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Turning Texts, Images & Videos into Conversations

NowComment has the most sophisticated collaboration tools available for group discussion, annotation, and curation of texts, images, and videos.

It displays threaded commenting alongside the sentences and paragraphs of texts, the areas of images, and timestamps of videos to create engaging online conversations literally in context. Brainstorm, debate, and collaborate as never before!

Thinking Partners can bring the power of the latest OpenAI Large Language Models to your NowComment conversations!

Key Features

Free Accounts

Upload and discuss documents with people you invite or with the whole Internet ("Public Documents") at no cost!

Time Efficient

Interesting comments can be found quickly (they're tied to relevant document passages), and summary lines make skimming fast and easy.

Powerful

Any sentence, paragraph, image, or video can have multiple conversations, keeping discussions focused and on-topic.

Simple to Use

Our interface is intuitive, your documents are accessible wherever you are, and we do the hosting and maintenance.

Feature-Rich and Scalable

NowComment has the features to handle very large groups: notifications, assignments, subgroups, moderation, and more.

Read It Your Way

By default comments are off to the side (with multiple sort options!), but you can also display comments in-line.


Collaborate with AI in Comments & Replies

Introducing Thinking Partners

AI as Your Reading Buddy or Writing Coach

  • Write your own text of any genre or upload one from a Web Site, PDF or Word Doc.
  • Choose a sentence, paragraph, or the whole document. Click the button to Ask AI then select a Thinking Partner. Pose a question and add a description of yourself if you would like, then wait for the results.
  • Critically read the output from OpenAI that comes to you in an edit box. You can also Resubmit and Resubmit to choose from alternative results. Edit the output of the results you choose so that it is helpful (for other users), honest (about the facts), and harmless (free of bias).
  • Hit Start conversation and see how an AI comment is posted in context showing that this was written by a Thinking Partner and edited by you. You and others can reply to any AI collaborated comments with human-only replies or with another Thinking Partner.
  • Your work with OpenAI is free and anonymous on NowComment. No separate login is required and no identifying data is transmitted to OpenAI.


LLMs at your service

With the click of a button, you can deploy OpenAI's Large Language Models (LLMs) next to any document on NowComment. You can select from a bevy of brilliant bots.

We have designed these bots to be Thinking Partners who are always available to be your personal mentor, tutor, coach, teammate, student, simulator, or tool. Thinking Partners don't just correct your writing or summarize a text; they help you to become a stronger writer and a more thoughtful reader.

NowComment's Thinking Partners shape and transform the output you receive from an LLM. This is a different experience than you get with the popular, off-the-shelf, product-oriented tools. You will be inspired by the control our Thinking Partners give you over how to integrate AI into your own creative and thinking processes.

There are over 30 Thinking Partners to choose from already (with more coming all the time)! And since there are so many, to guide your choice, we have organized them into the seven approaches for students that Dr. Ethan Mollick and Dr. Lilach Mollick describe in a recent paper, "Assigning AI," as briefly described in the next section, below.

We also invite you to make your own Thinking Partners. NowComment is a platform where we learn with and about Artificial Intelligence.


Remix & Create
Thinking Partners

Detail the persona of the best Thinking Partner you can imagine having. Itemize for that character the reading strategies you want them to employ. Specify the output that you want to receive. Test and test until you have taught your Thinking Partner how you want it to respond to the texts of any genre that you are reading or writing and uploading to NowComment. Become a prompt engineer.

Productivity Meter
AI as Tool: Extending Performance

We are learning together how to use AI as a tool to extend our thinking. These Thinking Partners can translate, adapt, and transform text. They can give you a prompt for creating an image and more. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Keep your own
AI Dialogue Notebook

Use NowComment to add daily logs on one document each week. Also add images and videos. Invite others to comment. Use Thinking Partners beside your freewriting, jottings, exploratory logs. Upload a new document each week for you logs, then collect these weekly log documents and things you are reading into a Personal Collection. This collection becomes your AI Dialogue Notebook.

feedback icon
AI as Mentor: Providing Feedback

Ask a Thinking Partner to give you feedback on your work. Some examples of available Thinking Partners. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

direct instruction icon
AI as Tutor: Providing Direct Instruction

Select a Thinking Partner that pushes you to think through problems and connect ideas. Some examples of available Thinking Partners. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

thinking thinking icon
AI as Coach: Increasing Metacognition

Some Thinking Partners will help you to think about your thinking. Examples of this kind of Thinking Partner. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Teammate AI
AI as Teammate: Increasing Collaborative Intelligence

Invite a Thinking Partner into your study group to provide inspiration, find consensus, or play “devil’s advocate.” Consider these Thinking Partners. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Learning Robot
AI as Student: The power of teaching others

Treat a Thinking Partner like your student who has given you their thinking on a text. Respond by teaching more about the topic. Try this with these Thinking Partners. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Simulator Icon
AI as Simulator: Creating Opportunities for Practice

Some Thinking Partners are characters we have created to have specific, ideological ways of responding. Choose a Thinking Partners like this to engage with different perspectives. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Featured Public Documents


Recent Comments on Public Documents

profile_photo
Sep 24

Firstly, your writing is concise and purposeful, which is a big strength. To quote from your introduction, “I find myself constantly pushing the envelope and exploring the world of art in the most unique and fascinating ways.” This sentence showcases your enthusiasm and eagerness to explore, which will serve you well in a college setting.

A couple of areas that could be improved are the development of your ideas and your use of sensory detail. For instance, when you discuss acting and creating imaginary scenes, you might explore in deeper detail why exactly this captivates you so much. You could talk about a specific scene you’ve imagined and how you develop the characters and the setting. When you talk about your fashion business, you might give some more detail about the practical aspects of running it.

Secondly, when analyzing your text from the perspective of the five senses: seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing, and touching – seeing and touching are quite evident. For instance, “In my head I imagine a camera ready to film everyday scenarios” provides a visual element to your essay; it helps us see what you see. Describing how creating an outfit allows you a creative outlet gives us a sense of the tactile experience.

But you could incorporate more of the other three senses to make your story come alive even more. For instance, you could describe the taste of the air when you’re outside sourcing for materials to sell. You could talk about the smell of new clothes or the ding that your phone makes when you make a sale (hearing). These examples give your essay more depth and sensory richness which will help to create a more immersive experience for your readers.

Remember, you want the admissions officers to experience the world as you do when you’re exploring your creativity in acting and fashion. When recounting your experiences, take them on a journey by incorporating more sensory details. This will make your writing even more compelling.

profile_photo
Sep 24

Would a Thinking Partner be like a shoulder partner in a Kagan structure? Did you have students roleplay as college admissions officers?

profile_photo
Sep 24

Firstly, I must compliment your excellent storytelling skills and your ability to use expressive, vivid language. Your strengths clearly lie in your ability to paint a picture with your words. Phrases like “I find myself constantly pushing the envelope and exploring the world of art in the most unique and fascinating ways” are vibrant and engaging. It’s hard not to be captured by the enthusiasm in your writing.

Moreover, you do a stunning job of infusing your personal experiences with your broader interests, creating a powerful, unique perspective. The blend of real-world experiences and your imaginative approach offers an evocative, engaging perspective.

One area that you might work on is emphasizing more directly the lessons you’ve learned and demonstrating how they have prepared you for your future academic and career plans. For instance, while you tell us about the enjoyment you found in acting and fashion, it could strengthen your essay to link these experiences more strongly to your development, your values, and your future plans. This connection will give admissions staff a clearer sense of why these experiences have been so formative and meaningful to you. Definitely, don’t lose that strong narrative voice you have, but consider grabbing the reader’s attention and making them reflect on the importance of these experiences with a bit more strength.

To see this in practice, you might consider some changes to your conclusion. Here, you could expand upon the broader implications of your essay topic effectively. For instance, when you express your interest in the business side of fashion, you might also want to dive into how this viewpoint has shaped your sense of self and informed your future goals. This could also be an opportunity to redefine a term used previously — perhaps reinterpreting the concept of “creativity” as shown in your personal and professional life. Show why this attribute makes you stand out.

Consider linking your conclusion back to your introduction to create a sense of balance. Perhaps the introductory Scott Adams quote can be reiterated in a new light, given the experiences and reflections you’ve gathered throughout your exploration.

Remember to avoid summarizing the body paragraphs explicitly. Instead, use the conclusion as a platform to bring fresh insight into your experiences and beliefs. Finally, leave your readers — the admissions staff — with a strong impression. Show them how your unique experiences and perspectives will contribute richly to the University of Michigan’s vibrant student body.

You have a compelling story and a passionate voice, both of which are tremendous assets. With a little more emphasis on the broader implications of your experiences and added links between your past, present, and future, your essay will be even stronger. You’re on a wonderful track; keep refining!

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© Copyright 2021, Paul Allison.
"NowComment" is a registered trademark of Paul Allison. All rights reserved.

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Quickstart: Commenting and Sharing

How to Comment
  • Click icons on the left to see existing comments.
  • Desktop/Laptop: double-click any text, highlight a section of an image, or add a comment while a video is playing to start a new conversation.
    Tablet/Phone: single click then click on the "Start One" link (look right or below).
  • Click "Reply" on a comment to join the conversation.
How to Share Documents
  1. "Upload" a new document.
  2. "Invite" others to it.

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