Digital Documents

  

 

I was one of the presenters in the Digital Documents workshop and I invite you to explore this page to learn about what Digital Documents actually are and how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Digital Documents are documents that are stored on a computer. The documents may have been created on a computer, as with word-processing files and spreadsheets, or they may have been converted into digital documents by means of document imaging. Digital documents are also referred to as electronic documents.

 Information technology and digital document exposure provides Learning experiences to assist development of students’ capabilities in:

♣locating, accessing, evaluating, manipulating, storing and retrieving information;

♣expressing ideas and communicating with others using computer-based technology;

♣developing an awareness of the range of applications available; and

♣learning to be discriminating in the choice and use of computer-based technologies.

(Capabilities from Computer-based technologies in the Primary KLAs, Department of Education and Training, 1997)

 How to save Digital Documents:

One of the most beneficial ways of saving a document is by saving it as a PDF ( Portable Document Format)

PDF is a way of saving a document that protects the format so that it will look exactly the same when viewed on any computer or when printed.

 Opening PDF files:

To open a PDF file you have two options. You can download a program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer. The program is available free of charge from the Adobe Acrobat site.  (Adobe Acrobat) 

The second option is to use an online PDF conversion tool. You can visit the Adobe Acrobat website, type in the address of a PDF file and get it to translate the file into a more readable format while you wait. You even have the option of emailing the address of the file (or even the file itself) to Adobe and they will email a translation back.

Saving PDF files

There are several ways of saving PDF files onto your computer. As we discovered through research and practice it is neccessary to use the method that best suits your computer set up. 

Here is one method:

• Open the document you wish to save as a PDF file. Select Print… from the File menu.
• Click on the Save As PDF button, or depending on what version you have, click on the PDF button and select Save as PDF…
• A Save to File window will appear. Type the name you want to save the file as in the Save As: field and navigate to the location where you want to save the file.
• Finally, click on the Save button.

If you’re not sure whether your version of Microsoft Word saves documents as PDF’s, you need to: Click on the office button on the top left of your screen, then click ‘save as’. If you see “Learn about add-ins to save to other formats such as PDF” then you will need to download the add-ins to add this feature to your Office applications.

A Great Program for creating Digital Documents: Artrage

Artrage 2 is a freestyle online website, that is free to download the starter edition (full edition costs only $25). It has a number of handy tools that helps create realistic paintings. Some of the features include:

• A colour wheel that allows for all colours with many shades 
• Different tools for producing the painting
• Erase and an unlimited undo feature.
• Varying sizes and pressure for the tools to create different textures.
• The ability to smear paint, smudge the chalk and blend colours as it would happen if creating a picture on canvas.

Below is an example of my Artrage creation. I hope you enjoy : )

African Sunset