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Logging on |
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When you first register for or purchase Author Plus, you will
receive an email that includes a Login Name and a Password. Please
keep these safe as you will need them each time you wish to use the
program. |
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To log in, first go to www.ClarityEnglish.com.
In the top right hand corner there is a login panel. Type in your
Login Name and Password, and click Go. The screen will then highlight
only those programs that you have subscribed to. To get started with
Author Plus, click on the Author Plus panel. |
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If you are using the network version, look for the login details in the box. |
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Tutorial: Making your first Exercise |
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After logging in to Author Plus (see Logging
on) the first time, you will come to a screen with an empty
box headed Courses. Click Add, type your Course name and press
Enter. You will now be taken into that Course and will see a
screen with three empty boxes, headed Course, Units and
Exercises.
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First type in your Course name. Your Course might be based around a topic (The Family, Health and Safety), a group of learners (Module 101) or a learning objective (Grammar). To practise, type General Knowledge. Click Save. |
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Then create your Units. Click on the New button under the Units box. Type a name for your first Unit in the box that appears at the top of the Unit list. To create our example Unit, type Geography, and press Enter. The Geography Unit is now highlighted: this means that when you create Exercises they will go into this Unit. |
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Now click on the New button under the Exercises box. You will see a list of all the Exercise types you can choose from. Move your mouse down slowly over the list to see what each of these Exercise types does. Multiple Choice is checked, and for our example, click OK to make a Multiple Choice exercise. |
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You are now on the Settings screen. This lets you type a short name for the Exercise, and the instructions the learner will see. Click in the box under Menu name and type 'Capital cities of the world'. We will leave the instructions as they are. Click on the Image list and choose Places. |
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Click on the silver Content button to start typing the Exercise. Click on the Question box and type: 'What is the capital city of Italy?'. Click into the Options boxes below and type (one to each line): Madrid, Naples, Milan, Rome. Show that the answer Rome is correct by clicking in the little box at the right hand side so that a tick appears. Make sure no other ticks are shown. |
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Click the question number on to 2. Repeat the steps above with China. Then make question 3 with Chile - or any other country. |
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Now preview your Exercise by clicking on the Preview button at the top of the screen. You will see the Learner side, complete with the graphics you have chosen. If you want to, you can then come back to the Teacher side to complete the Exercise - or amend it. |
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Next steps: |
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Telling your learners how to access your Course |
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Exercise types |
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What does each Exercise do? |
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Multiple choice |
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Regular |
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This is the traditional Multiple Choice exercise that is used for tests and exam preparation and practice. The Teacher creates up to 99 questions consisting of one or more lines of text, with up to four different options per question. At least one of these options must be correct. The Teacher can add a hint and feedback to each question. |
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True / False type |
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In this Exercise the Teacher sets two possible answers, for example True/False, Past/Present, Possible/Impossible, Vertical/Horizontal, Traditional/Simplified, Masculine/Feminine - the possibilities are endless! The Teacher then sets up to 99 questions, each of which has one of the options as a correct answer. A hint and feedback can be attached to each question. |
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Dropdown |
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Question-based |
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Dropdown question-based enables the Teacher to create a multiple choice within a question-based activity. The Learner sees the sentences, each with a gap with a small triangle next to it. The Learner clicks on the triangle and a panel of options drops down below the line. When the Learner clicks on an option, it appears on the line, while the panel disappears. The Learner can therefore build up a complete text. The Teacher can attach a hint and feedback to each question. |
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Text-based |
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One of the disadvantages of Multiple Choice exercises is that the format of the exercise type means that it must be based around individual questions with the options underneath. The result is that the questions are generally not contextualised. Dropdown text-based enables the Teacher to create a multiple choice within a continuous text. The Learner sees the text with a number of gaps, each with a small triangle next to it. The Learner clicks on the triangle and a panel of options drops down below the line. When the Learner clicks on an option, it appears on the line, while the panel disappears. The Learner can therefore build up a complete text. The Teacher can attach a hint and feedback to each question. |
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Gapfill |
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Question-based |
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This is a traditional question-based Gapfill activity where one or more words are removed in up to 99 different sentences. These could be grammar or vocabulary items; they could be general knowledge. They could be the components of a machine or of the human body: the subject matter is entirely within the control of the Teacher. The Learner answers the questions by filling in the gaps. The Teacher can add a hint, feedback and alternative correct answers to each question. |
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Text-based |
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In the original Clozel exercise, the first and last sentences of a text of 250 words are left complete, and in the remainder of the text every fifth word is removed. In this version, the Teacher types or pastes in a text, and has complete control over which words are removed and which remain. Each question can be supplemented with a hint, feedback and alternative correct answers. |
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Drag and drop |
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Question-based |
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This is based on individual questions. In Drag and Drop question based, the Teacher creates up to 99 questions and removes a word, phrase or number from each question. When the Learner does the Exercise, the words that have been removed are represented by a line with a dot on top, and the words themselves are jumbled up in a non-scrolling bar at the top of the screen. The Learner has to drag each item down to the correct question. The Teacher can attach a hint, feedback and alternative correct answers to each question. |
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Text-based |
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In this Exercise, the Teacher types or pastes a text into the text box. The text could be a story, a historical account, a description of a system, a business letter or report - or any other piece of writing. Words, phrases, dates or facts of any kind can be removed from the text. When Learner see the text they have to reconstruct it by dragging the missing items to the correct place. The Teacher can add hints and feedback to each item removed. |
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Target Spotting |
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Question-based |
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This is a question-based exercise where the learner has to either find targets hidden in a sentence, or targets that are highlighted in order to learn something about them. |
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Text-based |
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This is an exercise where the learner has to either find targets hidden in a text, or has to click on targets that are highlighted in order to learn something about the target. |
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Proofreading |
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Finding mistakes |
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This is an exercise where the learner has to find mistakes in a text. The learner clicks on the mistake and is given feedback. It is a variation of target spotting, with the rubric and marking colour scheme changed appropriately. |
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Correcting mistakes |
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This is an exercise where the learner has to find mistakes in a text and type in the correct answer. Each answer can be supplemented with a hint, feedback and alternative correct answers. |
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Presentation |
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Question-based |
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This is a presentation where the Teacher can type or paste in numbered points. This could be an explanation, a descriptive text, a point from a textbook, statistics from a newsletter or a website. It can also be used for pronunciation exercises. |
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Text-based |
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This is a presentation or introduction screen where the Teacher can type or paste in a text. This could be an explanation, a descriptive text, an extract from a textbook, a newspaper article or a website. Excellent for initial input or final summary. |
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Text reconstruction |
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Text-based |
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The Teacher types or pastes in a text. When the learner sees it, each word is represented only as a line. Learners have to guess the words and build up the text. The more words they guess, the more use they can make of context to deduce the remaining words. The Exercise can be more valuable if the Learner is able to see the text before beginning. This can either be done by using the text in previous exercises, or by using the option to display the text before the Learner begins the Exercise. Some words are impossible to guess (eg many proper nouns and numbers). The teacher can specify that these should not be blanked out by selecting them and clicking on Display a word. |
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Reading comprehension |
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Multiple Choice |
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The Student reads a text on the left hand side of the screen. On the right hand side are Multiple Choice questions relating to the text. The student answers these questions with the help of (optional) hints, and receives (optional) feedback at the end of the Exercise. |
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Gapfill |
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The Student reads a text on the left hand side of the screen. On the right hand side are Gapfill questions relating to the text. The student answers these questions with the help of (optional) hints, and receives (optional) feedback at the end of the Exercise. |
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Dropdown |
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The Student reads a text on the left hand side of the screen. On the right hand side are Dropdown questions relating to the text. The student answers these questions with the help of (optional) hints, and receives (optional) feedback at the end of the Exercise. |
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How is my Course organised? |
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A Course contains Units, and each Unit contains one or more Exercises. At each stage of building up the Course, you decide on the naming and the content.
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When you are ready for the Learners to work on your Course, you forward them the Learner URL that you received in your initial registration email. When learners login they see the Course name at the top and the Units underneath. When they click on a Unit a menu of Exercises appears. They click on an Exercise to start it. When they have finished this Exercise they will be taken to the next Exercise in the same Unit. This keeps going until they have finished all Exercises in this Unit, at which point they come back to the menu. |
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Reordering units and exercises. |
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Moving an exercise from one unit to another. |
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