multimedia system for testing students in the disc...

Below is a general, step-by-step guide to creating a simple interactive multimedia testing system for a course such as “Fundamentals of Scientific Research” using Macromedia Authorware. Authorware uses a flowline metaphor, so all functionality is visually arranged on a flowline of icons. Each icon type (Display, Interaction, Calculation, Decision, Framework, etc.) serves a specific purpose. If you have an existing example, these steps can help you adapt what you see in the sample into a new project.

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1. Set Up Your Project

1. Install and Open Macromedia Authorware

   • Launch the application.
   • From the File menu, select New to start a new Authorware file.

2. Familiarize Yourself with the Authorware Interface

   • Flowline: This is the central workspace, where you place icons in a sequence to represent the flow of your lesson or test.
   • Icon Palette: This typically includes various icons (Display, Interaction, Decision, etc.). You drag and drop these onto the flowline.
   • Properties Window: When you click an icon in the flowline, you can see/edit the icon’s properties (such as text, graphics, interactivity, etc.).

3. Plan the Structure

   • Before creating the actual content, outline your testing system. Think about the screens or modules you need:
     • Introduction/Welcome Screen
     • Instructions
     • Test Sections (for example, a multiple-choice section, true-false section, or open-ended questions)
     • Summary/Results

   A clear structure will keep you organized as you start placing icons on the flowline.

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2. Create Introductory Material

1. Display Icon: Welcome Screen

   • Drag a Display icon from the Icon Palette to the Flowline.
   • Double-click the Display icon. A window opens where you can add text and/or graphics.
   • Insert text for a welcome message or course overview.
   • You can also add images or shapes. Go to Insert > Media (depending on your version) to import images.

2. Interaction Icon: “Start Test” Button

   • After the welcome Display icon, add an Interaction icon on the Flowline.
   • An Interaction icon allows the user to respond or click something.
   • In the Interaction icon, create a button labeled “Start Test” (or “Begin”).
   • Go to Insert > Button (or use the button creation tools in the Interaction icon window), and then configure the button’s properties.
   • Choose the Next navigation action so that when the user clicks “Start Test,” Authorware proceeds to the next icon.

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3. Build the Test Content

Option A: Manual Creation with Interaction Icons

1. Create a Question Screen

   • Add a Display icon labeled “Question 1.”
   • In the Display icon, type the question text, or use text boxes to format it clearly.

2. Add an Interaction for the Answers

   • Right after that Display icon, add an Interaction icon labeled “Question 1 Answers.”
   • In the Interaction icon, choose the type of response you want:
     • Multiple Choice: You can create multiple choice buttons or radio buttons.
     • True/False: Similar to multiple choice but with just two options.
     • Open-Ended: A text input field.
   • For multiple choice or true/false:
     • Click Insert > Button (or Radio Buttons) inside the Interaction window.
     • Label each button with an answer choice (A, B, C, D, or True/False).
   • Set up the correct response if you want immediate feedback or scoring. You can do that via:
     • An If statement in the Interaction’s Response tab (for example, If Answer = "B" Then Correct).
     • Or using the built-in Answer property in the Interaction’s settings.

3. Provide Feedback (Optional)

   • If you want learners to receive immediate feedback (correct/incorrect), add a Calculation icon or a Display icon after the Interaction icon:
     • Calculation icon can increment a score variable or store that the user got the question correct/incorrect.
     • A Display icon could say “That’s correct!” or “Incorrect. The right answer is … .”

4. Repeat for Additional Questions

   • For each question, replicate the pattern of Display + Interaction icons.
   • Keep track of the user’s score in a variable (e.g., Score), which you can update after each interaction using Calculation icons.

Option B: Using Authorware’s Built-in Knowledge Objects (Quizzes)

1. Drag a Knowledge Object
   • Some versions of Authorware offer “Knowledge Objects” specifically for quizzes.
   • Go to Insert > Knowledge Object (or similar, depending on version).
   • Choose “Quiz” or “Question” objects.
2. Configure the Quiz
   • Follow the wizard-like interface to add your questions and set correct answers, scoring, and feedback.
   • The wizard can automate a lot of the layout, scoreboard tracking, and final results display.
3. Edit and Customize
   • Once placed, you can edit question text, the number of attempts, feedback text, etc.
   • The Knowledge Object icons will appear in your flowline; you can open them to further modify the design and logic.

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4. Scoring and Feedback

1. Create a Score Variable

   • At the beginning of the flowline, add a Calculation icon labeled “Initialize Score.”
   • Inside it, type something like Score := 0, which sets the initial score to zero.

2. Increment Score

   • After each correct answer, insert a Calculation icon to increase the score. For example:

     Score := Score + 1
     

   • If using Knowledge Objects, Authorware can handle this automatically.

3. Final Results Screen

   • At the end of your test, add a Display icon labeled “Results.”
   • Insert text that references the Score variable and possibly the total number of questions.
   • Example: “You scored [Score] out of 10!”
   • Note: The syntax to display a variable in text might be ^Score^ or @[Score], depending on your Authorware version.

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5. Navigation and Flow Control

1. Decision Icons

   • If you want to branch users to different sections based on their performance or choices, use a Decision icon.
   • In the Decision icon, you can write logic like:

     text
     If Score >= 5 then  
        go to “Advanced Section”  
     Else  
        go to “Review Section”  

   • You can then connect those branches on the flowline as separate threads.

2. Menu or Table of Contents

   • If you want a menu for the user to pick topics or test sections, create a Display icon with navigation buttons (Interaction icons with button objects).
   • Link each button to a different segment of the flowline.

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6. Enhancing Multimedia Elements

1. Add Images or Graphics

   • In any Display or Interaction icon, choose Insert > Media (or “Insert > Graphic”) to place images.
   • You can resize and position them within the icon’s window.

2. Add Audio/Video

   • Insert a Media icon or import video/audio as part of a Display or Interaction icon (depending on the version).
   • Make sure the files are in formats supported by your version of Authorware (e.g., .wav for audio, .avi/.mov for video).

3. Animations (Optional)

   • You can create simple animations using Motion icons, or by using timers in a Display icon. This is more advanced and depends on your design goals.

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7. Testing and Debugging

1. Preview the Flow

   • Use Control > Play or a similar menu option to run through your flowline from the start.
   • Check each question to ensure it behaves as intended (correct answer increments the score, etc.).

2. Debug Common Issues

   • Variables not updating? Check your Calculation icons.
   • Buttons not working? Make sure the Interaction icon’s event properties (e.g., “Button Click”) are set properly and that it flows to the correct next icon.
   • Check for hidden branching in the Flowline that might skip certain screens.

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8. Packaging and Deployment

1. Publish / Packaged File

   • Go to File > Publish (or File > Package) to compile your Authorware piece into an executable or a runtime that can be distributed.
   • Depending on the version, you can create either a standalone projector (EXE) or an Authorware runtime file (A7R, etc.).

2. Test on Another Computer

   • Move the published file(s) to another machine to see if everything works correctly. Ensure you include any external media files (images, videos, etc.) in the same folder if needed.

3. Documentation

   • Provide a readme or short instructions for the user on how to navigate the test, what the test covers, and how to exit.

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9. Maintenance and Future Updates

1. Keep a Master Copy
   • Always keep your original Authorware source file (.a## extension, e.g., .a7p or .a6p) in a safe location.
2. Collect Feedback
   • If your students use the test, collect feedback. Did they find any parts confusing or unresponsive? Did they suggest any new content?
3. Iterate
   • Update the questions, or add new sections as needed. Republish or repackage for distribution.

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Key Tips for a Smooth Workflow

• Save Often: Authorware projects can get large quickly, so save frequently.
• Use Meaningful Icon Labels: Rename your icons on the flowline to reflect what they do (“Intro Screen,” “Q1 Display,” “Q1 Interaction,” etc.). This will help you keep track of everything.
• Keep a Consistent Design: Use similar fonts, button styles, and layout across all question screens for a professional look.
• Prototype and Test: It’s often easier to create a few questions and test them thoroughly before building a large test bank of 20 or 30 questions.

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Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to create a basic (and expandable) testing module in Macromedia Authorware. The core concepts are the flowline’s sequence of icons, using Display icons for text/visual content, Interaction icons for questions, and Calculation icons to handle scoring. For bigger, more complex projects, consider using Knowledge Objects to speed up quiz creation and manage score tracking automatically.

If you have additional details (like question banks or special content types), you can adapt the steps above as needed—just keep your flowline organized and test frequently to ensure a smooth user experience.

Yes, Macromedia Authorware has a built-in scripting language, often referred to as Authorware script or AW Script, which you can use to add functionality beyond the visual flowline. This scripting language allows you to handle more complex logic, interactivity, scoring, and other features that can't be easily achieved using just the flowline icons.

Here’s an example of how you can use code (AW Script) in Macromedia Authorware to build a more dynamic testing system, handling scoring, decision making, and interactions with more control.

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Steps for Coded Methods in Authorware

1. Initialize Variables (Scoring, Timers, etc.)

At the start of your project, you'll want to initialize variables like score or any other values that need to be tracked across the entire test.

1. Add a Calculation Icon to the flowline, and set the initial values for the score and any other global variables:

   • AW Script:

   plaintext
   Score := 0;   // Initialize score
   TotalQuestions := 5;  // Total number of questions

   This script assigns a starting score of 0 and sets the total number of questions to 5 (adjust as needed).

2. Track User's Responses

For each question, you will need to track whether the answer is correct. You can use Interaction icons to gather responses and then use AW Script to check if the answer is correct.

1. Add an Interaction Icon for the question, and add the buttons or radio buttons for possible answers.
2. Then, use a Calculation Icon to check whether the answer is correct.

Example for a multiple-choice question:

• AW Script:

  plaintext
  If Answer = "B" then
      Score := Score + 1;  // Increment score for correct answer
      Feedback := "Correct!";
  Else
      Feedback := "Incorrect. The correct answer is B.";

This script checks if the selected answer is "B" and increments the score accordingly. It also provides feedback to the user.

3. Show Feedback

After each question, you can display a feedback message to the user. You can achieve this by adding a Display Icon that shows the feedback text and then moves to the next question.

1. Add a Display Icon after the calculation icon that will show the feedback.
2. Inside this Display icon, use AW Script to output the feedback.

Example:

• AW Script:

  plaintext
  Text := Feedback;   // Show the feedback message

The Text variable will display whatever is in the Feedback variable (i.e., "Correct!" or "Incorrect...").

4. Navigation to Next Question

You may want to control the flow of the test based on the user's responses or actions. For example, after answering each question, you may want to automatically move to the next one.

1. Use a Decision Icon to branch based on certain conditions, such as whether the user has completed all the questions.
2. AW Script to check if all questions have been answered:

   plaintext
   If QuestionNumber < TotalQuestions then
       GoTo NextQuestion;  // Continue to the next question
   Else
       GoTo ResultsScreen;  // Show results at the end

This script checks if the current question number is less than the total number of questions, and if so, it moves to the next question. Otherwise, it moves to the results screen.

5. Display Final Results

After the last question, you can calculate and display the user’s final score.

1. Add a Final Calculation Icon to calculate the final score percentage:

   plaintext
   FinalScore := (Score / TotalQuestions) * 100;

2. Display the Final Score in a Display Icon:

   plaintext
   FinalText := "Your final score is " + FinalScore + "%";

This will output the final score as a percentage.

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Example Code Flow for a Simple Test

Here’s how the logic might flow in code:

1. Initialize:

   plaintext
   Score := 0;
   TotalQuestions := 5;
   QuestionNumber := 1;

2. First Question:

   plaintext
   If Answer = "A" then
       Score := Score + 1;

3. Feedback:

   plaintext
   Text := Feedback; // Show "Correct!" or "Incorrect"

4. Next Question Decision:

   plaintext
   If QuestionNumber < TotalQuestions then
       QuestionNumber := QuestionNumber + 1;
       GoTo NextQuestion;
   Else
       GoTo ResultsScreen;

5. Final Score:

   plaintext
   FinalScore := (Score / TotalQuestions) * 100;
   FinalText := "Your final score is " + FinalScore + "%";

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Key AW Script Concepts for a Testing System

1. Variables: These are used to store information like scores, question numbers, and feedback messages.
2. If/Else Statements: These are crucial for branching logic (e.g., checking if the answer is correct or determining whether to continue to the next question).
3. User Inputs: Using Interaction icons, you capture the user’s answers and respond based on the input.
4. Flow Control: Use GoTo statements to move through your flowline. You can use this to move to the next question or show the final results.
5. Calculation Icons: These icons run scripts to update variables, calculate scores, or perform other calculations.

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Adding Randomization or Timers (Optional)

If you want to randomize questions or add timers:

1. Random Question Order: You can use the Random() function to shuffle questions. For example:

   plaintext
   RandomQuestion := Random(5) + 1; // Randomly selects a question from 1 to 5

2. Timers: If you want to limit the time for each question, use the Timer icon combined with a script. For example:

   plaintext
   Timer := 30; // Set a timer for 30 seconds

You can decrease the timer with each second and check when the time is up to automatically move to the next question.

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Conclusion

By incorporating AW Script into your Authorware project, you gain greater control over the test’s behavior, such as dynamically calculating scores, providing feedback, and managing flow and navigation. You can integrate it directly into the flowline and customize each aspect of the test, making it interactive and responsive to the user's actions.

Would you like any specific code examples or further guidance on a particular section of your project?