Hive parts and bee parts – flash resource

It is my first effort with this software so be kind!  Not sure where I can host it yet to give you the link!

Hive parts interactive quiz

Finding some of my grandchildren were fascinated by my foray into bee husbandry, I purchased the Bees in the Curriculum pack that was created originally by Sylvia Chamberlin and the HWBKA and is now sold by the BBKA.

With my background and knowing how some children just love to fiddle or not rely on text input I was going to use Hot Potatoes to make some interactive resources.  This is excellent software and their ethos – allowing teachers to use it for free if they make the resulting tasks freely available – is just a wonderful example to all creators of educational software.  See http://hotpot.uvic.ca/index.php#downloadsLanguage teachers seem to have made the software their own and the Yahoo support group http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hotpotatoesusers   does a wonderful job of helping new adopters.  This was available long before VLE’s but fits very well alongside them.

Coincidentally I received a message from RM and then located the website of the creators of a package called Fuse Creator which actually has some similarities but even more ptential.  As well as creating interactive pages of various types – drag and drop, gap fill are just two – these exercises can be strung together as a module.  A flow diagram determines the order in which they are presented and there are some great extras.  For example, you can associate results with a student so you have a record and also they strudent can receive feedback.  The branching of a sequence ( which one is done next) can be decided by setting a boundary mark for teh current one.  For example, if a student gets less than 5, say, they may have a simple version or an interim step but those who score more highly can fast track to a more advanced one.  Audio support and the makers own files mean that exercises can have a pertinence to the users not possible from purchased options.  These sequences lend themselves to being hosted on a VLE or converted to swf for standalone use.  Here is the link to the software information from the originators  http://www.lightbox-ed.com/product/fuse-creator/  There is a trial / demo and a free email training to help you on your way.

I just need to work out where I can host these files so you can try my first attempt.  Get the hive parts mostly right first time to see one additional exercise and then deliberately get them wrong to see the simpler option.

I could email them to anyone interested.