Points and Views

In this Issue:
• Adobe Captivate
- Distance Learning Course
• Microsoft Word 2010
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Building Blocks
_______________________
♦ Adobe Captivate
Our clients and colleagues requested it, and we've developed a distance learning course for Adobe Captivate. The course provides the flexible tools to create effective, engaging content, and is offered via Ovation, our global learning site. Students work independently, complete the course segments at their own pace, and have ongoing instructor collaboration.

View Course Information - (pdf)

♦ Microsoft Word 2010
New Word 2010 users look for familiar options as they learn to navigate the Ribbon. We start our migration classes by describing the Ribbon as a large circle that pivots and stops according to the currently selected tab, displaying specific functions for that tab. As students assimilate the new interface, we provide the old and new keyboard shortcuts for faster feature access.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts for Ribbon Options - Press the Alt key to display all shortcuts. To select a tab or option, press Alt and the letter or number.







Making the Move - Common Shortcuts
Files:
Close - Alt W
Open - Ctrl O
Print - Ctrl F2
Recent Documents - Alt FR
Save - Ctrl S
Save As - F12

Current Word Distance Learning Courses - (pdf)

♦ Building Blocks
Word 2010 includes a building blocks template containing preformatted objects. AutoText is included in the building blocks family, which contains galleries for Quick Parts, Headers/Footers, Page Numbering, Table of Contents, Equations, Bibliographies, Text Boxes, Tables, and Watermarks.

Add An Entry
1. Select the document text.
2. Press the Alt F3 keys.
3. Select a Category and click Ok.

Insert An Entry
1. The Ribbon - Insert, Quick Parts
2. Keyboard: Alt NQ
3. Type the first few letters of the entry. Press the F3 key.

Rename an Entry for Easier Retrieval
1. The Ribbon - Insert, Quick Parts, Building Blocks Organizer
2. Keyboard: Alt NQB
3. Locate the entry and click the Edit Properties button.

Use the Building Blocks Organizer
1. The Ribbon - Insert, Quick Parts, Building Blocks Organizer
2. Keyboard: Alt NQB
3. Click and sort the column titles to view entries.
4. Select an entry and click the Insert button.












Quotes of the Week:
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
- Albert Einstein
"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers."
- James Thurber
_______________________

Brandpointe
The learning specialists at Brandpointe clarify and adapt technology. Contact us for information regarding our programs and services - www.brandpointeonline.com.

Points and Views

In This Issue:
- Word Master Class
- Distance Learning - January 2011
- Events

Word Master Class - Many of our clients are professional services groups with ongoing client service priorities. Technology has to be clear, focused and effective. Migrating and configuring Microsoft Office products has to fit and provide results. Brandpointe provides the technical knowledge that ensures successful rollouts and staff instruction.

The Master Class is designed for individuals who produce and format complex documents or provide technical support for Word 2010. We review and clarify the Template Hierarchy, Galleries, File Formats, Formatting and Configuration standards. Students learn at their location, and complete course segments at their own pace.

Distance Learning:
Our successful E-Learning program provides customized, flexibility courses. Students learn independently, with ongoing instructor collaboration. Tools and materials are structured for easy access and usage, and include course workbooks, reference sheets, quick notes, recap checklists and assessments.
January 2011 Courses - (pdf)

Events
Training 2011 - Conference and Expo
February 4-8
San Diego, California
http://www.trainingconference.com

Quotes for the Week:
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. ~Winston Churchill

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ~Alvin Toffler


Contact the education specialists at Brandpointe for continuing education and workforce training. We offer JobReady career preparation for Administrative Specialists and Litigation Support Specialists. WorkReady programs help employees build job performance.

www.brandpointeonline.com

Ovation News

In This Issue:
- Association Events
- Continuing Education Courses
- Brandpointe Briefings
- This Week's Quotes

Association Events:
Administrative Professionals Conference
October 3-6, Las Vegas NV
http://tinyurl.com/2fw4xjo

Continuing Education Courses:
Business Skills Course - Customer Service Management
Designed for administrative and front-line employees. The course includes four learning segments incorporating key concepts, role simulation, communications techniques and service recovery practices.

Module 1 - Service Basics
Download (pdf)

Cloud Solutions for Employee Education - Part 1
Brandpointe helps our clients develop educational tools for employee job performance. We assess topics, workflow, client service requirements, individual learning styles and key management objectives. We collaborate and plan methods, tools and resources to deliver information, and build required skills.

With more organizations creating web-based training solutions, we're showing clients that learning in the cloud can be an effective tool.

Key Development Factors:
- What concepts and knowledge are necessary?
- Which skill proficiences are required?
- How do we identify and measure these components?
- How is this accomplished with our dispersed physical locations?
- How do we accommodate varied work schedules?

Case Study:
Training Day Program For Engineers Located on Two Continents - (pdf)

eLearning Briefing:
Topyx -
Implementing a Successful Learning Management System
9/23 and 10/14
Registration: http://tinyurl.com/2eoq57x

Review Topyx, a Moodle-based system with full reporting and social networking capabilities. It provides a seamless, turnkey solution for web-based learning. Our LMS has provided an excellent resource for managing program activities.

Session participants receive a copy of an Office 2010 course module, and our updated elearning kit.

This Week's Quotes:
Yogi Berra's instruction for spring training drills - "Pair off in threes."
"As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, think big."
- Donald Trump

Contact Brandpointe:

214.233.6594 - Course Registrar
helpdesk@brandpointeline.com

Ovation News

News and Events:
E-Learning Briefing: - Review distance learning processes and Topyx, a learning management system. Topyx provides options for managing users and courses, and customized reporting capability.

E-Learning Management With Topyx - 9/23/10
Register for the online event - helpdesk@brandpointeonline.com.

WorkReady - Continuing Education
Distance Learning - Register for Office 2010 or Adobe Captivate sessions through Ovation. Call our course registration line at 214.233.6594, or contact us via e-mail - helpdesk@brandpointeonline.com.

Current Distance Learning Courses (pdf)

Office 2010 Making the Move - Is your organization making the move? Use our courses and tools for successful migration to Office 2010.

Microsoft Word 2010
Demo Video Tutorial - Headers and Footers - (pdf)

JobReady - Career Programs
Litigation Support Specialist - Open enrollment: Current program begins August 30, 2010. Our LSS program is now offered via Ovation. Acquire the knowledge and software skills required in today's evolving legal environment. Program Brochure - (pdf).

Contacts:
Event or Course Registration - helpdesk@brandpointeonline.com
Courseware - pbcoleman@brandpointeonline.com
Career Programs - jbrand@brandpointeonline.com

This week's quotes:
Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - Gandhi

When you know something, say what you know. When you don't know something, say that you don't know. That is knowledge. - Confucius

Ovation News

WorkReady - Continuing Education

Distance Learning

Brandpointe offers software education - anytime anywhere. Learning tools are downloaded from Ovation, our global learning community. Download courseware, and upload completed materials.

Chart progress with activity reports and updates. Communicate with instructors via e-mail, telephone or Skype.

Instructor Availability:
Monday - Friday (8:30am-5:00pm)

Summer Course Listings:

http://tinyurl.com/2g8hxng

Office 2010 - Making The Move

Microsoft Word - This Week's Demo Lesson and Video

http://tinyurl.com/26wyuzh

Association Events - August 2010:

ILTA 2010 - Strategic Unity

http://conference.iltanet.org

Follow ILTA events on ILTA TV - http://ow.ly/2jHp3

JobReady - Career Programs

Updated Student Roster:

Carolyn Redic joins the Administrative Specialist program. It includes Microsoft and Adobe software training, extensive typing tutorials, English Grammar and Professional Development courses.

Welcome, Carolyn!

Quotes of the Week:

"Ninety percent of this game is half mental." - Yogi Berra

"Sandwich every bit of criticism between two layers of praise."
- Mary Kay Ash

Contacts:

Distance Learning - jbrand@brandpointeonline.com
Technical Support/Project Assistance - helpdesk@brandpointeonline.com

Office 2010 - Making The Move

Microsoft Outlook provides layered options for managing electronic mail, contacts, events and projects. Getting started with basic concepts is an important step to user adoption and productivity.

Brandpointe provides tools for Office 2010 migration. Our course packages are easy to use for both structured classroom sessions - or independent study.

This week's demonstration video - Outlook 2010 Basics
Click Here To Take the Quiz!


Contents:

1. Index Page
Learners view navigational links to materials.

2. Lesson Worksheets
Knowledge Tools: Review pages, exercises and projects.

3. Demonstration Videos
Adobe Flash files to enhance learning.

4. Student Checklist
List of objectives and competencies.

5. Glossary
Master list of concepts and terminology.

6. Quick Reference Guide
Topical guide for use after course completion.

Join our global learning community at www.beovation.com.
Create an account and download the Outlook 2010 demonstration.

Course Segments:
Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and OneNote

Acrobat 9 - Single Key Access to Tools

Single key accelerators provide easy access to tools that manage content in Acrobat files.

Activate single-key accelerators:
Top Menu: Edit, Preferences, General Tab
Select - Use single-key accelerators to access tools.









Single Keys
Navigation and Selection:
H - Hand
V - Select Text
R - Select Object

Text and Objects:
C - Crop
F - Forms*
G - Snapshot
K - Stamp
L - Link
M - Movie*
P - Callout
S - Note*
T - TouchUp Text*
U - Highlight Text*

* Note: These tools provide multiple options. To select other options, press Shift and the single key.

Brandpointe - Solutions for the New Workforce - The specialists at Brandpointe provide tools, tips and instructional aids to maximize your investment in Adobe Acrobat. Follow us on Twitter and join our Global Learning Community for updates on Acrobat web sessions and events.

Learning Community - www.beovation.com

Adobe Acrobat 9 - Navigational Tools for Legal Documents - Part 1

PDF is a perfect file type for documents associated with SEC filings, complex agreements, joint ventures and patent registrations. These documents often contain inserted objects, images and tables, and go through extensive review cycles. Acrobat contains effective tools to navigate, collaborate and review the files associated with these practice areas.

1. The Power of Bookmarks and Destinations!

Bookmarks:



Function: Use Bookmarks to define specific pages in an Acrobat file, or perform specific actions when the bookmark is accessed.

Benefits: An instant, viewable roadmap to document contents. Bookmarks may be linked to web pages, external Acrobat files, or Destinations.

Location: Navigation Pane

(A) Create Bookmark
Select the New Bookmark icon in the Navigation Pane.
(Keyboard Shortcut - Ctrl B)

(B) Define a Bookmark Action
Right click the Bookmark name in the Navigation Pane - and select Properties, Action Tab.

2. Destinations:




Function: Mark specific document page locations. Destinations retain their location, even if the target page number changes.

Location: Navigation Pane
Right click in the Pane and select Destinations.

**Dock the Destinations Panel - View, Navigation Panels - Dock All Panels **

(A) Create a Destination:
Select the Create New Destination icon in the Navigation Pane.

(B) Sort Destinations:
Use the Options link at the top of the panel.

Benefits: Destinations also provide a navigational map, and can be sorted by name or page location. If their page location changes, the Destination updates to reflect the new page number.

The specialists at Brandpointe provide tools, tips and instructional aids to maximize your investment in Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat training is provided in our Legal Assistant and Litigation Support Specialist programs. Follow us on Twitter and join our Global Learning Community for updates on Acrobat web sessions and events.

Learning Community - www.beovation.com

Twitter Apps and Utilities

Friend or Follow
View thumbnails for followers - and those you follow.
www.friendorfollow.com

Giga Tweet
Count the total number of Tweets.
http://popacular.com/gigatweet

Mr. Tweet
Personalize Twitter Connections.
www.mrtweet.com

Name Check
Check your Twitter name availability for other social cites.
http://namechk.com

Re:Tweetist
Track retweets across Twitter.
www.retweetist.com

Social Mention
Analyze your social presence across mutiple sites.
www.socialmention.com

Tweet Cloud
Create a tag cloud for any subject.
www.tweetcloud.com

TweetDeck
Custom viewer for your tweets.
www.tweetdeck.com

TwitPay
Social media payment service.
www.twitpay.com

Twitter Counter
Track your follower stats.
www.twittercounter.com

Twitter RSS Creator
Create RSS feeds for your lists.
http://twiterlist2rss.appspot.com/

**Other Twitter Apps - Smashing Magazine
http://tinyurl.com/c5v5z3

Brandpointe provides innovative solutions for a diverse workforce. Join our global learning community - www.beovation.com

View current instructional programs and activities - www.brandpointeonline.com

Adult Learners - Part 2

Learning Directed By An Instructor/Facilitator:
Outline and Demonstrate Specific Tasks - Clarify what skills or proficiencies should be gained. Give learners time to review and complete those tasks individually.

Review Concepts and Terms Associated With Those Tasks - Link them with specific objectives.

Allow Open Discussion Periods - Detail the relationship between objectives and performance.

Examine Problems, Roadblocks and Solutions - Draw on the experience and knowledge of participants. Invite SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) to review solutions and scenarios.

Recap and Document - Use quick reference tools to continue knowledge transfer and achievement.

Join the Brandpointe Global Learning Community
Blog - Share - Learn - www.beovation.com

Adult Learners - Part 1

Adult Learners:
Are Autonomous And Self-Directed
They may be skeptical about new information, and may test or review it before acceptance.
Goals: Offer a variety of learning activities that promote acceptance and engagement.

Have Accumulated A Foundation Of Life Experiences
New information is compared or integrated with past problems or goals.
Goals: Integrate new and existing theories and concepts. Review problem solvers and successes.

Are Relevancy Oriented
Learning should feel self-directed and individually driven. They seek solutions to their perceived needs.
Goals: Identify individual learning styles. Match needs with activities. Measure outcomes.

Join the Brandpointe Global Learning Community
Network - Blog - Share
www.beovation.com

Training Tips and Best Practices

1. Distribute Topical Checklists - Reinforce learning and checkpoint objectives.

2. Use Task Recaps - Review key topics to boost the learning cycle.

3. Present Case Studies and Examples - Use case studies and on the job examples to detail processes and procedures.

4. Experienced Students and "Mavericks" - Challenge session "gurus" with more complex activities. Let them go "solo", and assess their progress.

5. Collaborate With Subject Matter Experts (SME) - Partner with group specialists and experts to development course content and target educational activities.

6. Create Teams - Invigorate lecture or discussion sessions by assigning key concepts and terms to individual groups.

7. Distibute Post-Session Class Notes - Provide notes that pinpoint objectives and detail key topics.

8. Go Green - Create assessments in Adobe Acrobat. Enable the Typewriter Tool for Adobe Reader students to add their responses.

9. Course Portfolios - Use Adobe Acrobat to bundle materials. Create portfolios that contain objectives, assessments, demo videos and related materials.

10. Program Development - Use this four step process to approach learning activities: Assess, Develop, Deploy, and Review.

11. Cut Courseware Bloat - Create individual segments and modules designed for specific groups.

12. Management Interaction - Keep managers in the loop. Document and share progress, connecting it to firm goals and performance.

13. Network Management - Maintain relationships with systems administrators. Discuss and review activities that affect training.

14. Create Student "Learning Cycles" - Target specific skills, concepts and terminology. Review milestones, assess activities and make recommendations.

15. Brand and Market Training Activities - Make achievement and accountability key components.

Join the Brandpointe Global Learning Community
Network - Blog - Share
beovation.com

Microsoft Powerpoint - The Masters

Set Global Defaults for Slides, Handouts and Notes
PowerPoint 2007

1. SLIDE MASTER:

Ribbon: Press Alt W, M
Status Bar Hot Spot: Shift + Normal Slide Icon








This is the "default" or prototype slide. Objects added to the Slide Master display on each newly created slide.

Common Uses:

• Headers and Footers
• Logos and Images
• Titles and Headings

**Create multiple masters in a single PowerPoint file:
Ribbon: Press Alt W, M - Select - Insert Slide Master






Each newly inserted master displays a new number. To apply a different master, select it from the list in the left pane.

2. HANDOUT MASTER:

Ribbon: Press Alt W, H
Status Bar Hot Spot: Shift + Slide Sorter Icon
Handouts are printed thumbnail images of slides in a presentation. They are often distributed to meeting participants, or used for slide navigation by presenters. The Handout Master sets defaults for headers and footers, fonts, page orientation - or the number of slides per page.



**Print Handouts:
Ctrl P, Print What - Handouts




2. NOTES MASTER:

Ribbon: Press Alt W, H
Notes contain optional text. Presenters often use the text to script and navigate a presentation. Notes may also be printed and distributed to meeting participants.

**Create and Print Notes:
Ribbon: Press Alt W, T (Notes Page)
Notes Pane: Add text in the pane below slides in Normal View.
Print Notes: Ctrl P, Print What - Notes








Join our Global Learning Community
Get PowerPoint technical information, samples and solutions.
Session Takeaways:
1. Create Professional Presentations With Impact.
2. Get Links For the Best Equipment and Tools.
3. Review Multimedia Options.

February Sessions:
Web: 2/16 and 2/25
Classroom: 2/16

Join Ovation - Our Learning Network Now!
beovation.com