Live online instruction on office.

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

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.

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.

The KnowledgeNet instructors shared their expertise in ways other than tips and shortcuts. They recognized that some learners might want to demonstrate their Office skills via certification. When appropriate, the instructors alert you to content areas you should learn well if you intend to prepare for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification.

Although the "live" classroom instructors demonstrated mastery of their subject and were attentive to questions submitted by learners, I had some initial difficulty adjusting to the delivery styles. At times I thought vocal modulation was excessive. Let me qualify my statement a bit. It's very difficult to connect with a live but invisible audience. While strong modulation demonstrates enthusiasm, I found it distracting in the beginning. After I attended a couple of classes, however, I grew accustomed to the delivery styles of my instructors.

If you're unable to attend a "live" session, KnowledgeNet offers KnowledgeNet Express, a recorded version of a live training session. Once you access an Express class, you have full control over the session. The navigational buttons mirror those you'd find on a media player: play, pause, stop, and repeat. Unlike the "live" class, you can repeat specific lessons so you set the pace of the class.

KnowledgeNet's Express format combines some of the best elements of web-based training--convenience, flexibility, and accessibility--with some of the best elements of traditional classroom training--expert-led instruction, value, and standardized curricula--to foster a learning strategy.

RECOMMENDATION

The technical difficulties I experienced do not curb my enthusiasm for KnowledgeNet's Live Office. The virtual campus is feature packed, and I was pleased to see such attention to detail. The live virtual classroom allows learners to interact with instructors in real time, but if you're schedule can't accommodate the live classes, you can access the same expert instruction in recorded sessions. Both class formats, Live and Express, are supported by exercises, labs, and student guides. When you compare KnowledgeNet's Live and Express classes with traditional classroom training on a feature-by-feature basis, KnowledgeNet is a clear winner.

KnowledgeNet Live Office star rating

CATEGORY

Holds user interest  Outstanding
Production quality   Outstanding
Ease of navigation   Very good
Interactivity        Very good
Value of content     Outstanding
Instructional value  Outstanding
Value for the money  Outstanding
Overall rating       Outstanding