Teaching online certainly comes with its share of obstacles and roadblocks. It also forces us as educators to become more innovative in our practices and approaches; however, there are so many amazing tech tools to help circumvent these issues— even if a file happens to be a PDF. Over the past months, I’ve had several teachers reach out to me to say that they couldn’t, say, use a freebie from the Bespoke ELA Freebie Library because it was a PDF file.
But, I’m here to show you that YES, you CAN still use a PDF file for online teaching! While students may not be able to write on a handout with a pen or highlighter (unless they can print at home), there are plenty of workarounds for this issue.
Here are THREE tools and strategies for using PDF files for online teaching.
Annotating with Sejda
Recently, I found this website that enables students (and teachers) to highlight and annotate a PDF file FOR FREE! I have NO affiliation with Sejda.com whatsoever. I found it through a random Google search while I was trying to figure out how my students could highlight and annotate a poem online. This website has the weirdest name I’ve ever heard, but it WORKS! While there is a paid version of Sejda.com, my students have been able to use it just fine for free. All students have to do is upload the PDF file, use the annotation tools, apply the changes, and then download the annotated version of the PDF file.
Sejda.com offers the following tools:
Text
Links
Forms
Images
Signatures
Whiteout
Strike outs
Highlighting
Underlining
Drawing (freehand or with shapes)
For my purposes as an English teacher, my students mainly use the annotating features of adding text and highlighting. Sometimes, they will also use the shapes feature to circle certain words or phrases. It’s a straightforward and simple system, and it’s a great free option.
After students download the newly annotated/highlighted PDF file, I then have them turn it in through Google Classroom, and I grade it electronically. Done and done!
Kami also provides similar features as Sejda with many more bells and whistles, but it’s not free. You can sign up for a free 90-day trial or talk with your school about getting a subscription if you like it.
Photographing Handwritten Notes… or Typing
Whenever you use an assignment in the form of a PDF file, it’s important to give students plenty of options for creating and turning in their work. On these occasions, I allow students to either type up their responses/ answers/ notes or handwrite their responses and photograph them with their phones. Both file types can be uploaded easily to platforms such as Google Classroom for submission. Many phones even have scanning apps that will take a picture of a document and then turn it into a scanned document (which is much easier to read).
Those who do not choose to write by hand can opt for typing their responses using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. If the assignment contains a chart or graph that needs to be filled out and the student does not have a printer, I just ask the student to recreate the chart— either by hand or by typing.
There really is no roadblock to posting a PDF assignment. Just be prepared that the submissions might not be identical and be sure to be flexible with students when they turn in their work.
Converting PDF Files to Google Docs
Another option to make PDF files editable for students is to open the file in Google Docs. Here’s how to do it:
Upload the file to your Google Drive.
Right-click on the file and select open as > Google Doc.
The file will open as an editable Google Doc. You can then assign it out to students so that they can type on it, highlight, and/or add comments as required for the assignment.
These three strategies are excellent workarounds for using PDF files for online teaching.
What other methods or strategies would you suggest for making PDF files usable by students during distance learning? Leave a comment below to join the conversation.
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About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting.org and Bespoke ELA. She has taught high school English for 10+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.