How to create a Public link

This tutorial is aimed at helping teachers who do not have a server where they can upload files - whether they're images, audio, html files or other types of files - for their students to see and/or carry out interactive exercises.

How can we solve this problem? Dropbox, a file storage service.

To have access to Dropbox, you need to create an account. Then download Dropbox. Finally, doubleclick the application to install it. By default, it's installed in "My Documents". (You can change this setting locally, in your computer Dropbox, under Preferences >Advanced > Dropbox Location). A quickstart icon is also placed in the Task Bar.

When creating Hot Potatoes exercises with image and sound files, you need to place all the files associated to it in the same folder. And to be able to insert and share a Dropbox link, you need to create a public link.

How do Dropbox and HotPot come together? The procedure is very simple and identical, whether you do it locally in your computer or online in your account page.

Open your Dropbox folder in your computer (or online)
Drag and drop your HotPot folder to the "Public" folder. (It's the only folder that will give you a public link)
Select the HotPot folder to see all the files inside
Rightclick on the .html file of the exercise, select "Dropbox" and then "Copy public link". (You won't see the URL until you paste it somehwere.)
In Wikispaces (or anywhere else), give your exercise a name and create a link to it by pasting the public link you just got.

It's vacation time! is an example that I created very quickly with images from the Web.

The same procedure applies to single files. Just drag and drop the file in the Public folder to get a public link.

HotPot_and_Dropbox