Like most of you I use Word to do the majority of my word processing. There are many other programs and apps out there that have similar abilities to type and format text. So what else can Word do?
Top Ten things that you might not know about Word.
1. You can check the readability of text.
- This feature is especially useful to check how easy the text is to read.
- To access this feature instructions can be found here or our video here.
- Readability is given in two scales the first is the Flesch Reading Ease where the higher the value the easier the text is to read. The second is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level where the applicable US grade level is given.
2. You should use Section Breaks
- Many of us are familiar with page breaks but not so much with section breaks.
- A section break is very useful when you want to change the margins on a page or the orientation of a page without affect the rest of the document.
- Section Breaks are found in the Layout Tab.
- Watch here to see how to insert a section break.
3. You can write mathematical equations
- Under the insert function you can add numerous mathematical equations automatically or you can type your own.
- If you have already typed a text equation and want it to look better convert it automatically by highlighting and selecting insert equation.
4. You can digitally inspect your document
- As you put together your document details are stored by Word such as names of authors, locations, edit times, etc.
- You may wish to consider this function when sharing documents to students, parents, other schools and even staff.
- For instruction on how to inspect your document click here.
5. You can make comments and track changes
- This function is excellent for giving digital feedback to students.
- See our post on digital feedback here or our video on digital feedback in Word.
6. You can create Customised bullet points.
- Want to create a tick sheet. Create a customised bullet point.
- Word allows you to use symbols or your own images to create bullet points.
- Watch our short video to see how here.
7. You can Create templates
- Word can be used to create templates to continually reuse by yourself or students.
- When you use a template no one can alter the master accidentally or save over it. (Don’t you hate it when this happens!)
- The template option is found in the save as menu. Simply save as a *.dotx type document and you’re set.
8. You can create a customised style.
- If you like to use a particular font and line spacing when you are writing documents you can create a style to suit.
- Instructions here to customise your style.
9. You can add watermarks and backgrounds.
- Watermarks are especially useful if you want to highlight something about a document.
- For example a document may be in draft, the answer copy, not for distribution etc.
- You can insert a watermark that sits across the entire document but does not interfere with the reading of the document.
- The watermark and background feature can be found in the design tab.
- Instructions on how to add a watermark here and a background here.
10. Short Cut Keys!!
- These are a must for all teachers and some of them I am sure you already know (some of them work in other programs too!)
- Cut (ctrl+x) Paste (ctrl+v) Copy (ctrl+c) Undo (ctrl+z)
- Line spacing: 1.5 spacing (ctrl+5) Double spacing (ctrl+2)
- Font: Bold (crtl+b) Italics (ctrl+i) Underline (ctrl+u)
- A full list of short cuts can be found here.
Educating The Digital Learner 