Author Guidelines
Over the past nine years iwChameleon has grown so that there are now quite a wide range of resources available. I would like to see many more and over a wider range of subjects. To this end I feel it is necessary to request that authors try to make materials as near ready for publication as possible. Where necessary I may sometimes edit or expand material before it is published but following these guidelines will help me to get them onto the site much quicker.
Firstly, the originality of the work remains the authors responsibility (read Terms and Conditions). Please do not send in re-writes of worksheets taken from previously published material. If you are using past exam papers, or anything else, as a basis for a worksheet then make sure you change it significantly in order that you can justifiably call it your own work. Copyright of the work will be shown as yours at all times and is indicated on each printout.
Next, submitted materials can be any length. Single sheets to multi-page workbooks are accepted. Format the layout of all pages in the document in the same way. I would suggest margins all round of 25mm so that there is room for me to place a header/footer on each page. The page size should be A4.
Powerpoint presentations are also accepted plus any spreadsheets or databases that may be required to support written materials. I accept all materials in the common MS Office formats plus Open Office. However, if the files are for distribution to accompany worksheets they should be in rtf, csv or txt format so that they can be imported into any application software being used in a school irrespective of operating system.
If a worksheet refers to a prepared file (say, a database) then it is important that you also send me a copy of that file so that it can be included in the download (following the guidelines from the previous paragraph). If a worksheet requires the student to write in short answers then it is helpful if you also include a copy with the answers on it.
It is important when preparing materials that you do not refer to specific applications by name, e.g. MS Excel, MS Access. Rather, you should refer to a database or spreadsheet etc. The exception of course is if the resource is a user guide for a specific application.
Because it is easier to read all text should be in a standard san-serif font (e.g. Ariel, Helvetica, Verdana) or Comic Sans MS unless the resource requires the use of other fonts. Headings and sub-headings should be between 16-20 points and the body text 12 or 14 points. All text should be left justified unless the nature of the resource calls for it to be otherwise.
Use of clipart is fine but do not copy images off the net that may be subject to copyright. Strictly speaking no material from other publications should be used, we do not have a licence that covers us for this. However, I am happy to accept worksheets that contain short extracts if they are necessary for the purposes of the activity and the source is suitably acknowledged. Where possible it would be more appropriate to change certain parts of the content to diguise the origins, e.g a job advert where the name of the company, address etc were ficticious.
Please proofread materials thoroughly before submitting them.
If you are interested in submitting materials then please email them to me and indicate the subject and topic area that you would like it to go in, even if it means starting up a new subject section. Why not be the first to submit something for your subject?
Michael OwenNovember 2008