Annotate for Word (free and PRO editions) makes the built-in voice recorder function of Microsoft Word easy to use.

However, support for this feature was discontinued by Microsoft with the release of Microsoft Vista.

We've never found a definitive answer for why this is so, and the feature is highly valued by teachers for its simplicity. Our best guess is that the fear of lawsuits (in the first few rounds of debate over Napster and music 'sharing') made any ability to record audio a problem for Microsoft.

So, Annotate for Word PRO (Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007) supports audio comments only on Microsoft XP. It appears that the audio record feature of Office 2010 is completely disabled.

So, if you're running Windows XP and Office 2007, you're all set. Otherwise, Microsoft has thrown a  wrench into the works for teachers who like to record audio.

We will look for a solution for this, but the challenge is quite technical and we have no immediate plans to support audio comments in newer versions of Office and Windows.