Microsoft Word

MS WORD

Microsoft Word is a top-rated word processing application designed for the use of businesses, workers, educators, students, and personal use. It helps the users to View, Crate, edit, and share documents. MS Word is used primarily to create documents such as letters, brochures, learning activities, tests, quizzes, and students’ homework assignments. And more. This Application is available on the major operating system, be it Windows, Mac OS, Android, or IOS. Microsoft Word is often called MS Word and Word. Microsoft first developed it in 1983.
MS Word is one of the office productivity applications included in the Microsoft Office suite. But it can also be purchased as a stand-alone product.

Word processing application

Pedagogical background

MS WORD is an essential application for educational purposes. In this digital age, it is easier to take notes without using notebooks. We can create notes that include diagrams, graphs, tables, and smart art, among other things. We can organize our work in a more efficient method, and the best thing is that we can freely share the word file.
MS Word can assist teachers and students in developing new and innovative learning and teaching methods. Students can use MS Word and MS Office to transmit educational materials and practice in school and university more quickly and with higher quality.
It is also helpful to higher education students to prepare their research notes on it more efficiently and professionally. It has the exact sources and materials that are required for researching any topic.
MS Word has a grammar and spell check feature that can make your files error-free documents. The research in the typed form will also be more effective than handwritten work. MS Word files are very simple to publish or print; thus, after completing a thesis or research, one can quickly and easily publish their work.
MS Word is designed to be “Instantly Usable” by anyone regardless of whether they have very little or no computer knowledge. In addition to this, it also has so many cool features that are easy to apply – you can open it and start writing!
Here are some of the many ways students and teachers can use Microsoft Word to make learning more accessible and more efficient:

1. Time-Saving Tool; MS Word can be used as a teaching tool in schools, colleges by teachers and students. It helps the teachers to modify their teaching materials instead of creating new ones. You can correct your mistakes quickly on MS Word and can adjust the file whenever you want.
2. E-Content Generation; A new trend is emerging in which pupils are given customized notes in graphic-text style. MS Word can be used to insert notes, book references, the institution’s name, the course and subject titles, graphics, and charts, and these are all examples of educational E-content. Educator-created e-content is frequently uploaded to websites where anybody can read it.
3. Tool for Preparing Question Papers for Exams; One of the uses of MS Word also includes that it can be used to prepare question papers for exams in schools and colleges.
4. Lesson Plan; Teachers can plan their lessons using MS Word. For example, lesson plans might be weekly, monthly, or annually, depending on the curriculum used in the classroom.
5. Creation of a Good Resume; If you’re seeking work and have an interview, the first question the interviewer will ask is about your resume. Thus it’s a crucial tool in your job hunt. Creating an attractive CV was not an easy task back then, but with the help of MS Word, teachers and students can now quickly make a very attractive and appealing resume on their own.
6. Environmental-Friendly Tool; One of the essential advantages of MS Word in Education is that it is environmentally friendly because it uses less paper. MS Word is a paperless content production application that aids in the reduction of paper consumption for rough work. Said, teachers, and students can now utilize as many documents as they want without worrying about the environment or paper consumption. They don’t have to waste paper; they may delete the incorrect material with a single click.
7. Working as a Notebook; Students can use Microsoft Word as a notebook; they can write anything on it and use it as their diary.
8. Documents Can Be Saved for Future Use; Because you never know when or where a particular document will come in handy, storing critical files is a must in one’s life. MS Word can help you with this problem. You can preserve a document for as long as you desire. As a result, students and teachers can keep documents, notes, and other educational materials. They can obtain those files and data by visiting MS Word files if they require specific files or class notes.

Assessment
It can be used for summative assessment or for formative assessment to stimulate reflection or critical thinking. This second option is the most interesting in terms of learning and soft skills development. Quizzes can be performed by students by themselves or during class: the tool automatically grades the performance.
The teacher can also prepare feedback (that is shown automatically by the tool) or discuss results in class together with students.
For instance in one of the cases analyzed the teacher gives students a question about a physics problem to be attempted individually. Then the teacher asks students to discuss among peers about their answers to the question in group of 2 or 3.
After few minutes he stops the discussion and he asks students to answer again individually. At the end the teacher shows the right answer.
This use of classroom response system has been undertaken in a large classroom (more than 200 students) to stimulate engagement, self reflection and discussion among peers.

Use cases/examples of usage: (tutorial)

Strenght:

• Integration: One of the most powerful features of Word is the ability to integrate any document with other media available within the Office suite. It is easy to incorporate graphs, presentation materials, worksheets, and any other media created in the suite. As the link is dynamic, any document you create can be instantly updated when other media changes.
• Mail Merge: Word makes it very easy to create personalized documents by using a database list of names and addresses and merge them into your document. This is ideal for mass mailings of brochures or letters. The mail merge feature is intuitive and feature-packed, allowing you to create many different documents like mailing labels.
• Collaboration: One feature that is outstanding on Word is the ability to markup the document for changes. This allows for a series of editors to amend and update the document and allow all users the ability to see the changes made to the document.
• Templates:The good thing about Word is that there are thousands of templates available, so it’s very easy to create a brochure based on a template someone has already designed. Most templates are very easy to use and very customizable, allowing you to produce some stunning end results.
• Smaller Files: In the past, Word files had been notorious for being relatively large. This was a problem if your device had limited storage space. Word 2007 introduced the new DOCX format, which significantly reduced the size of Word files. This format is now the standard for documents.
• Mobile App: A mobile version of Word is available on Windows phones and tablets. While it is not as robust as the desktop version, it does allow you to create and edits documents. This is a great app for working on documents while you are on the go.

Weakness:

• Cost: While Word is the best word processor available, it can be very expensive. You can get free word processors that are nearly as powerful that will satisfy the needs of most users.
• Complexity: Most users will probably never use 50% of the functionality of Word. The complexity can actually be a deterrent as some users will be overwhelmed by the features available. The ribbon does present some of the more frequently used elements, but the lack of intuitiveness of the ribbon can add to the confusion.
• Not Always Intuitive: Some functions are not always intuitive, and it can take a while to get your desired effects. I have personally had problems trying to insert pictures and align text correctly around the pictures. The options available seem to offer what I need, but I don’t always get the desired effect.
• Removed Features: Some familiar features of Word have been removed in the past. This includes the iconic toolbar that was replaced by the ribbon. Word also previously had tools like speech recognition, although that feature became a part of Windows.

People opinion about the tool: https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-word/reviews

Similar Tool: Dropbox paper; Google docs; Office online; Etherpad; Zoho; Libreoffice.

Technical and operational requirements: A mobile/PC.