The writing process entails many things, one of which is the review process. This process, traditionally carried out with pen and paper in hand, can be realized in a more efficient manner. There is a way to review assignments electronically, without the pile of papers and without wasting paper. Microsoft Word provides an ingenious and simple way of doing this.
This entry will go over the Track Changes feature in Word that allow you to review/edit an assignment in a legible and organized manner by tracking the changes that you make to it. This will essentially keep a record of any insertions, deletions or comments that you make to the assignment. With this valuable tool, you will be able to review, correct, and comment on any assignment from anywhere that you have computer access.
In order to review papers electronically, you will of course, have to have the assignment file. This entry will assume that all files are .docx format (although electronic reviews can be carried out with almost any file type using Adobe Acrobat Pro).
The following instructions are for Windows Word 2007 Users:
Once you have the assignment that you would like to review, you will click on the Review tab found at the top toolbar of Microsoft Word. From here you will select Track Changes in order for your corrections to appear in the document. This will track all your changes, from deletions to insertions, in an easy to distinguish red ink.
There are, of course, two distinct ways in which you can track your changes. The first is in what Word calls Balloons. The second is what is called Inline. The Balloon method will track your changes (Deletions and Comments) in "balloons" on the margins of the document. Any additions that you make will be visible within the main body of the document. The Inline method will track all your changes (insertions, deletions, and comments) within the document itself. Both methods are convenient and it is ultimately up to the reviewer to decide which one suits his/her needs best. Below you will find an image of both methods: the inline method is located on the bottom, while the balloon method is located on the top.
To change the way in which you can track your changes, simply click on the Balloons tab and select either Show Revisions in Balloons or Show All Revisions Inline.
You can add comments within the document by selecting New Comment. This command will add a comment to where your cursor is located.
Another possible feature that you could use in reviewing assignments is the convenient Accept/Reject feature included in Word. This feature gives you, as well as students, the ability to accept or reject any changes that have been made to their document. You can access this feature by selecting the Previous/Next buttons in the Comments section of the Review toolbar. By clicking these buttons, you will rotate through all your comments and changes in the document and you will have the ability to accept or reject them. The Accept/Reject buttons are located to the right of the Track Changes button.
When a change is accepted, Word will automatically incorporate that change into the document. When a change is rejected, word will automatically reject the change and remove it from the document.
Word also allows you to see different versions of the same file. In the first drop-down menu of the new Track Changes toolbar, there are four different viewing options.
Final Showing Markup: this will let you see the current edition, with markups of the file.
Final: this view lets you see the final document will all edits automatically included
Original Showing Markup: this view lets you see the original document with markups. All deletions will appear as strikethroughs, while comments will remain in the margin.
Original: this view lets you see the original document before being edited.
Once you have reviewed the assignment and made all necessary comments and corrections, you can easily write a final comment to the student, along with their final grade. You can do so by adding text (which will already be in red ink) at the end of the document.
Another feature that can aid in the writing process is Words Capability to distinguish different users and their edits. For example, if you were to send your student an edited Word file with, he or she could make further edits, which would be in a different color and under a different user name (provided that the student made the edits under a different name than the original edit) and return the document for you to re-edit. In this way you could quickly and effectively help a student's writing process with those longer projects or thesis.
Once you are done reviewing you can easily save the document and send a copy to your students. In this way, your students will have access to all your revisions and can easily edit their own work. If, however, you would like for your editions to not be tampered with, you can also save the edited word file as a PDF. Please look over the following entry by Dobromir-Save Anything in PDF! or my previous entry - PDF Files to review the process.
If you would like an example of what the final edited assignment would look like, please view the following file: Lorem.pdf
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The following instructions are for Mac Word 2008 Users:
Once you have the assignment that you would like to review, you will click on the Tools dropdown menu. From here you will select Track Changes and then Highlight Changes in order for your corrections to appear in the document.
Once you have selected this option a Highlight Changes window will appear prompting you to select your changes options. It is recommended that you select all of the options, and in order for your edits to be visible, you must select the option: Track changes while editing. This will track all your changes, from deletions to insertions, in an easy to distinguish red ink. At this time a new toolbar, containing all the commands for editing, will appear.
There are, of course, two distinct ways in which you can track your changes. The first is in what Word calls Balloons. The second is what is called Inline. The Balloon method will track your changes (Deletions and Comments) in "balloons" on the margins of the document. Any additions that you make will be visible within the main body of the document. The Inline method will track all your changes (insertions, deletions, and comments) within the document itself. Both methods are convenient and it is ultimately up to the reviewer to decide which one suits his/her needs best. Below you will find an image of both methods: the inline method is located on the bottom, while the balloon method is located on the top.
To change the way in which you can track your changes, simply click on the Show tab and select Preferences. A new window will open.
In this new window locate the Balloons section and select Use Balloons to Display Changes if you want your edits to be recorded in the margins, or deselect this option if you want your edits to be visible in the inline method.
You can add comments within the document by selecting New Comment. This command will add a comment to where your cursor is located.
Once you have reviewed the assignment and made all necessary comments and corrections, you can easily write a final comment to the student, along with their final grade. You can do so by adding text (which will already be in red ink) at the end of the document.
Another possible feature that you could use in reviewing assignments is the convenient Accept/Reject feature included in Word. This feature gives you, as well as students, the ability to accept or reject any changes that have been made to their document. You can access this feature by selecting the Previous/Next buttons in the Comments section of the Review toolbar. By clicking these buttons, you will rotate through all your comments and changes in the document and you will have the ability to accept or reject them. The Accept/Reject buttons are located to the left of the New Comments button.
When a change is accepted, Word will automatically incorporate that change into the document. When a change is rejected, word will automatically reject the change and remove it from the document.
Another feature that can aid in the writing process is Words Capability to distinguish different users and their edits. For example, if you were to send your student an edited Word file with, he or she could make further edits, which would be in a different color and under a different user name (provided that the student made the edits under a different name than the original edit) and return the document for you to re-edit. In this way you could quickly and effectively help a student's writing process with those longer projects or thesis.
Word also allows you to see different versions of the same file. In the first drop-down menu of the new Track Changes toolbar, there are four different viewing options.
Final Showing Markup: this will let you see the current edition, with markups of the file.
Final: this view lets you see the final document will all edits automatically included
Original Showing Markup: this view lets you see the original document with markups. All deletions will appear as strikethroughs, while comments will remain in the margin.
Original: this view lets you see the original document before being edited.
Once you are done reviewing you can easily save the document and send a copy to your students. In this way, your students will have access to all your revisions and can easily edit their own work. If, however, you would like for your editions to not be tampered with, you can also save the edited word file as a PDF. Please look over the following entry by Dobromir-Save Anything in PDF! or my previous entry - PDF Files to review the process.
If you would like an example of what the final edited assignment would look like, please view the following file: Lorem.pdf
***
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please feel free to call the STA Office at extension x2589 or come and speak with one of our Student Technology Assistants during our normal business hours. Thank you.
Now, let's find out how to take snapshots with VLC Player on a Mac OS platform.
We, from STA, strongly encourage the use of VLC, due its simplicity and high quality. However, there are other ways through which you can take snapshots.
More ways to take snapshots, using a Mac OS platform:
Below is an example of a snapshot, taken with VLC Player:
Hit Browse and add a file name for your mp3. Make sure the file name ends with .mp3
