Formatting
These keyboard shortcuts can help you better format your lesson notes in Skype chat.
Use the following characters before and after things to format those words:
- use asterisks for bold, so *word* will look like word;
- use underscores for italics, so _word_ will come out word; and
- use tildes for strikethrough, so ~word~ becomes
word.
You can use underscores for blanks, like this: "What ___ the meaning of this?"
Editing or removing messages
FYI, you can right-click a message and edit it or remove it completely. This is useful if you make mistakes, but you can use it effectively in class for fill in the blanks prompting of your student. For example:
- Student says, "I looked to the picture."
- You type, "I looked __ the picture" and send the message saying something like "It's not to the picture".
- They realise that the issue is with the preposition and start guessing: "For? By?" etc.
- You right-click the message, change the blank to "at" and then send it back to them. From their side, the correct answer magically pops in the blank.
You can also edit your most recent message by hitting the up key when the cursor is in the text box.
Timelines
You can achieve a rudimentary timeline in text with a combination of characters:
- event in the past ---x-----|-------, where | = now
- event in the future --------|----x----, where | = now
- continuous ----<====|====>----
etc.