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Everybody uses Microsoft Word. While it does not enjoy a complete monopoly on the word-processing marketplace, it's hard to find many people who use a competitor. And this ubiquitous tool is more than something to write papers with. It includes many capabilities, hidden to many of us, that enable it to be used as a general media editor. This week's article shows two ways in which Word can be used in ways that go far beyond the simple processing of words.

Tables

• The students found it very useful in studying for the test. Mrs. Young had prepared a study guide that showed for each of the countries of the European Union the chief economic and social facts, organized in rows and columns on the page in a way that made them easy to compare.
  
• Sarah was taking virtual notes from her research. Into the first column she pasted the URL of her source. The second column contained a summary, in her own words, of the key ideas she found there. In the third column she pasted a quotation or image from the site. The layout helped her to organize her work and to make it useful later when it came time to write her report.
  
• The substitute was armed with a neatly organized page that showed thumbnail pictures and names for each of the students in this "difficult" class. Arranged in rows and columns, in alphabetical order, she quickly learned who she was working with.

All of these people were using documents prepared with Microsoft Word, that used tables to organize information so it is easy to use. A table is a grid of rows and columns into which information can be typed or pasted. Whether displayed on the screen or printed or sent over the Internet, these tables maintain their form and keep everything nicely lined up. Headings and labels make it easy to cross check and compare information. Tables like this are used widely in publishing of books and magazines, and in professional web sites.

To create a table in Word, choose Table -- Insert -- Table from the menubar, and then set the number of rows and columns. Your table will appear on the page. But before you insert the table, do a little planning. Sketch out the table you need, with headings for each row and column to indicate the categories of information that it will contain.

When you create a table, it will show lines around each of the cells of the table. You enter text from the keyboard into a cell, or you can paste text copied from other sources. You may also paste images into a table. You can change the size of the columns and rows by clicking and dragging on the lines. You can use the text alignment tools to change the way the words (or pictures) appear in the cells.

When your table is complete, you can change its format by selecting the table, and then choosing Table -- Table Auto Format from the menubar. Choose an appropriate format from the list and Word will change the appearance of your table.

Teachers can use tables to help arrange material for students (or for themselves), and students can use blank tables that you set up for them, or tables they create themselves, to organize the materials they are working with.

Diagrams

• He had read three times the paragraphs on How a bill becomes a law. But he never really understood the process until he worked through the diagram (with boxes and arrows linking the key steps) that Mr. Steadwell had prepared.
  
• She was a good reader, and fast, but she had some trouble creating a flow chart that summarized the main events in the plot. It forced her to remember the facts and to organize what she read, in a way that was new to her.
  
• It was a classic brainstorming lesson. But this time Mrs. Jabbour displayed on the big screen a new box for each student idea, and linked it to the other boxes with lines and arrows. When the lesson was over, each student walked home with a printed copy of the results.

All of these examples use the drawing capabilities of Microsoft word to create a diagram that explains or illustrates an important concept. The fastest way to create a simple diagram involves these steps:

1. Choose Insert -- Text Box from the menubar.
2. Watch the cursor turn into a crosshair.
3. Click and drag the mouse to form a rectangle of the size you need.
4. Enter from the keyboard the text that you want to appear inside the box.
5. To move a text box around, click on its edge and drag it.
6. To change the size of a text box, select it and then drag its handles.
7. Repeat steps 1 - 5 to create and arrange the other boxes you need for your diagram.
8. To connect the boxes,
   1. choose the lines tool from the Drawing toolbar
   2. choose an arrow or line
   3. click on the edge of one text box, and drag to another.

Once created, diagrams are easily modified by clicking and dragging the elements around the screen, or using the standard text editing tools to change the appearance of the words. Diagrams can be used in a wide range of subject areas, for a variety of purposes.

A good way to teach this process to students is to create a diagram in front of them as part of a lesson, so they can see what you are doing. Then assign them a task that requires a diagram that they turn in for a grade.

Word documents with tables or diagrams can be printed (make sure to keep your boxes and arrows within the printable portion of the page), they can be saved and shared, they can be emailed, and they can even be saved as Web pages (choose Save as Web Page from Word's menubar.) For organizing, recording, and publishing educational materials, tables and diagrams can help you and your students move beyond words and into the realm of organized ideas.