Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 9, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This is teaching in the new millennium: PDF Annotator 2 opens PDF files so they can be edited on screen in ways that would otherwise only be possible on paper. Important passages of text can be highlighted with a digital highlighter. Users can also draw on the page, cross out words or add arrows. PDF Annotator 2 also writes text comments into the PDF, either by hand or with the keyboard. Version 2 of PDF Annotator introduces stamps for the first time, allowing graphics of all kinds to be stamped into the PDF document. The result can then be printed or saved as a new PDF file.
Oliver Grahl of GRAHL software design said: “A surprisingly large number of teachers and professors already use the full version of our software because it is so well suited to teaching. PDF Annotator 2 can demonstrate its strengths particularly when electronic presentations are edited directly during a talk.”
Many professors and teachers prepare teaching materials consisting of several individual pages that can be projected onto a screen one after another. Microsoft PowerPoint, SoftMaker Presentations and OpenOffice.org Impress can help assemble attractive presentations from text and images. New online applications such as Google Docs and Microsoft Office Live can also save completed presentations directly as PDFs. Existing overhead transparencies can, of course, easily be scanned and saved as a PDF file.
During a lecture, PDF Annotator 2 opens such a PDF file live and displays it in the new full-screen mode. This mode hides the menu and window borders, showing only the PDF content and the required toolbars. These toolbars sit unobtrusively at the edge of the screen and expand within seconds when the user points to them with the mouse. This is an entirely new approach and a very clever solution, because all available space is used for the content rather than unimportant surrounding elements. In the configurable “continuous view,” prepared text can also be moved upward piece by piece. When working with a traditional overhead projector, speakers often use a sheet of paper to cover the text and move it downward. That almost antiquated method is now a thing of the past.
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During the talk, presenters can work live on the presentation pages to complete diagrams, highlight important passages, add numbers by hand or use arrows to draw attention to important information. Instructors can also prepare a fill-in-the-blank text that is completed during the lecture. Another possibility is to complete a mathematical solution developed together with the audience.
Oliver Grahl said: “Teaching becomes more lively this way when the entire script is completed only during the presentation—for example, with direct participation by pupils or students. Many teachers who have tried this method once do not want to give it up.”
Working with PDF templates is ideal on a tablet PC, whose display allows the presenter to “draw” and “write” with a stylus. It can also be done on a normal notebook computer. Many universities, however, are already very well equipped with tablet PCs. Desktop sharing using third-party software also makes distance learning possible. The first universities are already using PDF Annotator for this purpose.
PDF Annotator 2: Save All Changes in a New PDF!
At the end of a lecture or lesson, all changes made in PDF Annotator 2 can be saved in the PDF file. This creates a final script that can immediately be transferred to the audience’s computers or subsequently offered for download from a website. Listeners can therefore concentrate fully on the lesson instead of being occupied with taking notes.
Oliver Grahl said: “This quickly creates a collection of lecture or lesson scripts that help students review the material, or that can be downloaded quickly if a pupil or student has missed a presentation.”
PDF Annotator 2 (10.5 MB) is available for Windows XP, 2000 and Vista and can also be used on tablet PCs. A free 30-day trial version of PDF Annotator can be downloaded from the website. The program costs EUR 69.95. Discounted special prices are available for students, schools, faculties and universities, while an attractive tiered discount is offered for multiple licences.
Further Links:
- PDF Annotator
