Organising Course modules

A Course module should contain all the materials for a single lesson. When creating Course modules consisting of a collection of related HTML web pages, sounds and pictures, it is best to bundle all these files into a single folder (it is recommended that you use the name of the Course module as the name of the folder). This greatly simplifies the production of pages since there are then no path issues to worry about (ie. compared to storing different things in different folders).

For example, when entering a link to a HTML web page called 'theatre.htm', you just need to enter that name rather than, say, '/chapter1/city/theatre.htm'. If you ever need to change the arrangement of links in your pages, all hyperlinks will still work.

Storing everything in a single folder also means that your Course module can be compiled properly by the Professional Edition of JWM into a single, copyrightable file. Thus, if you are currently building Course modules using the Standard or Classroom Editions of JWM, when you cross-grade to the Professional Edition you can immediately compile all the Course modules you have created.

Note: The ability to compile Course modules in the Professional Edition is not yet implemented, but is coming soon.

A great thing about Course modules is that when a student opens a Course module, they are presented with a cut-down version of the HTML web page viewer (see Figure 1 below). In Course module viewer mode, a number of buttons are removed from the top of the Browser dialog including the buttons to reload the page, open HTML web page documents, view HTML source code and move to next or previous pages. A new button, called the Tally score button, is also displayed which allows the student to tally any page containing a multiple choice list.

Figure 1. An open Course module

This change in the Brower dialog ensures the student can only navigate around your Course module using links you provide. This gives you much better control in presenting your material to the student in the way you want it presented (this is especially important when you include multiple choice exercises, or want to present linear stories). Generic browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, simply do not have the extended capabilities available in Japanese WordMage.