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Comment

Quick Start for Instructors

This quick start guide to Comment will help you create your Comment instructor account, set up your class, and learn the most basic features of Comment. For more help with any function, click the help button in the upper right corner of any Comment page.

You should register your Comment account and set up a class before your students register their accounts, so that you can give them the class code you create for your class.

Important: In order for the Comment Web site and Comment application to function, you will need to allow popups from the Comment site.

Setting up your Commentinstructor account

  1. Go to and select the version of Comment you will be using.
  2. In the registration box at the top of the page, click the GO button next to Register now. You’ll be taken to the New account setup page.
  3. Enter your Access Code in the box provided.
  4. Click Continue to go on to the New Instructor account setup page.
  5. Fill in the New Instructor account setup form with the requested information. (Middle initial is not required. You will later be able to modify all information later except your username.)
  6. Click Continue and you’ll be registered and logged into Comment. You will go to the My Comment page.
  7. Click the Set up a new class button if you wish to set up a new class now. The instructions are below, in the section “Creating your first class in Comment.” If you do not set up a class now, you will return to the My Comment page when you next log in, and you can set up your class at that time.

Logging into Commentonce you’ve created your account

  1. Go to the Comment page for the version of Comment you are using.
  2. Enter your username and password in the members box at the top of the screen.
  3. Click Go. If you haven’t yet created a class, you’ll go to the My Comment page, where you can set up a class. If you have a single class, you’ll enter that class; if you have multiple classes, you’ll see a list of them that you can select from.

Creating your first class in Comment

  1. Log into Comment.
  2. When you arrive at the My Comment page, clickSet up a new class.
  3. Fill in the New class setup form.
  • Class name can be the course title, or any other title you wish to use.
  • Class code is the code your students will use to join your class, so you’ll need to write it down and give it to your students exactly as you type it here.
  • The Description will appear on the class information tab of your class’s Comment site. The description can be up to 3000 characters long.
  • Next to Expires on, fill in the date your class should expire. Be sure to set a date that will allow you and your students to download work before the class expires.
  1. Click Continue. You’ll see a message that says you have successfully created a new class.
  2. Click Continue again and you’ll enter your new class.

Creating additional Comment classes

  1. Log in to Comment.
  2. Click the Switch Classes button in the my classes box at the top of the page, and you’ll get the Myclasses popup.
  3. Click the Set up a new class link on the left side of the Myclasses popup to bring up the Newclasssetup form.
  4. Follow steps 3, 4, and 5 under Creating your first class in Comment, above.
  5. To switch between your Comment classes at any time, click the Switch Classes button and select a different class.

Uploading a document to Comment

Notes: You must upload one document at a time. Documents uploaded to Comment must be in HTML, RTF, or Microsoft Word format.

  1. Select Upload a new document, located just above the list of documents on the documents & comments tab of your class’s Comment page.
  2. Click Browse and select the file you wish to upload.
  3. Enter a description of your document in the Description field. This could be the paper’s title or subject, or some information your instructor asks you to put here.
  4. Enter a note for reviewers in the Note to readers field.
  5. If you need to upload your document to a particular Peer Group or Assignment, make the appropriate selections from the drop-down menus.
  6. If you wish to place the document in the Course Documents section of the documents & comments tab, click Yes next to Course Documents.
  7. Click Upload.
  8. Click Continue and your paper will be uploaded.

Writing comments on a document

  1. Select the paper you want to comment on by clicking its name in the FILENAME column (on the documents & comments tab).
  2. Click on any word or paragraph marker in the document in order to insert a comment at that point in the document. The compose commentbox will open.
  3. Type your comment in the box.
  4. Click Save comment, and your comment will be attached to the document.

Creating links from comments to integrated materials

When the compose comment window is open as described under Writing comments on a document, you can create links to content integrated with Comment. For instance, Comment users can make links to grammar tutorials, and those using handbook versions of Comment can create links from comments to handbook content. Students can then click links in your comments to go directly to the material you wish them to review.

To use a quick link:

  1. Under handbook quick links (in the compose comment box), you will see a menu item for quick links. The menu title varies according to the version of Comment you are using; for instance, it may be named “predefined links” or “20 most common errors.” Hold your mouse over that menu title and a menu will open to the right.
  2. Click the topic you wish to link to from your comment. The link will be inserted in the text box.
  3. If you wish, you can add your own remarks above or below the link.
  4. Click Save comment to add the comment to the document.

Viewing comments on documents

  1. Select the document you wish to view from the list on the documents & comments tab, and you will see the text and comments displayed side-by-side.
  2. If you need to print the document, click See print view for a printable version of the document with its comments.

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01/12/19