Hot Potatoes
Principal function(s): Crossword puzzle creatorsQuiz/exercise makersIndividual workWhole classVocabularyGrammarTeacherYou Supply
Hot Potatoes is a software suite used for creating interactive exercises and quizzes for language learning and other educational purposes. Through Hot Potatoes, users can create various types of interactive exercises, including multiple-choice, short answer, crossword puzzles, and matching exercises. They can also customise the exercises with their own content and formatting preferences. Once created, exercises can be exported as HTML files and uploaded to learning management systems such as Moodle for students to access and complete. Hot Potatoes is free to use but requires installation. It was developed by Martin Holmes and Stewart Arneil at the University of Victoria in Canada.
Evaluation: Hot Potatoes is a valuable and handy tool for producing quizzes, tests, crosswords, and other testing materials for educational purposes. It may take some time to create tests, but in the long run, it is a great time-saver for teachers. Average IT skills are required for its use.
Cost: Free, requires installation.
Website: https://hotpot.uvic.ca/
Categories
Type Of Interaction
- Individual work
- Individual work
Usability
Interface 
User-friendliness/complexity of the tool´s interface
Simple, slightly old-fashioned.
Time efficiency Time needed for mastering the „how-to“ of the tool and a production of a task
Medium.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to
English only.
Respect for privacy Does the tool require registration? Who can see my data? Can I remain anonymous?
High (?). There is no privacy section on Hot Potatoes’ site, but yes on Half-baked’s, which is the software company that developed it. Half-Baked claims that it does not collect user data beyond what is necessary, so it abstains from using data for marketing or advertising. Its privacy code mentions security measures and user consent as a legal basis. Users can withdraw their consent and thus modify or delete their data on Hot Potatoes. It does not mention compliance with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Possiblity to save your or others´ work for reuse/reproduction
Yes
Tailorability (If so, how?) Possibility of the tool to be used for a range of different activities (e.g. to what extent you can organize a project assignment with a central activity based on this tool)
High. Users can create different kinds of quizzes and exercises through Hot Potatoes, making it quite tailorable.
Technical requirements
Installation required?
Yes.
Compatibility/ Operating System
Windows, Mac, Linux.
Other technical requirements