Introduction

Big Editor makes the most of the teaching and learning possibilities inherent in the setting up of a framework. It enables you to edit or create a frame for any member of the FrameWorks family (I Can Write, FrameWorks, FrameWorks: Welsh, FrameWorks: French and FrameWorks: German) in the context of small group or whole-class teaching. It displays prompts, word lists, picture prompts and notes in a whiteboard-friendly way so that a whole class can be involved in the editing and creation of writing frames.

Take suggestions from the class on the words likely to be useful in a new framework and use them to compile the topic word list and discuss with them the kinds of prompts which will be most supportive when they come to do their writing.

This kind of ownership is more than lip-service to pupil involvement and it will bring dividends when they come to use their frameworks.

Press F8 to cycle through a range of preset presentation styles. Choose the one with which you and your students feel most comfortable.

The Big Editor can also be used on a standard monitor so that frames can be developed by individuals or small groups.

The FrameWorks Family

It is assumed that users have a working knowledge of programs in the FrameWorks family and that students have access to at least one of the programs for individual use.

If The Big Editor has been bought as part of FrameWorks: Whiteboard, you can switch to a special edition of FrameWorks that has been adapted to suit the interactive features of the whiteboard.

The Big Editor will only work effectively with version 2.10 or above of the FrameWorks family. To check which version you have, press ctrl + F1 from the title screen. You can update your version from the CD from which you installed the Big Editor.

Firstly, from the same place as the version details, make a note of your serial number – or just copy it to the clipboard.

Now uninstall your existing version of I Can Write or FrameWorks using Add/Remove Programs. Don't worry, your existing frameworks will be saved for use in the newer version.

However, to guarantee that all your frameworks and word lists are saved before you update your installation, navigate your way to the FrameWorks folder. Inside this you will find another folder called FrameWorks (FrameWorks\FrameWorks). Copy this folder to a safe place.

When the Uninstall process is complete, click the Install button.

Install an up-to-date version of I Can Write or FrameWorks and use the serial number you made a note of.

If you made a backup copy of your frameworks, replace the new FrameWorks\FrameWorks folder with your backup.

You will now be able to edit your frameworks in the Big Editor by checking the Editable box in the Configuration section for each framework that you wish to change.

Using The Big Editor

When you start Big Editor, the program will search for and display all of the programs in the FrameWorks family which you have installed on your system. Select the one you wish to use.

The next screen displays the frameworks and High Frequency word lists which are available for editing. Select one you wish to edit or click on New to start a new framework. Files need to be set to 'Editable' in the Configuration section of the original program.

Many of the facilities found in the Configure section of any member of the FrameWorks family are duplicated in The Big Editor.

However, you can only use The Big Editor effectively if all users have read and write access to the frameworks. By default in all versions of FrameWorks, framework files are kept in the folder called Frameworks in the program's folder. If you do not have full access to this folder, a padlock will be shown over the program's icon. Your system may be set up differently, so please talk to your network administrator.

If a framework or word list does not appear in the menu, it may have been locked to prevent external editing. To unlock a frame or word list, open the Configure section of the FrameWorks program, select the file and unlock it for editing by clicking in the Editable box. If you wish to use your edited framework straight away, this might be a good moment to make sure that it is available for use. Click on the Users button to do this. Big Editor will be unaware of any changes: press escape to go back to the main menu and select the FrameWorks program again.

If you wish to create a new framework, click on New.

Other buttons allow you to Delete, Rename, Import or Export a framework. The Big Editor has its own space for saving frameworks in development. When the framework is complete, the Duplicate button can be used to save the file to a special Big Editor folder in any member of the FrameWorks family.

Duplicate

The Duplicate function is also useful if you wish to edit a framework while retaining the original one. By default, the framework is duplicated in the same location as the original. By clicking on the Choose Another Program button, you can also copy a framework directly to any available version of FrameWorks. This is particularly useful when Big Editor is used with FrameWorks: Whiteboard, either for copying a frame that has been developed in Big Editor to an edition of FrameWorks, or by copying a frame from FrameWorks into FrameWorks: Whiteboard for editing.

Import and Export

Import allows you to import a framework that has been packaged for export by a FrameWorks program. Similarly, Export allows you to save a framework for use at another location.

In any member of the FrameWorks family, the Administrator can also decide which users have access to which frameworks (see Configure: Users in your FrameWorks/I Can Write manual). Big Editor ignores these settings so that a framework can be locked for use but unlocked for edit as a work-in-progress before being published.

Switch

This function allows you to try out your framework immediately by opening the appropriate FrameWorks program.

Making new Picture Prompt frameworks

Select New, name the framework and choose Picture Framework. Click on the framework icon to begin making your first page. There are three areas that can be edited in any order:

Choose the number of pictures you want on your page by clicking on the More or Fewer buttons. You can choose any even number between 0 and 6.

Introductory and Closing text

Enter the text you require in the writing area at the top left of the screen where it says Start. The area on the right (End) can be used, if wished, for the rest of a sentence or phrase. Always start this box with a space. If you are not using this box to complete a sentence, you may nevertheless wish to put in some punctuation to complete the line.

Pictures

Click in one of the placeholder graphics to bring up the picture selection dialog box. If you wish to add to your store of images, navigate your way to wherever your pictures are kept. You can add more pictures to this list at any time. If you hold down the control key, you can select a number of pictures at the same time. The selected pictures will be copied from their location and added to your list. When a picture has been copied to your list, it may be used as many times as you wish and, as it has been copied, you will not need access to the original source once the framework has been completed.

When you have enough pictures to use, you can preview your imported images by clicking a title. The graphic that is highlighted when you click the OK button is the one placed in the selected position in the framework.

Pictures backgrounds of a single colour can be made transparent so that the image appears not to have a regular border. If the Transparency button is on, clicking any colour in the picture will hide that colour. Imported pictures are automatically scaled to fit.

Click on OK to place the selected picture in your framework.

Picture captions appear beneath the graphics. Type the word(s) which you wish to be added to the writing when the user selects a picture.

Click on the New page icon to add a further page to your framework. Go through the same process to add details to this page. You can use the back and forward buttons to move through your framework when you have created more than one page. Click on Delete to remove the current page.

Tick the Force response box if you wish to prevent the user from skipping any screen in the file.

If the Read only box is checked, students will be able to use only the words under the graphics, they will not be able to type in their own response.

All edits are saved automatically as you work.

Editing Picture Prompt frameworks

You can use the functions described above to alter existing frameworks or to add to them, for example, adding a page or two to the About Me section which is particularly appropriate to your school or class – or even an individual.

Creating and editing Writing Prompt frameworks

To start a new framework, select New, name the framework and choose Writing Framework. A new icon will be added to any existing frameworks in the menu.

Click on any writing framework icon to open the framework for editing.

Prompts

The editor will open in the Prompts section. Type in your prompts (or paste them in from another source), pressing enter at the end of each one. Note that the first prompt automatically becomes the title. If you wish to reorder the prompts at any time, you can cut and paste or highlight and drag and drop.

Insertion points

You can arrange for the insertion point to automatically position itself within a prompt, for example, 'We travelled . . . to the seaside.' where you want the user to enter 'by car/bus/train' etc. When typing the prompt, type a | (upright bar – usually next to the space bar on the keyboard)) where you would like the insertion point to appear.

Sub-prompts/multiple choice

Sub-prompts appear underneath the main prompt in the writing area and are created by pressing the tab key. This type of file is useful where additional support is required. It can also be used as a form of multiple choice activity or where suggestions for saying the same thing in different ways are needed, for example, in different social situations.

Word lists

Click on Word list to enter the associated vocabulary. Type in the words which you think will be useful for this topic. If you already have a word list prepared in your word processor, you can copy and paste it into the working area. Your word list will be sorted alphabetically if you click on Sort.

Notes

There is also a facility for entering notes about the framework. This can be useful as a reference for other users.

Master word lists

A Master word list is available to the user regardless of the framework chosen. In all versions of FrameWorks, the word list visible to pupils on the writing pages merges the framework word list (the topic specific list created when you make a new framework) and the Master word list. In The Big Editor, the Master word lists and the framework word lists are edited separately.