Advanced Lesson Plan Editing

For JETs with some web editing experience, or perhaps extra time and patience on their hands, there are a few extra things you can do to make your lesson plan top quality on the Wiki.

Upload a Preview Image for PDF/DOCX Files[]

One of the biggest drawbacks to using Wikia to host our files is that there aren't automatic thumbnails for files. But it can be worked around.

Convert your PDF/DOC into a JPEG or PNG image
1. Depending on your device's capabilities you may be able to export from Adobe Reader or Word as an image
2. Or you may decide to upload your file to an online converter
3. But perhaps easiest is the following:
  1. Take a screenshot of your file where you can see the entire page
  2. Paste into MS Paint or similar free image editing software and crop the image
Upload the image using the "Photo" button on the right side of the Wiki editor
Add it to the Materials list on the lesson page using the Document Preview Template (below)

Using the Document Preview Template[]

The Document Preview Template allows users to view your Preview Image and then download the file from the link below it.

From the Preload template dropdown menu on the right side of the screen, select "Document Preview" under "Other".
Fill in the "image" section with the preview image you created (above)
Fill in the "file" section with PDF/DOCX file you uploaded

Example:

{{DocumentPreview
|image   = AWholeNewWorldSample.png
|file    = Unicorn2L04 AWholeNewWorld.docx 
}}

Results in:

AWholeNewWorldSample — Download the document here

Categorizing a Lesson as a Textbook-Based Lesson[]

The Lesson Infobox automatically categorizes pages using the information input by the user. If a user writes the name of a textbook into the Infobox, it will automatically be categorized as a Textbook-Based activity.

However, textbook titles are not automatically categorized in order to prevent extraneous categories from being made. This will have to be done manually.

For Lessons Applicable to Any Textbook[]

If the lesson is designed to be applicable to any English Communication textbook, please type "Any Textbook" into the "Categories" box on the right side of the Wiki editor.

For Lessons for a Specific Textbook[]

If the lesson is designed to supplement a chapter in a specific textbook, please first check whether the textbook is listed as one of the most commonly used textbooks.

If the textbook is listed, type the textbook title into the "Categories" box.

NOTE: All textbooks should be categorized by their Series title, not their individual title. i.e. A lesson from Vision Quest I and a lesson from Vision Quest II should BOTH be categorized as "Vision Quest" in the Categories box.

If the textbook is NOT listed, please do not add the title to the Categories box.

This is to prevent extraneous categories from being created. If there is a request for a new category for a certain textbook, it can be made and added to the list later.

Add the Link to the Infobox[]

On the lesson page, edit the Lesson Infobox to link to the appropriate category.

For lessons for any textbook, use the code

[[:Category:Any Textbook | Any Textbook ]]

For lessons from specific textbooks, use the code

[[:Category:TEXTBOOKTITLE | TEXTBOOK TITLE (including book number)]]

Add the Lesson to the Appropriate Textbook Page[]

After adding the lesson to a textbook category, please go to that category page. (/wiki/Category:TEXTBOOKTITLE)

Add a link to the category page to organize the lesson in reference to the textbook's chapters.