples of
the three main types of question. Note
that you can’t proceed further in the tutorial until you attempt to answer
these questions. Sorry!
{ASK
Number=2a,Number=2b,Number=2c}{SECTION}
While you must attempt
the questions, you don’t need to get the questions right. You’ll get a score at the end of the
tutorial.
You can write your
tutorial using any word processor capable of creating HTML formatted
documents. Microsoft Word can do this –
just choose HTML format when you save the file. Within the file you embed wtutor
control commands. The commands allow wtutor to determine the different
sections of the tutorial, to identify the quiz file to use for questions, to
select which questions to ask, and so on.
Here are some examples of wtutor
commands:
{START} |
Indicates the start
of the tutorial. Text above this line
is included at the top of every section. |
{QUIZ Quiz=demonstration} |
Indicates that the
‘demonstration’ quiz is the source of questions for the tutorial. |
{SECTION} |
Indicates a section
break. |
{ASK Number=1a,Number=1b} |
Asks questions 1a
and 1b from the selected quiz. |
{NOTES} |
Inserts a “notes
box” like the one below. |
{END} |
Ends the tutorial. |
The NOTES command
tells wtutor to include a text box
at this point where the user can type his/her own notes. These notes are kept until the student
reaches the end of the tutorial and can then be printed out. Type some comments about what you’ve seen so
far, you’ll find the system remembers them.
{NOTES}
{ENDSECTION Prompt='Next
Section'}
{SECTION}
When wtutor is installed, a base directory
can be specified which then restricts all tutorials to specific locations
within the web server filespace. For
example, all tutorials might be kept within a web directory
“/wbt/tutorial”. You might then create
subdirectories based on subjects or authors.
Copy your tutorial to the correct directory on the web server. It is usually convenient to store the HTML
file containing the tutorial and the quiz file in the same directory. If your tutorial uses graphics or sound
files, remember to copy those too.
You can then try out
your tutorial in the same way that a student would see it. To do this start your web browser and supply
the relative address of your tutorial.
For example, if your machine is called “server”, and the tutorial is
saved in a file called “mytutorial.htm” in the default wtutor directory, you might use the URL:
http://server/cgi-bin/wtutor?tutorial=mytutorial
wtutor will then display your tutorial section by
section, asking questions and evaluating responses. Test out all the sections and
all the questions in your tutorial.
Enter the correct answers and also some incorrect answers to check that
the explanatory text is useful and relevant.
Also ask some typical users to try your tutorial and give you some
feedback.
On the basis of your
testing and evaluation, refine the text of the tutorial, the quiz questions and
the answers. When you are done, make a
link to the tutorial from your main web site pages and advertise its availability.
{SECTION}
The wtutor home page at http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/wtutor
has all you need to start writing your own tutorials.
From the wtutor home page you can:
·
download the ‘C’
source code to wtutor
·
download the qedit program for question authoring
·
read
documentation on how to write tutorials and quizzes
·
try out example
tutorials
·
download example
quizzes
Good luck with your
tutorials!
If you have any
comments about wtutor, or you want
to report faults, please e-mail SFS@phon.ucl.ac.uk.
Please note that this software is unsupported and comes without warranty. You use it at your own risk.
{SECTION}
This is the end of the
tutorial. You answered {nanswer} questions. You got a
score of {nscore} out of a possible {ntotal} or {npercent}% right. Well done!
You can stop here if you like, but
if you want to see the whole tutorial click on [Complete Tutorial]. This will
show you all the text of the tutorial, your notes and the answers you gave to
the questions. This is useful if you
want to print out or save the whole tutorial.
Goodbye!
{END}
wtutor Demonstration tutorial © 2003 Mark Huckvale
University College London