<p>Use pdf and the annotations tool xournal. It does an overlay of the pdf.<br>
OOo does versions if activated. It also supports comment boxes tha don't print.</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Jan 20, 2012 10:09 AM, "Tom Freeman" <<a href="mailto:tfreeman@intel.digichem.net">tfreeman@intel.digichem.net</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I have accepted the job of teaching an on-line chemistry course for majors<br>
next fall, with the requirement that the course be written this spring.<br>
I for see an issue which I could use a whole heaping bunch of help with,<br>
specifically ensuring that the students engage in using/generating the<br>
visual aspects of chemical "language" and formally engage in showing<br>
(documenting and defending) numeric problem solving. I am not being paid<br>
enough to accept just showing a picture to the student, and accepting a<br>
multiple guess regurgitation. I expect details given without hints from<br>
me.<br>
<br>
The education technology types at the school have ideas which partially<br>
get the problem solved, if we only accept Windows on all sides. Since I<br>
use Linux (Ubuntu and Fedora mostly), with a little Mac work to help my<br>
own children, setting a requirement to use Microsoft products only<br>
_really_ has my back up, and heels dug in. Plus, I need to avoid more cost<br>
to the student, as it looks like budgeting for this course is potentially<br>
headed north of $600. Achieving sufficient interactivity to accommodate<br>
online office hours in Moodle using Eluminate is a real positive here.<br>
<br>
What then am I looking for? Software which reads/writes a useful,<br>
well defined file format which will support a work flow pattern which I<br>
will attempt to describe below. Obviously cross platform availability; at<br>
least including Linux/Unix, Mac, and Windows having software available,<br>
with IOS and Android availability a plus. I'm open to commercial software,<br>
but in the interest of holding costs down and personal values, I really<br>
want open-source, with zero-cost ("free beer?") running a close second.<br>
Plus I want it robust as a get out, since the students I've had so far in<br>
class can break just about anything just by walking past it.<br>
<br>
With respect to the work flow, the current idea is that the student will<br>
perform some task any way that they can. Unless it is already in an<br>
appropriate form, the student will then scan their work, and upload the<br>
resulting file to me. Using a tablet & stylus, I then annotate the<br>
student's work with circles, arrows, and indications of doom and dispare,<br>
followed by returning the file to the student. At which time the cycle<br>
will repeat until exhaustion or learning occurs, or a grade is assigned.<br>
If possible, and it may not be, within the file being transferred, I would<br>
like to keep the individual entries separate, such that the teacher's<br>
notes can be easily obscured in order to view just the student's work. (In<br>
my seated classes, any work performed in red gets a zero, since _all_ my<br>
comments/notes/grading gets done in red. As a result, both the student and<br>
myself have a chance of determining got what right/wrong and where. I want<br>
to retain this ability.)<br>
<br>
So far, I _think_ the Adobe pdf format has the capability to handle my<br>
needs, but I haven't proven it by discovering which software used how will<br>
cause this to happen, especially happen reliably.<br>
<br>
If anybody on this list can make sense of the above word salad and suggest<br>
a possible solution approach, I'd love to hear it.<br>
<br>
I thank everybody here for the use of their bandwidth and their patience<br>
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</blockquote></div>