Picture of two students looking at a computer screen. Picture of a professor with a computer teaching a small group of students. Picture of a student working at a laptop.

Microsoft Word - Comments

Introduction

Comment is a feature of Word in the Microsoft Office Suite. Comment allows you to insert statements inside balloons that appear in the document margins.

For some students with cognitive disabilities who may have short-term memory issues, imbedded text reminders and/or explanations placed directly in documents aid in content understanding and recollection.

 

Please click below for an audio of the introduction to the Comment Feature of MS Word.

 
Instructions on How to Use Comment feature of MS Word

Please click here PDF download to download a pdf version of the instructional guide to Comment feature of MS Word.

Please click below for a video demonstration of how to use the Comment feature of MS Word.

 

Demo: Inserting Comments in Documents

 
Technical Requirements and Where to Access MS Word

MS Word (MS Office 2008 for Mac and MS Office Pro 2007) Technical Requirements:

Mac Requirements:

  • Intel, PowerPC G5 or PowerPC G4 (500 MHz or faster) processor
  • Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 1.5 GB hard drive

Windows Requirements:

  • 500 MHz processor speed or higher
  • Windows XP SP 2, Server 2003 SP1 or later
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 2 GB hard drive

Go to http://us20.trymicrosoftoffice.com/product.aspx?re_ms=oo&family=officepr... to download a 60 day free trial of MS Office Pro 2007;

 

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Office2008/trial-download.mspx to download a 30 day free trial for MS Office 2008 for Mac.

 

Picture of a comment inserted into an MS Word document.

 
Reviews

Every e-Tool in the e-Toolbox was reviewed by either a UDI Online Project research and design team member, or one or several faculty at five partner institutions who incorporated a specific e-Tool into an online or blended course they taught. Faculty from these partner institutions also requested that students review the e-Tool included in a course or products created through the use of the e-Tool (e.g., documents, videos, audio clips, or other items). Likert scale surveys with open-ended questions were used by respondents.  Feedback from the reviewing UDI Online team member or faculty who used a tool is presented in addition to student ratings when available.

 

e-Tool Review Results

Faculty e-Tool Review Results
Number of faculty reviewers: 5

 

1. The e-tool was easy to incorporate into my course.

picture of results-80% of reviewers strongly agreed that this e-tool was easy to incorporate into their course. 20% of reviewers strongly disagreed that this e-tool was easy to incorporate into their course.

2. I used the e-tool to address the following: (Select all that apply).

picture of result-20% of reviewers used this e-tool to state and explain course requirements. 80% of reviewers used this e-tool to facilitate communication with and between students. 40% of reviewers used this e-tool for other uses (their comments on usage are below).

 

Other:
  • Expedited drafting and coaching process.
  • Reduced issues involved with ability to read handwriting.
  • Allowed direct comment on student writing.

3. Do you think the e-tool exemplified the construct of UDI within your course?
(UDI is defined as an approach to teaching that consists of the proactive design and use of inclusive instructional strategies that benefit a broad range of learners including students with disabilities.)

picture of results-100% of rev iewers agreed that this e-tool exemplified the construct of universal design for instruction in their course.

4. Please comment on the benefits of using the e-tool in your course.

  • Eased paper trail; facilitated direct engagement with student work; allowed for virtual discussion regarding student's progress toward completing the inquiry project.
  • I was able to reply to students much faster using the comment tool. Used the comments function to further explain the course schedule to student and remind them of important dates week by week.
  • Allows for detailed communication regarding student writing.
  • Provide feedback in relation to specific areas of a paper.

5. Please comment on any drawbacks of using the e-tool in your course.

  • Students' learning curve using the tool.
  • There are still issues in how the comments appear between versions of MS Word. The old version is much less visually appealing and a bit harder to follow.
  • Problems with conversion between versions of MS Word; only works if student HAS MS Word

6. I will use the e-tool in another course.

Picture of results-100% of reviewers would use this e-tool in another course.

7. In the future, I will use the e-tool to address the following: (Select all that apply)

Picture of results-40% of reviewers will this e-tool in the future to state and explain course requirements. 20% of reviewers will this e-tool in the future to reduce the physical demands placed on learners and to allow maximum attention to learning. 100% of reviewers will this e-tool in the future to facilitate communication with and between students. 20% of reviewers will this e-tool in the future to allow students to demonstrate mastery of content. 40% of reviewers will this e-tool in the future for other uses (their comments on usage are below).

Others:

  • Same as previously stated.
  • Direct comment on work.

 

Student e-Tool Review Results

Number of students who took the survey: 29

Number of students with learning disabilities who took the survey: 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The tool was easy to use.

Picture of review results-The tool was easy to use

2. The tool assisted me with the following: (Select all that apply)

Picture of review results -The tool assisted me with the following: (Select all that apply)

3. Please comment on the benefits of using the tool in the course.

  • My professor's comments were legible. Sometimes when a professor handwrites comments on my papers, I can't read them.
  • Easy to communicate on your own time.
  • The tool facilitated communication between student and professor.  It was quick, convenient, and easy to use and understand.
  • It was easier to see comments and then make changes accordingly without needing a hardcopy.
  • It was a useful way for the instructor to give specific recommendations that were easy to read and easy to apply.
  • It saved time and allowed me to use my instructor’s comments to the fullest extent and incorporate his advice into my work.
  • Using track changes allows for easy editing of any turned in assignment, and allows me to see exactly what part of the document I have changed.
  • Quick, legible and helpful feedback.
  • It was helpful in that it was easy to read and understand what my instructor was suggesting.
  • I am less e-literate than most so I had a more difficult time navigating it
  • I really liked the way it worked.
  • Less paperwork; quick receipt of edited document via email.
  • Was able to receive feedback.
  • It made the material fully understandable.
     

4. Please comment on any drawbacks of using the tool

  • There were none. It was easy to use and helped me progress on my thesis.
  • Lack of one-on-one conversation.
  • I did not experience any drawbacks of this tool.
  • A brief tutorial would have been helpful.
  • It was new for me, so it just took a little getting used to.
  • It seemed as though the program/tool was not quite as user-friendly as it could have been and there were times when it seemed hard to get rid of the track changes.
  • Not everyone is comfortable doing everything electronically, and some people would rather see the corrections physically on the document. It assumes a high level of technology comfort.
  • There was not any drawbacks per say from this tool.
  • I would prefer more instruction and guidance when first using it, I think it could be really great, I was intimidated by it.
  • Couldn’t always get complete page on the last page for the final evaluation of a paper
  • Some technical malfunctions.