Practical Tips for Writing a Thesis

Yes, we all can use Word perfectly.
Or... Can we really?

Tasks:
1. Save the file Editing_Diploma_Thesis from http://prekladani.capsa.cz/

2. Read through the file. Add the structure, number the chapters wherever necessary, change the headlines’ styles and create the Contents (obsah).
3. Choose 10 keywords and create the Index (rejstřík).
4. Before the end of the lesson, sum up what you have learnt into the comment to this blog entry.

List of skills presented:

• creating Contents
• creating Index
• Ctrl+Enter for fixed page break
• "definice normostrany"
• Various ways of viewing the document (for reading, for print, multiple pages...)

TIPS FOR WORD IN CZECH:

Jak vytvořit obsah:

1. připravte strukturu práce
2. každé úrovni nadpisu přiděltekonkrétní styl
3. Menu Reference – Obsah – Vložit obsah

Jak vytvořit rejstřík:

1. Menu Reference – Vložit rejstřík - Označit
2. dvojklikem přímo v textu vyberte a klíčové slovo, v menu otevřeného dialogu vyberte „označit vše“ a pokračujte s dalšími slovy
3. Menu Reference – Vložit rejstřík - OK

Improving your website

Tasks for this week:

1. Web Home page
- create menu
- format the home page (columns, images, edit the text)

2. Web structure
- add a gallery page, prepare the table to put in images, description and audio
- add a HP page, informing about the target group, the topic, the list of target vocabulary, and including separate links to all three exercises.

3. Hot Potatoes
- create a matching exercise, a multiple choice and a gap fill.
- link them together (see the instructions below)
- put them online


TIPS

 This is the suggested order of HP exercises (Can you guess why?):

1. Matching
- 10 items (target vocabulary)
- if using pictures, set the same height for all of them  (e.g. 100 pixels)
- find out how to set the timer, shuffle questions, show a limited number of questions

2. Multiple choice
- 10 questions
- 4 distractors (no mistakes!)
- use sentences, not isolated words
- feedback - additional information, input

3. Gap fill
- 10 gaps
- context (e.g. a story)
- choose the gaps wisely  :)

Tips:
+ Create feedback which is interesting and informative; do not hesistate to include facts from our real life.
+ Do not skip determiners, e.g. articles:)
+ do not hesitate to include images, links, or audio!


HP exercises can be interonnected using the menu Configure - Buttons.
Suggested course of actions:

1. Create HP matching exercise Ex1. Connect it to the index.html. Make sure you have all the files, including images, in the same folder as the exercise. Save, export.
2. Create a HP multiple choice exercise Ex2.Connect it to the index.html. Carefully fill in the feedback! Save, export.
3. Create a HP gap fill exercise Ex3. Connect it to the index.html and Ex1.html. Save, export.
4. Connect Ex1 to Ex2, and Ex2 to Ex3. Save, export.
5. Open your index.html in NVU. Add links to all three HotPot exercises. Save.
6. Upload all files (index.html, Ex1.html, Ex2.html, Ex3.html, all images) to the web.



Do not forget:
+ No diacritics, no spaces in filenames.
+ Save everything you want to put online into a single folder. No subfolders.
+ Regularly save your changes.

Audio

Audio material is regularly used when teachng speaking and listening in foreign languages. Therefore the teachers and the students should be able to edit and modify audio as well as texts.
Probably the bet freeware available for editing sound is called AUDACITY.




Audacity Basics - you should be able to
- install Audacity and the lame library which enables export to mp3
- open a file in Audacity
- edit the file: cut and paste, fade in/out, change speed, delete, add silence
- create a new file
- combine two files (e.g. speech + background music)
- inserting silence (e.g. as a space for an answer)
- changing the speed or pitch (carefully!)

TASK 1
1. Listen to the story of a toddler falling into a gorilla cage at Youtube.
Download two files from Capsa: WTF_ Toddler Falls in Gorilla Cage.mp3 and Gorilla sounds.mp3. Combine them, in order to make a thrilling report on the event, max 70 seconds long.
If you feel like it, find more sounds (e.g. crowd cheering, Zoo animals sounds etc.).
Upload the story with an appropriate illustration to your web.

You can use Free YouTube to MP3 Converter to get audio from youtube easily.


TASK 2
2. What does the word "podcast" mean? Go to Podomatic, create an account and browse the site. How can we use it in teaching English?

Good examples - Teacher Luke at Podomatic, Splendid Speaking for advances learners


HOMEWORK
1. Record comments to the 12 images in your gallery (1 minute max., save in wav file)
2. Edit the recording in Audacity, add background music, cut out noises etc.
3. Export the wav to mp3
4. Upload the mp3 to your website

REMEMBER - before editing, create a backup copy of the original!

Examples of galleries with audio comments created by your colleagues:

http://www.dzblecht.wz.cz/My%20home%20town.html
http://skipit.wz.cz/galerie.html
http://vvalova.wz.cz/gallery.html
http://romankalecky.wz.cz/gallery.html
http://www.springday.euweb.cz/fotogalerie.html
http://personalpage.unas.cz/Personalgallery.html

Editing Images - Photoshop and Gimp

The basic skills you should master:


1. Compressing, saving in various formats (with different extensions) and size
2. Crop (ořez)
3. Changing brightness, sharpness, hue and other basic features
4. Making a part of the image transparent

Tasks:
1. Open your image in Photoshop. Work with Crop first (C). Remember - the main part of the image should be taken by the main object (or idea, or situation)
2.  Use LEVELS to set the Lightning (Photoshop: Ctrl+L, or Obraz - přizpůsobení; Menu in Gimp: Enhance - Adjust Lightning - Levels)
3. Adjust sharpness. play with blur :)
4. Working with layers and masks in Photoshop:

Open the image
Duplicate the layer (Ctrl+J)
Choose the type of layers combination (Měkké světlo, závoj...)
Přidejte masku vrstvy (možnosti - odkrýt vše nebo skrýt vše)
Malujeme do masky!


5. Use GIMP: Find two images and combine them into one, applying transparency (e.g. Donald Duck walking through Usti nad Labem :) )
6. Advanced: Try to do the same in Photoshop: make a collage of two photos!
tutorial in Czech


TIPS
How to make things transparent in GIMP:
Layers – Transparency – Add alpha channel
Choose the background using the magic wand.
The simplest method is to use Edit → Clear

You can also test transparency in Word - add the image into text and choose Formát obrázku - pozice - před textem.

How to make things transparent in Photoshop:
New Image - Background transparent
Import the image into a new layer
Magic wand - choose parts which should be transparent
Layer - Mask - Hide the choice (Vrstvy - maska - skrýt výběr)


Want a top quality image legally?
Visit Getty.



HOMEWORK:
Prepare 10 images which you will use in your vocabulary teaching HotPot project. Keep them in the original size + make the same set in web version (max size 40kb per image).


More information on image formats (in Czech) - HERE
How to make a good photography?

Roman Pihan - a whole web on photography, including tutorials, tips and galleries
Ondřej Neff - practiacal tips for all

Jednoduše na kompozici

GIMP online help (in English)

Your brand new website!

Let's summarise everything we have done and learnt so far, and put together a fantastic web site!

What do we need?
1. index.html file - created in NVU
2. registration at webzdarma.cz

3. texts (to be developed)
4. images
5. Hot potatoes files
6. Everything else you want to put online


Choose your own speaking avatar and put it into the homepage!
http://www.voki.com/


COMPULSORY TASKS 
1. Register at Webzdarma
2. Upload your index file
3. The index will contain:
- link to your blog
- at least one of the photos you made in the previous lesson
- a speaking avatar
- links to your hotpot files




TIPS

You can get some inspiration in the professional sites - any newspaper is a good choice, or BBC http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/, or many others. Keep the content in mind, and be creative :)

1. Draw the structure of your future web on a sheet of paper. Check the credit requirements  to get an idea what the compulsory parts are.

2. Open Notepad (Poznamkovy blok) and write the text you would like to publish in your site. Start with the content of the index page - the first page the user will see. Keep the Internet Safety Rules in mind – do not publish your personal data (the date of birth, phone number, credit card numbers …)

3. Open the WYSIWYG web editor New View (nvu.exe) and explore the possibilities of the software.
Above all, learn how to:
- modify colours
- insert images
- organise the page content using frames (tables)
- insert links into text and images
Of course there are more elegant ways of editing, but our main aim is to understand the principles of web creation. If you are safe in this field, feel free to apply your creativity and do more!

Learn more about web colours here - BARVY WEBU

4. Start new web at webzdarma.cz and upload your files (index.html, images...)

5. Publish the URL of your new web as a comment to this blog. :)


How to avoid troubles with image owners

How to write WEB? Easy and fast info