Using Adobe Acrobat

Why use Acrobat?

If you're distributing documents to your students you'll want to consider using Acrobat. It's most effective when you've created documents that have extensive formatting you want to retain and where the ability to print out a good copy is important.

You might find Acrobat useful if any of these situations sound familiar:

"I have an answer key for this exam in Word -- I can print it out for everyone, but only a few people will actually look at it. I'll just post a copy on the door of my office and people can copy the answers out by hand if they want them."

"I used this complex diagram as an overhead in class, and four students asked for a copy of it. I'll make photocopies and send them over in campus mail."

"I'd like to put a copy of my syllabus on the course web page, but I can't get the formatting correct without retyping the whole thing."

"A student lost his syllabus and emailed me Friday night to ask for another copy--he'll just have to wait until class on Monday."

How do my class and I use it?

In a typical scenario you create a document for your course using your word processing program of choice. When the document is finished you invoke your local copy of Acrobat (the purchase and installation of which you'll need to arrange before-hand with your computing coordinator). Generally, this is no more difficult than printing or saving the file. The result is a PDF file which when viewed or printed with Acrobat Reader looks exactly like the final printed version from your word processor.

You can deliver this document to your students through any convenient means. Often the best solution is to add the file to your existing course web site folder and place a link to it from an existing page. Students would visit the web page, click on the new link and be able to view and print the document. Or you can deliver the PDF file directly to the students through a Fabio course folder or an email attachment. Students can then open the file using a local copy of the free Reader.

What are the advantages of Acrobat?

Anything that can be printed can be made into a PDF file. If you have an existing document and a copy of the Acrobat program, the work required to make a PDF file is minimal.

Once it's in PDF format, anyone with the free Reader program can view and print it. All lab computers and many student owned computers already have Acrobat Reader installed. If you can create it, they will be able to read it in electronic form.

PDF files are also particularly good at retaining the exact formatting (including fonts) of the original document, so you can be sure that no matter what sort of computer students are working from they'll see what you meant them to see.

You can create your files in whatever program you like (no matter how exotic) and not have to worry about arranging student access (in labs or dorms or wherever) to the particular program.

What are the disadvantages of Acrobat?

Students may not have a copy of Acrobat Reader on computers in their rooms. Although the Reader is free, downloading and installing it may be a deterrent to a few students.

A PDF file will be larger than the same information contained on a normal web page. Students who own older computers or connect from off campus may be frustrated by the download time.

After they are created, PDF documents are not easy to modify. If you want students to be able to work with the text you provide, your computing coordinator can help you find a better option.

For More Information

In order to make PDF files you'll need a copy of the full Acrobat program (not just the free Reader). Your computing coordinator can help you with this and get you started creating PDF files.