Comments on: Office Community Clips

By: Doug Jenkins

Doug Jenkins — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:17:00 +0000

fzz - that brings back memories. Back in 1985, starting a new job and borrowing a copy of Lotus 123 from the accounts department, and half-guiltily working my way through the interactive tutorials. Half-guilily because I was an engineer, and shouldn't have been wasting my time on a financial analysis package, even if the accounts department didn't have a use for it.

Rather strange that over 20 years later the standard of interactive tutorials has apparently gone backwards.

By: agatha

agatha — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:54:00 +0000

perhaps a video would be helpful. lol.

By: agatha

agatha — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Hi!

I was wondering if someone could help out with an excel question. I think this is pretty basic, but cannot figure out how to do it! I have a workbook within which each worksheet represents a month of 2008 Jan-Dec. Each month is formatted as a calendar with one meeting in each day. I would like to re-format all of these tabs as one long list so that I can see all of the meetings in 2008. Does anyone know how to convert this calendar into a list?

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks a bunch!

By: Dennis Wallentin

Dennis Wallentin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:46:00 +0000

In the past each copy of MS Office included several printed manuals or one setup of manual was included in one multiple license copy. At that time end users had at least some basic support available on their desktops. Then it became to be too expensive for the software's vendors to include manuals so they simple dropped them. Instead Internet started to evolve with MSFT's newsgroups and dedicated individual controlled Excel sites. Around that time books about Excel became also quickly popular and it was also possible to make a living of giving classes in Excel. Later on more Q&A Excel forums started out, more Excel books was published and more individuals started out to offer virtual Excel services. For the last years it has became popular with devoted Excel blogs and how-to videos, both from MSFT as well as individuals.
It's great that it exist different kind of channels (technologies) that give access to Excel knowledge on all levels either for free or for some kind of payment. In other words, the existence of these technologies reflects the larger group of end users preferences and, at least in my opinion, we should encourage the diversity.
However, the question that can be raised in this context is if the diversity comes with a price or not. One aspect is that all channels are limited in one or another way. Another aspect may be the quality in terms how the different channels secure a certain quality of the provided material.

From a strictly personal point of view I would say that when printed books no longer are available I sincerely hope that I will not be around.

Kind regards,
Dennis

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:28:00 +0000

There is a certain amount of computer-savvy inherently required for all tutorials. That is where most major differences lie between videos that people like us may enjoy, and that basic users may find helpful. There is a certain level of required familiarity or desire to explore that allows the most routine tasks to be relegated to the "you (should) know how to do this so I won't explain it" pile. I do a lot of in-person work, and I absolutely hate working with those people that can't grasp the concept that the line of words across the top of the application is called a "menu", in (almost) every piece of software and they all work the same way: click on the word I tell you to access the command you need . Of course, I'm really there to teach them a relatively advanced topic, like a mail-merge. Good luck to me.

If I say "Click Edit" and the user does it, I'm very happy.
If that doesn't work, I don't mind saying "Find Edit in the menu and click on it."
However, I draw the line at "Find the line of words near the top. Find the word Edit in that line, then move the mouse to click on it. Left-click, before you ask (again)."

It might be different for a home-user audience, but I expect more from those who have MS Office in their job requirements. After all, I'm teaching them after the fact of gainful employment.

Videos are not interactive enough to handle the varying levels of understanding in the environment in which I work. I've learned that in my office the best way to teach a task is to do it from a set of instructions that are clear, extravagant in low-level detail, and used to demonstrate the process in person at least once. Leave the instructions with the user and be prepared for questions and updating the instructions with clarifications to meet the understanding of the users. In that way, those who want to know more can learn it. Those that just need to do the task can do so, whether or not any of the atomic steps are recognized as the building blocks that they are for more efficient use of a particular piece of software.

By: Jorge Camoes

Jorge Camoes — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:35:00 +0000

You should show, you should tell and you should let people choose. An advanced Excel user will probably hate Excel how-to videos. A beginner will probably love them.

I have some in my blog and I actually sell some, and I am getting great feedback from the users. And since I'm not fluent in English, the more I show, the less I have to tell...

If you write some step-by-step instructions you'll end up making assumptions about the users and drop some step because it seems so obvious. Unfortunately it is not and often beginners get stuck half way. I see this all the time. With a screencast you have to show even the simpler and smaller steps.

And screencast is a greener technology than printing...

By: John Walkenbach

John Walkenbach — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:10:00 +0000

I’d respond, but I’m too busy trying to put some furniture together right now. I’m almost bald from scratching.

By: Debra Dalgleish

Debra Dalgleish — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Obviously, not everyone who watches a video will find it useful. What the numbers indicate to me is that many people have an interest in videos as a learning method. The links to my videos are included in my web site's tutorials. Even though the written instructions and screen shots are there, many people are opting for the video, or using both.

As for who's watching, I'm not sure how YouTube gets its demographics, but they show that 82% of my videos' viewers are male and about 80% are 45-55.

By: fzz

fzz — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:09:00 +0000

There's a distinction between the number of people who watch video clips and the number of them who find the clips useful. The latter will be smaller than the former.

As for training, visual demos can be useful, but interactive demos are more useful still. Way, way back Lotus Symphony and 1-2-3 came with macro-driven interactive demos. Much better than anything Microsoft has produced in the last 2 decades. Very likely better than most of what the Microsoft community is likely to produce.

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:02:00 +0000

I agree there’s a market for teaching videos, but I’ve never cared for them. Even well made ones like Debra’s and Nick’s don’t do it for me. But I know videos are popular, I’ve gotten emails from people who have seen Debra’s and Mike’s and want me to make some. I think I’m too busy to try to get started with my own videos.