**PDF Annotation Tools and Tricks**

If you have been thrown in to distance education like many people have this spring, don’t panic. Many of the resources that you use in your classroom can be used successfully in an online learning environment without requiring printing. This is where PDF annotation tools are going to come in. If you’ve ever wondered how to mark up a PDF, this lays out some easy options. This is part of a continuing series on distance learning.

Please make sure that you follow the licensing of any products that you have purchased before posting them online. Please contact the publisher and or author of the resource.

If you are you using any of my products, I allow you to post student facing pages to your class in a password protected platform. In other words, you can’t post it on the school website but you can post it in your google classroom or another learning platform for your specific students.

If you are working with other teachers and sharing resources, please follow copyright guidelines. You can buy additional licenses on TPT products at a discount.

Using Google Classroom for PDF Annotation

Google Classroom on Chromebooks and Tablets

If your students are using chrome books and the Google Classroom App then you are all set up and ready to go. Google classroom has a built in PDF annotation tool for both Chromebooks AND tablets.

Students open the PDF and the annotation tools come up.

Google Classroom on Computers

Google Classroom via the website does not have the annotation tools. There isn’t an app available for PC use.

This means that you will need to use a work around for annotating PDF documents. This is a solution for students and for you to be able to add comments to a PDF.

Luckily, companies are paying attention and responding to the changing landscape of education as the world quarantines.

My favorite annotation tool is the Kami app. Kami can be added to the Chrome browser as an extension which make it easy to use. They are offering free access to teachers during the pandemic. Instructions are on their site. It can be integrated into your Google Classroom or you can just have students use Kami app on their own.

Not a Google Classroom School? There are other options.

Different course platforms have different tools, but some course platforms don’t offer an easy solution. If your school uses Microsoft, it has its own built in annotation tool.

You don’t have to use Google Classroom to use annotation tools like the Kami app (see Google Classroom on Computers). It is a chrome extension so while it works well with Google Classroom. Google Classroom isn’t required.

There are other annotation tools, but I’ve been using the Kami app with my own kids and students. You can google PDF annotation tools and I’m sure that there will be lots of options for you. Looking for how to annotate pdf files with a Mac? Click here.

These Annotation Tools Aren’t Gonna Work for Me.

You can convert PDF documents into slide presentations.

These are the steps to convert a PDF to an interactive slide.

I’m using google docs, but you could also do the same thing with PowerPoint depending on what your school uses.

Get Organized

Create a folder for PDF conversions
In that folder create a folder for the current project you are working on
You will be saving each page as an image so decide how you will name each page. ex. Cell Graphic Notes p1

Create an image from your PDF.

Open the PDF
Zoom to see the entire PDF (I usually use 70%)
Screenshot the PDF (if you are on PC you can use the snipping tool)
Save as an image (try to leave a border around the image)

Using the image as a background in a slide.

Open your presentation program. You can do this in Google Slides or PowerPoint
Resize the presentation to match your project. (Typically 8.5 X 11 inches in US)
Insert the image as a background on the slide.