DigitalThink does it again.

* Microsoft Office XP, online, 2001, DigitalThink (888-590-1710, www.digitalthink.com), $25 per person.

DigitalThink is well established as an online content provider. Its desktop training courses have received high marks from Training Media Review writers, and the XP upgrade of Word is no exception.

Word 2002 XP first covers improvements to existing features and then delves into the new and advanced features. Some of the features and functions covered are task panes, smart tags, translate, voice recognition, and new formatting options. The course content is clearly written and logically arranged. But be aware that it assumes knowledge of Word 97 or higher. This is not a course for Word novices.

When first logging into the course, you can choose an orientation explaining the course organization, access to other materials, navigation, quizzes, exercises, and so on. I recommend the tutorial for first-time users of DigitalThink courses and its interface.

The standard course interface includes a sidebar offering a variety of selections: syllabus, scores, glossary, resources, help, orientation, tutor, discussion, classmates, chat, and messages. DigitalThink is a pioneer in combining self-paced content with collaborative tools. Students can communicate with other people taking the course through DigitalThink's internal email system. Because learner's personal and work email addresses are not used, their privacy is protected.

Students also have email access to a tutor if they have a problem understanding a topic or an exercise. Tutors respond with explanations and other help to get students over the hump.

Course navigation is simple. You click a forward or backward arrow at the bottom of each screen. Lessons explain a Word 2002 XP feature, often through the use of mouseovers. The technique is used in combination with screen shots of the Word interface; you move the mouse over parts of a toolbar, pane, or other element and an explanation pops up.

Click "Transcript," and you receive an even more detailed explanation that can be printed. Audio is also used at times to reinforce instruction. When returning to the course at a different time, you start where you left off (bookmarking is not always a feature of online courses). You can go anywhere in the course by clicking on the syllabus. There is also a flipbook feature that provides detailed information on screen layouts with explanations of parts of the screen. This flipbook also has transcripts.

After studying the explanations, learners then perform hands-on exercises. They are simulations that show all of the necessary steps, some of them, or none of them.

After completing an exercise, the learner clicks "Done" and receives an explanation of each step, including any done incorrectly or missed altogether. The quizzes are graded tests that require you to perform all of the steps correctly on your own.

The last module of the course is a real-world exercise in which you are working in a company and have to perform tasks that draw on all of skills taught in the module. Once again simulations are used.

The student can print out the whole course by downloading it as an Adobe .zip file. This is a nice feature because you can use the document as a reference and refresher.

Recommendation

DigitalThink's Word 2000 XP Upgrade course is every bit as worthy as the other desktop courses we've reviewed from this provider. The course content is taught through well-written text, a carefully thought out suite of techniques, and a clean interface that fosters peer and tutor contacts. That's a lot of value for the price.

DigitalThink product rating

Holds user interest    ****

Production quality     ****

Interactivity          ****

Value of content       ****

Instructional value    ****

Value for the money    ****

Overall rating         ****

Outstanding     ****

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)