Comments for Authentic Assessment

Comment on Annotate for Microsoft Word by 11trees

11trees — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:23:58 +0000

Bill,

Thank you for your inquiry, and we appreciate your imagination. Believe it or not, we didn’t think of a tool in Word being applicable to multiple academic disciplines – we’ve focused on writing.

That said, we have a fully editable version of Annotate for Word 2007 PRO in beta. The Groups, buttons, and content are all editable. If you send me some sample comments in Danish, I’ll put them into the beta version and send you some screenshots. We’ll be releasing the beta version next week, so you’ll be able to try it yourself. This version only runs on Word 2007 – not Word 2003 or Mac Office (unfortunately).

Let me know your thoughts.

Comment on Annotate for Microsoft Word by bill linnane

bill linnane — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:21:54 +0000

This looks interesting. We would be doing the content in Danish. Do you have a skeleton type of ribbon that can be added to word then we can begin filling in the danish content according to the subject (math, chem, physics, danish grammar, and so on)?

If so what would you prices be?

cheers,

Bill Linnane
MediaLab
Roskilde Polytechnique
Maglelunden 4
4000 Roskilde
Denmark
winnwill@gmail.com
+45 50 50 69 90

Comment on Annotate for MAC Users by 11trees

11trees — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:06:41 +0000

We know exactly what you mean…

The next version of Annotate (due out this month) is far more sophisticated, but we have made a decision to only support Word 2007 for the PC rather than try to deal with Mac Office 2008 and older versions of Word. So that’s doubly unhelpful to you.

Since you are interested in these things, and your students might find it interesting/useful, check out:
http://www.offisync.com/

It’s a free addin that lets you access and edit Google docs from MS Office – so when you edit them locally, the edits are saved to the cloud…which is a potential boon to teachers who are trying to handle documents more efficiently. Unfortunately OffiSync doesn’t support Comments or Track Changes, so its utility is limited if you’re interested in commenting…but it’s one to watch.

Comment on Annotate for MAC Users by jim

jim — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Annotate looks interesting, but I find myself moving toward google docs with my students and I avoid Word at all costs. Shame it cannot be a standalone program that would work with any sort of document (Word, PDF, Pages, etc.). Oh, well…

Comment on Teaching Efficiency… by 11trees

11trees — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:13:44 +0000

That’s a great price…and a good strategy.

I saw in today’s Parade magazine (part of the Sunday paper) that Dell’s deal on Tuesday is a 23″ for $149 – with free shipping. That’s large enough that you only need one monitor to get the gains of dual monitors in the past.

One note about used monitors – I’ve noticed that my 20″ screens have dimmed significantly (lots and lots of use) vs. a new monitor I have connected to a new laptop…so if the screens have seen a lot of use it may not be worth buying them unless they’re $15. Nice point about recycling, though.

Comment on Teaching Efficiency… by Rob

Rob — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:53:53 +0000

Any additional screen space is a bonus. I’m the spouse of a teacher and my wife loves our dual monitor setup. Didn’t have the desk space or $ to buy dual 20″ monitors, but was able to spring for two 17″ monitors on sale at Compusa for $79 each. It helps if you are using two sid-by-side for them to match. Another option is to check sites like craigslist. There always seems to be people with more money than us upgrading their equipment. Could probably get a decent 17″ LCD for under $40. Craigslist is nice because you can buy locally to make sure it works, and it’s a greener alternative to buying new. Haven’t tried it ever, but you might even be able to get people to reduce the price if you’re a teacher.

Comment on Contact Us by 11trees

11trees — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:58:32 +0000

Unfortunately Office for Mac 2008 is a whole other kettle of fish from a developer’s perspective. Microsoft abandoned the technology that has been used for years to develop add-ons for Word…they say they’ll put it back in when the next version of Mac Office is released. So we’re in limbo with Mac Office 2008.

Annotate does work with Mac Office 2004, and you can run Office 2004 alongside 2008, so if you have access to the older version consider trying it.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Comment on Contact Us by Ging

Ging — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:38:01 +0000

Hi, when will Annotate for Mac Word 2007 become available? I am using the Windows 2007 Annotation for grading my graduate class but I really need to use this on my more portable Macbook.

Comment on Outcomes Assessment and Grades by 11trees

11trees — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:31:11 +0000

Thanks for linking to my entry on grading – I hope readers click through to read your entire take on assessment.

Comment on Outcomes Assessment and Grades by David Eubanks

David Eubanks — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:08:45 +0000

Backtrack: http://highered.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-its-difficult-part-two.html