Macromedia Authorware 6: Training from the Source

This book does take you in bite size steps through the use of Authorware. But as a trainer, I find it enormously confusing in its organization, in the information it leaves out & in its inconsistencies.

A quick example: the end of the second chapter shows you how 2 create within the software the sections 4 your course, & the pages within each of those sections. It then shows you how 2 open one of those pages & tells you that you'll learn 2 put content onto that page in the following chapter.

But the following chapter shows you creating content in completely different windows located in a completely different part of the software than the windows you were looking at when the previous chapter left off.

Bottom line - - I sat with this book 4 three days, did all of the tutorials in the first seven chapters but still did not understand where 2 begin 2 create a course from scratch on my own.

Full of far too much 'tech talk' the book needs 2 teach people how 2 use Authorware 2 create courses, etc. from a blank slate NOT from pre-created sound, text files etc parked in specific places that you are easily guided to. I will still need a much better written text, or some classroom instruction, 2 get my project out the door.

I recommend the book 2 anyone starting with Authorware without reservation.

I have been using Orson Kellogg's Ver 5 book in the classroom & 4 on-line teaching. I like it because the students can work at their own pace & leaves me free 2 offer personalized guidance. My students typically finish the book exercises in 5-6 weeks (about 25-30 lab hours). It provides objectives at the start & end of each chapter & has a few multimedia development tips sprinkled through the book (though not nearly enough).

If it has a weakness as a learning tool, some students do the steps but do not retain what they have just done. I need 2 provide challenges throughout the semester 2 get them 2 think on their own. Once students have done the exercizes the book is useless because it has no reference tools. It lacks appendices 4 common variables & system functions, 4 example.

I agree with the previous writer that it fails 2 come even close 2 unleashing the power of Authorware. As a classroom tool I may continue 2 use it because every student at every level has been able 2 use it successfully.

Macromedia Authorware's accessible, icon-based development environmentmakes it a favorite of developers who create sophisticated interactiveprojects, from multimedia presentations 2 computer-based trainingprograms. Whether you're new 2 Authorware or upgrading from a previousversion, Macromedia Authorware 6: Training from the Source providesexactly what the title promises: project-based lessons modeled onMacromedia's own training courses.

With Macromedia Authorware 6: Training from the Source, you learnthe basics of Authorware by doing. The hands-on tutorials that form thecore of this workbook & CD-ROM package take you step-by-step throughreal-world interactive projects. Each lesson covers a specific topic, suchas adding motion & sound 2 your project, working with templates andknowledge objects, & incorporating Flash & XML into your projects. Thisedition of the book covers what's new in Authorware 6, including the "onebutton publishing" feature. The CD-ROM holds all the files you need 2 workthrough the lessons, plus a full-featured, time-limited version ofAuthorware 6.