What's New?

New and Improved Features:

• A new design that makes it easier for students to follow and succeed with the material.
• Twice the number of screenshots from previous editions enhances the visual appeal and helps students successfully complete the hands-on steps.
• 50% more end-of-chapter content available on the Website.
• Updated cases and hands-on exercises.
• Better implementation of design elements and shading for "Feature, Method, Practice" areas.
• New! Chapter Prerequisites.

Each lab manual features the following:

• Learning Objectives: At the beginning of each chapter, a list of action-oriented objectives is presented detailing what is expected of the students.
• Prerequisites: Each chapter begins with a list of prerequisites that identify the skills necessary to complete the modules in that chapter.
• Chapters: Each lab manual is divided into chapters.
• Modules: Each chapter contains three to five independent modules, requiring approximately 30-45 minutes each to complete. Although we recommend you complete an entire chapter before proceeding, you may skip or rearrange the order of these modules to best suit your learning needs.
• Case Studies: Each chapter begins with a Case Study. The student is introduced to a fictitious person or company and their immediate problem or opportunity. Throughout the chapter, students obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges presented in the Case Study. At the end of each chapter, students are asked to solve problems directly related to the Case Study.
• Feature-Method-Practice: Each chapter highlights our unique "Feature-Method-Practice" layered approach. The Feature layer describes the command or technique and persuades you of its importance and relevance. The Method layer shows you how to perform the procedure, while the Practice Layer lets you apply the feature in a hands-on step-by-step exercise.
• Instructions: The numbered step-by-step progression for all hands-on examples and exercises are clearly identified. Students will find it surprisingly easy to follow the logical sequence of keystrokes and mouse clicks and no longer worry about missing a step.
• In Addition Boxes: These content boxes are placed strategically throughout the chapter and provide information on advanced topics that are beyond the scope of the current discussion.
• Self-Check Question Boxes: At the end of each module, a brief self-check question appears for students to test their comprehension of the material. Answers to these questions appear in the Appendix.
• Chapter Review: The Command Summary and Key Terms provide an excellent review of the chapter content and prepare students for the short-answer, true-false and multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter.
• Hands-On Projects: Each chapter concludes with six hands-on projects rated according to difficulty level. The easy and moderate projects use a running-case approach, where by the same person or company appears at the end of each chapter in a particular tutorial. Projects use a running-case approach, whereby the same person or company appears at the end of each chapter in a particular tutorial. The two difficult or on your own projects provide greater latitude in applying the software to a variety of creative problem-solving situations.
• Appendix: Microsoft Windows Quick Reference: Each lab manual contains a Microsoft Windows Quick Reference. This Quick reference teaches students the fundamentals of using a mouse and a keyboard, illustrates how to interact with a dialog box, and describes the fundamentals of how to use the Office XP Help System.