PDF Annotator 2 optimizes the classroom experience: Live finalization of PDF presentations!
For Immediate Release
Contact: Oliver Grahl, +49 871 966 58 13, info AT GRAHL-software.com
PDF Annotator 2 takes classroom presentations to a new level: teachers and professors can now capture the substance of a presentation as a PDF document and project them on the wall. Then PDF Annotator takes over, as the instructor adds remarks and drawings, making possible a new kind of lecture. At the end, the PDF document can be saved in its new form and loaded to a server where it can be downloaded.
This is the shape of instruction in the new millennium. PDF Annotator 2 makes PDF documents editable on the screen, instead of just on paper, as in the past. So, for example, important passages can be highlighted, and drawings, strikeouts, or arrows can be added to a page. You can even add comments--either on the keyboard, or by hand. PDF Annotator 's new Version 2 now also lets you add images with a rubber stamp tool. At the end, the result can be printed or saved as a new PDF document.
As Oliver Grahl of GRAHL software design puts it: "The numbers of instructors using the full version of our software is steadily increasing because it is so well-suited to classroom use. PDF Annotator 2 really shows off its capabilities when it comes to editing electronic presentations."
PDF Annotator 2: Live PDF presentations in full-screen mode
Many instructors typically collect various documents that they use to illustrate a lecture by projecting them on a screen. Microsoft PowerPoint, Soft Maker Presentations or OpenOffice.org's Impress are useful tools for putting together appealing presentations that combine text and images. Even newer online applications like Google Docs and Microsoft Office Live can save presentations as PDF's. Existing presentations saved on overhead foils can, of course, also be scanned and then saved as PDF files.
Now, PDF Annotator 2 can open one of these files during a lecture and display it in full-screen mode. This view eliminates the menus and margins and shows only the pages themselves with narrow toolbars along the edge of the screen. The toolbars can be expanded in seconds when necessary by holding the mouse over them. This represents a brand-new approach and an intriguing solution that saves all available space for the content, while removing unneeded trimmings. In addition, the optional "continuous view" allows the text to be scrolled into view line by line. This is a significant improvement over past practices, where the presenter would slide a piece of paper downwards to progressively expose new bullet points. Fortunately, this antique methodology can now be become a historical curiosity.
Presenters can now modify the material while it is being shown. Sketches can be drawn, passages underlined, numbers updated by hand, and arrows drawn to related material. Instructors can also prepare a text with portions left blank that can be filled in during the lecture. Another possible use would be to formulate a mathematical solution to a problem with the help of the audience.
Oliver Grahl: "This represents a new way of livening up instruction--in effect, the entire notes are being written during the lecture itself--and with the direct participation of the students. A lot of instructors who have tried this method say that they would never want to give it up."
The best way to work on PDF materials is using a Tablet PC, which makes it easy to write or draw on the display with a stylus. It can also be used on any laptop, but most universities already have a good supply of Tablet PC's. Moreover, PDF Annotator 2 also lends itself to distance learning with the help of desktop-sharing software available through outside vendors. A few universities are already using PDF Annotator for this purpose.
PDF Annotator 2: Saves all changes in a new PDF file!
At the end of the lecture or class, any changes made to the PDF document by PDF Annotator 2 can be saved as a new file. This means that the final product can immediately be saved and made accessible to the audience's computers or downloadable from a website. This also means that the class can concentrate on the material that is being presented instead of busying themselves by taking it all down.
Oliver Grahl: "In this way, it is an easy matter to put together a collection of lecture or classroom notes that can be used to review the material or that can be quickly downloaded by a student who has missed a lecture."
PDF Annotator 2: Free 30-day trial available
PDF Annotator 2 (10.5 MB) is available for Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, and for Tablet PC's as well. A free 30-day trial can be downloaded from www-grahl-software.com. Retail price is 69.95 Euros. Special terms are available for students, schools and universities. Significant discounts also apply to multiple-use licenses.
For more information, contact GRAHL software design, Seligenthaler Str. 54, 84034 Landshut, Germany. Email: info AT GRAHL-software.com Internet: http://www.GRAHL-software.com Phone: +49 871 966 58 13 Fax: +49 871 966 58 18.
Evaluation Copy Available on Request
About GRAHL software design:
Since 1996, GRAHL software design has been developing and marketing Windows productivity tools for business and home users. In addition to PDF Annotator, the company also offers SnippetCenter, an information manager that archives text documents, files, code snippets, Internet addresses, comments and notes.
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