Students are often required to submit written assignments online. Their word processing program is not necessarily compatible with yours.

There are several options for students to submit written assignments:

• RTF format: Most word processing applications can save documents in rich text format (RTF), RTF format allows many word processing programs to open the file.
• PDF format: You will need an application to save your file in portable document format (PDF). The PDF format saves your document styles and formatting. These files can be exported and read using the free Acrobat Reader.
• Require a specific word processor and make it part of your course requirements.

For other assignments which require specific applications, be sure you tell the student the format and application that is required. There should to be a reasonable expectation that students would have access to the application needed to create the file on their home computer.