Advantage Series: Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Complete Edition
by Connie Myers
9/23/2000 --
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Title |
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"Advantage Series: Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Complete Edition" |
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Authors |
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Sarah E. Hutchinson, Glen J. Coulthard |
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Publisher |
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Irwin /McGraw-Hill |
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Publication Date |
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March 2000 |
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ISBN |
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0-07-234809-7 |
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Other |
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Spiral Bound/192 pages/Online Student and Instructor file |
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Advantage Series: Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 is a readable and accessible book covering the key principles and concepts of PowerPoint 2000. The writing style, design, and method of presentation create a text that's easy to follow and visually appealing. This book consists primarily of a series of eight chapters presenting the material with a chapter review at the close of each. It's approved courseware for the MOUS PowerPoint 2000 exam, and the chapters cover all of the material needed to pass the certification exam.
Throughout the volume, the approach is to provide a learning goal listing the objectives for the chapter and present the objectives in a case-based, "problem-solving" approach. Each chapter begins with the action list of objectives, followed by a fictional case study. Objectives are presented in a feature format that describes the command or task and briefly explains the relevance of each objective. A method section, showing how to perform the task, followed by a step-by-step numbered practice exercise, follows each objective. Each chapter concludes with a brief self-check question, hands-on projects, and a chapter review.
This manual has a number of positive attributes. One nice feature is the MOUS Certification Objective chart located at the back of the book. It lists the objective activity and the lesson number for each of the 50 exam objectives. This can be helpful when you want to be able to quickly pick an objective and locate the lesson number. Another plus is the overall design. The spiral binding makes the book easy to handle and the glossy four-color pages are pleasing in their formatting and design. Chapters follow a logical order, and instructions are clear and well-worded. The format is friendly and the coverage of the information is thorough.
One negative feature of the book is that the student data files for the practice modules aren't included on a CD with the book. The data files are available on a special McGraw-Hill Advantage Series Web site. Although the downloads are fairly speedy over a 56K connection, it still was time-consuming to navigate to the site, select the correct files, and download, unzip, and install them. They're a terrific resource, but it would have been more convenient for the reader if a CD had been included with the book.
If you're looking for an efficient, friendly book with the information presented in an easy-to-learn manner, Advantage Series: Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 is a great candidate. It's solid, well-written, and simplifies understanding the objectives needed to pass the PowerPoint exam.
Connie Myers, a technical editor, lives in Columbus, Ohio. She can be reached at
More articles by Connie Myers:
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