Bird's eye view of Dreamweaver 4. (Review).* Dreamweaver, Level 1, online, 2001, 6 hrs., Macromedia (800-326-2128, www.macromedia.com); basic library $99; complete library $249; web professional library $399. Dreamweaver 4 is the latest version of Macromedia's authoring tool. Dreamweaver is a frontrunner in the high-end segment of e-learning content creation tools. It offers unequaled capability at the cost of a long learning curve and a "use it or lose it" imperative. Macromedia University, the company's educational arm, offers two instructional delivery versions of its course Dreamweaver 4, Level 1: instructor-led and self-paced. Macromedia's courses are offered through ElementK. This self-paced course is an overview of version 4's basic features. Topics include an orientation to design and code views, creating a simple web page, working with text and images, building a site with frames, and using templates. How did I like it? Short answer: it's adequate for the right user. If you are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a quick summary of Dreamweaver features, this tutorial An instructional book or program that takes the user through a prescribed sequence of steps in order to learn a product. Contrast with documentation, which, although instructional, tends to group features and functions by category. See tutorials in this publication. may do the trick. Likewise if you are looking for minimal interaction, have used a previous version of Dreamweaver, and want a brush-up review of what's new in this version. However, if you are a new Dreamweaver user, it probably is not what you need. You do not take this course online. Shockwave is used to develop the tutorial and delivers it like a CBT (Computer-Based Training) Using the computer for training and instruction. CBT programs are called "courseware" and provide interactive training sessions for all disciplines. -- or CD-ROM-based training to your computer. The module download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. was fast considering that I use a POTS (plain old telephone service) connection. The access performance of the training module was fast, too. You must have Dreamweaver running on your computer. Shockwave then opens a new browser browser Software that allows a computer user to find and view information on the Internet. The first text-based browser for the World Wide Web became available in 1991; Web use expanded rapidly after the release in 1993 of a browser called Mosaic, which used window in order to run the training module. The window is about two-thirds the size of the computer screen. The size of the tutorial window means that an instructional dialog box A movable window that is displayed on screen in response to the user selecting a menu option. It provides the current status and available options for a particular feature in the program. is always covering part of the Dreamweaver window. I had to drag the box around the screen all the time to see the Dreamweaver display. Screen real estate is limited, but this solution is distracting dis·tract tr.v. dis·tract·ed, dis·tract·ing, dis·tracts 1. To cause to turn away from the original focus of attention or interest; divert. 2. To pull in conflicting emotional directions; unsettle. and slows learning. The second thing I did not like was the audio. A voice reads the text displayed in the instructional dialog box. As a reinforcement reinforcement /re·in·force·ment/ (-in-fors´ment) in behavioral science, the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses, whether positive to desirable events, or , I guess the audio is fine, but I felt it did not add anything. The scripting could have been tighter. Instructional designers need to keep in mind nice-to-know versus need-to-know at all times. Recommendation If you are looking to spend a minimum amount of time learning the new features of Macromedia's Dreamweaver 4 or if you have had prior experience with e-learning authoring tools, I think you may find this self-paced course adequate. However, if you are new to web design and development, perhaps the instructor-led version of this course would offer a more appropriate hands-on experience. Barbara Fillicaro is an instructional designer and trainer based in Niles, IL, a suburb suburb, a community in an outlying section of a city or, more commonly, a nearby, politically separate municipality with social and economic ties to the central city. In the 20th cent. of Chicago. Her experience includes designing training for two Internet-based companies: an on-line auction house and a supply chain management system. She is adjunct adjunct (aj´ungkt), n a drug or other substance that serves a supplemental purpose in therapy. adjunct faculty at two colleges. Dreamweaver, level 1 product rating Holds user interest ** Production quality ** Ease of navigation *** 1/2 Interactivity ** Value of content ** Instructional value ** Value for the money ** Overall rating ** Outstanding **** RELATED ARTICLE Very good ***1/2 Good *** Above average **1/2 Average ** Below Average *1/2 Poor * NA Not applicable NR Not rated (usually not enough information) |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion