Microsoft Office 2007 to Dramatically Change How Skills are Taught

Instructors prepare for new software and effect on students, courses

BOSTON, MA – Thomson Course Technology, the worldwide leader in computer education products and services and part of Thomson Learning, is working with educators to analyze the impact of Microsoft Office 2007 on students learning software skills. After extensive usability studies on its existing Office applications, Microsoft has developed an intuitive suite of products that will maximize the computer user experience. Microsoft describes Office 2007 as “results-oriented”—focused primarily on helping individuals create more professional-looking documents in less amount of time, while also expanding communication and collaboration capabilities for people around the world.

Instructors who have seen Microsoft Office 2007 in action through demos have begun telling their students what they can expect their experience to be like in the coming semesters. Instructors realize how it will change the way people work, how we interact with each other, and how it will raise the bar of expectations for the level of computer. And, as we have discovered, it will change the way instructors teach people how to use this software.

Among what instructors are saying to students:

"It’s more logical and user-friendly"
"Exciting changes for them just over the horizon"
"Dramatic change"
"It is really different and I am excited about the new features"

A main concern for every instructor is keeping students both engaged and enrolled in their computer courses. Instructors appreciate the importance of the upcoming software and its effect on their courses. Microsoft Office 2007 will help enhance the computer course, alleviating some of those issues.

"Microsoft Office 2007 will revamp our Business Computer Applications course making it fresh and interesting," said Dr. Patti Impink, professor of business at Macon State College in GA. "Our students will gain knowledge they need to get ahead in the business world."

Instructors and professors are revamping their courses and curriculums to maximize the Office 2007 education experience.

"When students begin working with Office 2007, they will see a very different interface," said Lynn Wermers, chair of the computer and information sciences department at North Shore Community College in Danvers, MA. "As such, the speed, security, and efficiency advantages that the new version offers will need to be added to the course curriculum."

The major feature of Office 2007 that distinguishes it from previous versions of Microsoft Office is the intuitive reorganization and creation of software features that save the user time completing tasks—from simple to advanced—increasing their knowledge of the software.

"With the new ease in seeing both common and advanced functions, I think it will provide an opportunity to raise the level of student expertise in the introductory course," said Gayle Larson, chair of the general education department at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, MN.

Wermers echoed this sentiment of the time-savings Office 2007 offers and how it will impact both students and the course. "One example (of the way the course curriculum will change based on new features of Office 2007) is in the introduction of Themes and Quick Styles. The availability of these galleries of pre-formatted documents will greatly reduce the time spent teaching how to format files."

Among these features include:

Ribbons: replace Menus and Toolbars with one easy-to-browse location main set of commands. Centralizes commands for each program into main functions.

Ribbon for Excel 2007: shows Ribbon with tabs for Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review, View, and Add-Ins.

Contextual Tabs: when an object is selected a series of contextual tabs appear for common tasks (edit, format, manipulate, etc…). When object is no longer being edited, corresponding tabs go away. Steps for making changes are drastically reduced.

Table Contextual Tabs for Word 2007 showing how to quickly format a Table.

Galleries: a variety of visual style options for objects and images in documents.

Margins Gallery for Word 2007.

Live Preview: exact preview result of applying a feature to a select object (text, image, chart, etc.) before actually choosing it. View what change will look like before committing to it.

Live Preview in PowerPoint 2007 showing the preview of a color change.

Mini Toolbar: when text is selected toolbar appears with most common tasks in program. Mini toolbar disappears when object is not selected.

Mini toolbar appearing once object (text in this case) is selected.

Instructors are anxiously awaiting the release of Office 2007 and what they have planned for students to their introductory computer courses.

"We are excited about the changes in Office and to pass along these changes to the students," said Judy Cameron, instructor of computer information systems department at Spokane Community College in Spokane, WA. "The changes in our course will be extensive, but hopefully the students will adapt to these new features in Office with the exercises we are going to use."

It is only a matter of time until Microsoft Office 2007 is here and soon after employers will expect their employees to be familiar with the new software, clients will come to expect top-notch presentations and documents, and home computers will all come installed with Office 2007. As we have seen, instructors have begun preparing for Microsoft Office 2007 in their classroom to best equip their students for the next generation of computer skills.

For more information on Microsoft Office 2007, including the latest news, a guided tour of the software, and soon a blog to share your experience, visiting www.course.com/office.

About Thomson Learning and Thomson Course Technology Thomson Learning delivers highly customized learning solutions for colleges, universities, professors, students, reference centers, government agencies, corporations and professionals around the world. These solutions are delivered through specialized content, applications and services that foster academic excellence and professional development, as well as provide measurable learning outcomes to its customers. Thomson Learning’s mission is to shape the future of global learning by delivering consistently better learning solutions for learners, instructors and institutions. Thomson Course Technology is the worldwide leader in computing education, offering more than 1,600 print and innovative technology-based products for business and technology training. You can learn more about Thomson Learning and Thomson Course Technology by visiting us on the web at Thomson Learning and www.course.com.