One of the main challenges in learning English language is reading comprehension. Reading comprehension requires concentration also, and many times students react negatively when their teacher tells them that they are going to do a reading activity.
To face these challenges, combining traditional approaches to learn reading comprehension with technological tools. Indeed, incorporating technology in reading courses can constitute a suitable way to motivate students to read and foster their autonomy as well as empowering language teachers to produce their own customized didactic materials.
Authoring tools are programs that allow users to create interactive materials that can be uploaded to web pages and used in computer labs. These activities can also be used offline. In connection with this, the authoring tool called “Hot Potatoes” is, in the authors’ opinion, a valuable teaching resource because of its user friendly capabilities, didactic possibilities, and compatibility with various operating systems such as Windows (for which there is a specific installer) and Mac and Linux by downloading Java Hot Potatoes and running it on Java Virtual Machine.
Hot Potatoes consists of 7 programs that can be used to make practice questions, namely:
JQuiz: Program for compiling multiple choice training materials.
JMix: Program for making exercises to compose sentences.
JCross: Program for compiling material in the form of crosswords.
JMatch: A program for making exercises with match making models.
JCloze: Program for structuring exercises in essay forms.
The Masher: This program creates units by combining different exercises developed with some or all of the previously described programs. This program also adds the necessary hyperlinks to connect all the activities, and it also creates a unit menu on the first page of a unit.
One of them that emphasizes in reading skill is JCloze. In JCloze, the program is suitable for creating cloze and fill-in-the-blank exercises. The blanks generated by this program can also be substituted for a dropdown menu with all the options that students are expected to enter, or users can insert a word blank to help students complete any given activity. In JCloze also there is timer to manage the students while in reading section. It means that in JCloze can develop the ability of students to understand what the text is, in fun way.
This application program is very easy to use you can try it by downloading the application first at https://hotpot.uvic.ca/
I had made JCloze activity. Jcloze (gap-fill exercises) is a program for arranging exercises in the form of "overlapping essays" (fill in the blanks exercise). Here are examples of exercises that I made:
Or you can watch in youtube how to use JCloze. Here link that you can watch https://youtu.be/P63djcH0SJ8
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