MS Office expert on call

Training Media Review, May-August, 2004 by Lorraine Vachon

* Microsoft Live Office, online, 2004, 40 hrs., KnowledgeNet 877-688-3717, www.knowledgenet.com), $2,490 for 10 students. Session archives, student guide, performance support tool.

From the outset, e-learning proponents predicted that web-based training would revolutionize, if not wholly supplant, traditional classroom training. Those predictions proved to be wrong. The live classroom proved to be more durable than predicted, while e-learning proved to be less riveting for learners than advocates had hoped.

The consensus view now seems to be that web-based training complements and extends traditional classroom instruction by offering learners accessible, relevant, customizable training. Until recently, much web-based training lacked the personal, real-time interaction between instructors and students. In an effort to combine live expert training with the convenience of Internet delivery, KnowledgeNet launched KnowledgeNet Live, an innovative blend of traditional and web-based training approaches.

Recently, KnowledgeNet added Office 2000 productivity training to its "live" format. Titled "Live Office," KnowledgeNet provides an "all-access pass" to training on Microsoft's core office suite: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook. The all-access pass means learners have unlimited access to the Office courses for the duration of their subscription.

Virtual campus

To begin training, you must log into KnowledgeNet's campus using your email address and password. Once logged in, you're directed to the campus home page, titled, "my learning campus." From there you can access recently viewed courses or, if it's your first visit to the campus, you may click the "view all courses" link to see courses available and enroll in them. The homepage also includes a link to "My notebook," a virtual space for taking notes and organizing them into folders.

Along the top right of the window are the campus navigational tabs: homepage, courses, resources, catalog, and profile. For quick access, the help and log out links are directly above the navigational tabs.

The courses tab provides you with a quick look at your current classes and the option to view any expired courses. The hyperlink for "Learn it Now" sits in the lefthand column. This feature, which I consider a strong selling point for KnowledgeNet, links you to a searchable listing of labs. Once you complete a class you can gain valuable hands-on experience by performing specific tasks in a lab environment. If you or your colleagues need to brush up on a specific skill--creating a macro, for example--you don't have to search through notes, written how-to guides, or the application's help function. Simply enter your search criteria and work though the appropriate lab. (Note: you should familiarize yourself with the labs so you know what is available for the different Office applications.)

The resources tab lists various articles ranging from KnowledgeNet press releases to ways to increase Windows security.

The next navigational tab, titled catalog, lists all the courses available to you. KnowledgeNet headlines each application and provides a hyperlink to direct you either to the KnowledgeNet theatre where the "live" class takes place or to the Express format, a recorded live session for on-demand training. If a live class is open, an icon shaped like a heart monitor graph will be active.

The last navigational button, "Profile," displays your preferences and allows you to make changes. For example, under the heading "Content Delivery Options," you can choose to turn on or off the audio or text captioning.

Course layout and content

KnowledgeNet divides each course into two parts: core and expert. Core classes introduce learners to the application and help them navigate through its many features. For example, learners explore an application's menus, learn to customize the toolbars, and perform basic tasks such as using templates and creating and formatting documents. Expert classes, as the name implies, cover advanced features. In an expert Excel class, for instance, you'd learn to perform v-lookups, create macros, and perform simple editing using visual basic.

When you attend a "live" class, you enter the "KnowledgeNet theatre," a virtual classroom that enables you to listen to your instructors as they work in the application and demonstrate various tasks. Although learners cannot speak with the instructors, the classroom includes a chat feature. If you set the chat to "my questions," you can write questions and submit them to the instructors who will respond to your question quickly. If you set the chat to "all questions," you'll see questions submitted by others as well as the instructor responses. Typically, the instructors incorporate questions and answers into the class session so there's little if any interruption to the training flow.

The class duplicates the content you'd receive if you attended a class at an off-site training facility. However, in a traditional class you'd expect the instructor to inject tips and shortcuts while demonstrating various tasks in the application. You'll find that the KnowledgeNet instructors deliver the same attention to detail. In classes I attended, the instructors shared keyboard shortcuts, time-saving tips, customization options, and pointed out common features among Office products. In each class, for example, the instructors provided learners with the URL for Microsoft Office on the web. Microsoft's site offers an immense amount of information to help you customize your applications and increase your productivity. You'll find templates, clip art, stationary, utilities, and guides for all the applications.