Webwiz: creating online multimedia tasks the easy way Presentation by Matthew Absalom at AFMLTA conference in Sydney 2009

1. Using WebWiz
Introduction
WebWiz is an integrated solution for creating online tasks which embed multimedia
objects (audio or video). It has been developed by The University of Melbourne. The
system comprises:
• An archive of media objects and metadata;
• A user database;
• A lesson management and distribution mechanism;
• A web portal; and
• An authoring application.
WebWiz is simple and intuitive, yet highly flexible. It can be used to create activities
suitable for any level of education. Lessons are created as individual webpages which
can then be linked to from school intranets and class pages.
In this guide, you will find all the information necessary to get you started.
If you have any questions, problems, queries or suggestions, please contact me via
email at mabsalom@unimelb.edu.au
Getting started
1. Registration
The first step to using WebWiz is to register. To do this, go to
webwiz.arts.unimelb.edu.au and click on Registration (see below) – if you already
have a Username and Password, please ignore this step and go straight to 2.
© Matthew Absalom 1 Version 1, 2009

2. Once you have clicked Registration, you will be taken to the following screen:
You simply fill in your details and click the Register Now button. Once your
application has been processed you will receive an email with your login credentials.
2. Logging in
In order to begin using the WebWiz system you need to download AuthorWiz to your
computer. Go to webwiz.arts.unimelb.edu.au and click on Login:
© Matthew Absalom 2 Version 1, 2009

3. Once you have clicked Login, you will be taken to the following window where you
enter your Username and Password.
Once logged in, you will see the WebWiz portal:
© Matthew Absalom 3 Version 1, 2009

4. By clicking, Get AuthorWiz, you will be taken to the following page where you
choose the appropriate version of AuthorWiz for your computer:
By downloading AuthorWiz you are agreeing that your use will be for educational
purposes. You will need to find out for yourself whether copyright restrictions apply
to the material you may wish to use.
Some school networks will limit your access to the Internet so you may need to refer
to your IT technicians to ascertain whether AuthorWiz will work in your context. If it
does not work at school, you will probably have no difficulties using it at home…
© Matthew Absalom 4 Version 1, 2009

5. Using AuthorWiz
1. First use
Once you have installed AuthorWiz and launched the application, you should see this
window:
You once again need to login. Note that this time you use your WebWiz Username
and the email address you used to register with – you don’t need your password at
this point.
By clicking the Login button in the bottom right-hand corner, a small window will
appear with 3 tabs along the top: Registration, Saving Lessons and Interface Colour.
Input your login and email address BEFORE you press Save, click on the Saving
Lessons tab to check where your lessons will be saved on your computer. Also, note
that you can choose to display your name and email address on pages by clicking the
two boxes at the bottom of this window. Make your choices (or just leave as is) and,
again, BEFORE you click Save, click on the Interface Colour tab if you wish to
change the way AuthorWiz looks:
Now click Save and the following window should appear:
© Matthew Absalom 5 Version 1, 2009

6. Now click Go and you are ready to begin!
2. Creating a lesson using the database
Once you’ve clicked Go, the following window will appear:
© Matthew Absalom 6 Version 1, 2009

7. The first step in creating a lesson using the database is to explore what files already in
the database may serve your purpose. The easiest way to do this, is to click the Media
tab up the top of the window:
Now you need to select the language. This will show you what categories of
multimedia files are available:
© Matthew Absalom 7 Version 1, 2009

8. You now choose from those categories and a list of objects appear, with their
descriptions:
To choose one of these files for your exercise, you simply click on it. A new window
will open which automatically plays the file:
© Matthew Absalom 8 Version 1, 2009

9. Editing media
You can now choose to edit the file by clicking Edit Selected Media. Once you do this
the Media Editor will pop up and draw a waveform of the file:
Editing a file is very simple. You simply listen to it and select the parts which you
require. Once you’ve done this you select Crop to delete what you don’t want:
The Media Editor will then redraw the waveform of the cropped section:
© Matthew Absalom 9 Version 1, 2009

10. You can do a number of things with the file at this point:
• Alter the speed by using the speed slider
• Make the file automatically repeat by selecting Loop
• Copy sections and insert them (for instance, you might like the same sentence
to be repeated 3 times…)
• Insert text pops up at a given moment by using the options from the Marker
menu at the top of the screen
• Insert a pause by selecting this from the Media menu at the top of the screen
Once you are satisfied with your file, you must click Upload or you will lose all your
changes. IMPORTANT: you must RENAME the file at this point, otherwise it will
save over the top of the original file.
You must complete all fields on the left as well as altering the pull-down options on
the right as appropriate. The click Upload – at this point you will need to use your
Password to access the database and save your file.
Once the upload is complete Authorwiz will ask you if you wish to save a local copy
of the file – I usually do this by clicking Ok:
AuthorWiz will then ask you if you wish to use this file for your lesson:
Once you’ve clicked ok, you are ready to begin creating your lesson.
© Matthew Absalom 10 Version 1, 2009

11. Creating your lesson
Authorwiz will take you back to the main screen and will open the Selected Media
window with your newly uploaded file:
From here, click the Start tab and return to the first window:
Type in the name of your lesson in Title and a brief description in Introduction, if
desired. Then click Elements.
© Matthew Absalom 11 Version 1, 2009

12. From the Elements window you choose which activities you wish to include in your
lesson:
Each ticked element has a corresponding tab along the top of the window. Clearly,
you won’t want to use everything. Since you have just edited your media object, you
will need to leave that ticked. As you un-tick things, their tabs will disappear:
© Matthew Absalom 12 Version 1, 2009

13. Once you’ve decided on the Elements in your lesson, you can go to each tab and fill in
the details. Each tab starts with an Intro where you must complete both the title of the
exercise and provide instructions:
Once you’ve done this you can complete the exercise. In this case I am using a block
of text which I can annotate. You click the Text Entry tab and input your text (you can
cut and paste it from another document, or type it in directly). You can then annotate
it if you like. Annotated text has a pop-up description in the final exercise.
© Matthew Absalom 13 Version 1, 2009

14. Once you’ve completed all of your exercises, you go to the Finish tab (Note: by
clicking the Next button, AuthorWiz will take you through your exercise to the Finish
tab).
At this point you must set a title for your lesson. You then set/edit the file name by
replacing the text before .html in the second field. BEFORE clicking Save you can
change the lesson colours by clicking on the Colours tab.
© Matthew Absalom 14 Version 1, 2009

15. Once you’ve saved your lesson you can preview it by clicking View (notice that the
annotated text is a different colour):
If you are happy with your lesson, the final step is to upload it by clicking Upload.
You will again be asked for your WebWiz password.
© Matthew Absalom 15 Version 1, 2009

16. A final screen will confirm that your lesson has been uploaded:
To make the lesson available to your students, you now go to WebWiz by clicking the
WebWiz button. Your browser should automatically appear and open the WebWiz
home page. Login and from the portal, choose Online Lessons:
© Matthew Absalom 16 Version 1, 2009

17. Once your list of lessons has opened, scroll down to the last one you uploaded. As
you look across the page, you will find the URL (web address) to the lesson. You will
need to copy this address and use it in your class page to give students access to the
lesson.
By clicking the button marked V you can see how the lesson would look to the
students.
Further support
My suggestion is that you adopt a flexible mindset and just have a bit of a play with
AuthorWiz so that you can develop a real feel for how it works and what it can do.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if things just aren’t working OR if you want to
share some amazing triumphs!
© Matthew Absalom 17 Version 1, 2009