PDF Assignment Builder videos surpass 15,000 views

Both the original PDF Assignment Builder and the newer PDF Assignment Builder 3.0 continue to add new views. In the year that it has been posted, the PDF AB3 has averaged 670 views per month!

The PDF Assignment Builder allows users to cut and paste information from any word processor into Adobe Reader. The field into which the information is pasted is dynamic--it will grow in size to accommodate 100 lines, or 100 pages. Users will be able to save the PDF form and send it to another user. The form will remain writable, editable, printable and savable.

The PDF Assignment Builder 3.0 allows instructors to create question and answer fields, as well as editable Title and Instruction fields. The question fields are numbered automatically, and specific instructions can be entered into the answer fields, and then typed over by students. Before the form is sent to students, the Title, Instruction and Answer fields are "locked" by changing their type to "read only".

Might be time for a new version. Anyone interested in collaborating?

PDF Assignment Builder surpasses 4000 views

I was on YouTube today and saw that the "how-to" video on the first version of the PDF Assignment Builder now has more than 4000 views. When I posted the latest version, the original only had about 2500, but I guess people are still watching it :)

Updated version of the Assignment Builder available

I have recently released an updated version of the Assignment Builder. The new version allows users to add delete/questions with the click of a button, as well as lock the title, instruction and question fields before sending an assignment to students.

Here's a video.

Here's a link to the PDF file.

PDF Assignment Builder

For a while now I have been building assignment files for instructors using Adobe LiveCycle and Adobe Acrobat Pro. I have also been building Instructional Design tools in PDFs, such as the Online Syllabus Template Tool (OSTT).

Creating assignments in PDF format came from my frustration at instructors receiving submissions in an endless variety of formats (.docx, .doc, .wpd, .txt, etc.) in spite of putting very specific language about acceptable file formats in their syllabi. With PDF files, that problem was eliminated.

As I created more assignments in PDFs, I began to realize the potential of these files:

1. No software to buy: They open in Adobe Reader, so there is no need for students to purchase Microsoft Word if they are working on a personal machine, as many distance and non-traditional students do.

2. Built-in accessibility tools for disabled instructors and/or students (more on this in a future post).

3. PDF files work with all browsers, on all operating systems.

Anyway, for me the "holy grail" was to build a tool that would allow instructors to create assignments as PDFs, WITHOUT having to purchase Acrobat Pro.

And I think I've gotten there with the PDF Assignment Builder.

Click here to watch a tutorial on using the Assignment Builder. You can download the file here.