Issue 4

Quandary is the latest offering from Half-Baked Software, the creators of Hot Potatoes, the popular Web-based quiz builder. Quandary, which is also web-based, is an authoring program that creates Internet action mazes. Instructors can create a situation, which is then presented to learners on a webpage. The learners read about the situation and make decisions by choosing one of the linked options presented. This redirects the user to a new webpage, depending on the chosen option. Once again, a situation is presented and the user again makes a choice and so on.

The program is highly customizable. The author can decide on the number of situations presented and the number of options available to the user. User-chosen filters can be set up. For example, in a story maze, the user could take on the role of a young girl, a teenager or an old lady. The author can also set up requirements for advancement. For example, users would have to have completed all past-tense problems to continue to a present-perfect section in a grammar quiz. Layout can also be changed. Font type, colors and backgrounds are all customizable, while pictures, sounds and videos can also be inserted into the maze. In fact, as the program generates the maze as a set of web pages, a working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript would give the author total control over the content.

Quandary is not the easiest application to exploit. It comes with a tutorial, which needs to be viewed. However, once learned, it becomes quite easy to use the program efficiently. It is probably best suited for instructors who have at least a little experience in web authoring. Its potential uses include "problem-solving, diagnosis, procedural training and survey/questionnaires", according to the documentation. I can immediately think of some applications in language learning - student surveys on attitudes, cross-cultural critical incidents, stories with dilemmas written by learners, vocabulary diagnostics, even mini computer-adaptive tests.

Quandary is another fine product from Half-Baked Software and I definitely recommend its download. It is a shareware program, so you are expected to register or delete the program after a trial period. Registration is $45 for a personal copy and $1050 for unlimited institutional use.

Hot links:

The Quandary Site contains the download and examples
Hot Potatoes is the other application from Half-Baked Software