When Microsoft released the Office 2007 system and the Windows Vista operating system, they presented a challenge for computer educators: get up to speed on this new version of Office and the new operating system.

Microsoft has made significant changes to Office 2007 by replacing the familiar menus used to select commands with an entirely new user interface. In addition, innovative tools allow users to accomplish complex tasks with a simple click of the mouse button.

The Windows Vista operating system offers new features that provide a wide variety of capabilities including improved security, better multimedia support, and easier file management.

To become proficient in using and teaching this new software, many instructors may desire formal classroom training. Fortunately, to meet this need, the Shelly Cashman Series Summer Institute will be conducted at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from July 15 through July 20, 2007.

This institute has been held at major universities each summer for the past 14 years. The purpose of the institute, which is open only to high school, career, community college, and university instructors, is to provide attendees with the technical knowledge and skills necessary to return to the classroom and teach their courses.

Subjects offered at the institute this year include Microsoft Windows Vista, Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Access 2007, Outlook 2007, Visual Basic 2005, Publisher 2007, as well as other courses. These courses run a full day or more and are taught by Shelly Cashman Series authors. You will learn from the experts who wrote the books.

We anticipate a large number of people will want to attend the 2007 Summer Institute and attendance will be limited, so please make plans to enroll as soon as possible.

For more information see http://www.course.com/events/shellycashmaninstitute/ where you can register.

We look forward to seeing you at Indiana University for an exciting week of learning.

Gary and Tom

For those of you who currently use SAM 2003 or SAM XP, you know that you need to install it to your local hard drive using two CD’s, and it takes up over 1 gigabyte of space.  Not anymore!  SAM 2007 can be installed from the Web, no CD’s needed—although a CD option will still be provided for those with slower Internet connections.  The installation size has decreased to 30 megabytes! 

What are you getting when you install SAM 2007?

• SAM Content Player (SCP): This component is similar to a media player, such as Windows Media Player, that renders content.  The SCP will “play” the SAM simulations when the student launches an exam or training assignment.

• Additionally, there is an engine that simulates each application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Windows, Outlook, and the Internet).  This component enables SAM 2007 simulations to allow students to complete tasks using all available pathways (right click menus, the ribbon, shortcut keys, etc.)

What about the website?

The SAM Management System is the web interface portion that users will see upon logging in to SAM 2007 at http://sam2007.course.com.  This is where both students and instructors will manage their sections, exams, training assignments, and reports. 

So what do I need to order?

SAM 2007 will have 3 different delivery options to choose from, based on the needs of your students:

• For users who have high speed internet access, we will offer a keycode-only package.  This is ideal for either standalone purchase or bundling at the bookstore.  The student downloads the components mentioned above from the SAM 2007 website, enters the keycode from the package, and is ready to use SAM 2007.

• Also for users who have high speed internet access, we will offer the option to purchase the keycode electronically via credit card from http://coursedirect.course.com.  The rest of the process will work the same as above.

• For users who may not have high speed Internet access, we will offer the option to install SAM 2007 using a CD, either purchased standalone or bundled at the bookstore.  From here, the user has two additional options:

1. Install the SAM Content Player and engine from the CD, but allow the tasks to be streamed over the web (recommended).
2. Install all components locally to the computer’s hard drive.  This will equate to about 250 megabytes.  This is NOT the recommended method, since the user will not have access to the most recent content.

For more information about SAM 2007, available in June ‘07, contact your Course Technology sales representative.

Are you faced with challenges of teaching computer rookies alongside technology hotshots in your classroom? The Illustrated Series may be for you! Our signature two-page spread design, succinct lessons and flexible content will help your students learn the essential Microsoft Office 2007 skills they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

Our new Microsoft Office 2007 texts feature a new case study company called Quest Specialty Travel - an adventure, culture, and educational travel company - that provides a practical scenario for students as they learn skills.  

The Getting Started with Microsoft Office 2007 unit introduces students to the common features of Office 2007 that are shared across applications, such as the Ribbon and Office button. This new unit allows students to jump right into the lessons of each unit, instead of repeatedly reviewing basic functions.

Redesigned Integration units make it easier for students to understand how to work with the software applications together. Based on instructor feedback, students will now complete the lessons using data files, instead of having to create the files from scratch. This new approach makes it easier for students to absorb each lesson’s concepts.

Real Life Independent Challenge exercises have students create documents they can use in their everyday lives, such as a resume, a budget, and a personnel database. For example, one exercise has students use Word to format a report with the MLA style guidelines. These exercises have many practical uses and can be transferred out of the classroom and into the student’s life.

Have you seen the new Illustrated Series textbooks for Office 2007? Share your thoughts with us by clicking on the comment button below.

Completely updated with all new business case scenarios,  the New Perspectives Series’ Microsoft Office 2007 books will help your students master Office skills through our challenging, problem-solving approach.  The New Perspectives Series pedagogy combines theory with step-by-step instructions to teach students both the how and the why behind skills.

Our Office 2007 books offer two new features to enhance learning. InSight boxes offer expert advice and best practices to help students better understand how to work with the software. A new Tip feature in the margins helps students harness the flexibility of Office 2007 by providing hints for more efficient use of the software. 

New Reality Check exercises  have been added based on customer feedback requesting practical, real-world exercises that students can put to use right away. The Reality Check exercises are comprehensive, open-ended assignments that give students the opportunity to practice skills by creating everyday documents such as resumes and budgets. An example from the Excel tutorials asks students to create a sample budget workbook, using realistic income and expense figures.

Share your thoughts with us about the New Perspectives Series’ new Office 2007 Courseware! Click the comment button below.

Our brand new Office 2007 courseware has started to roll off the presses and into your hands.  A lot of work has gone into these highly anticipated texts. They have been put through our rigorous quality assurance testing multiple times and reviewed by dozens of instructors like you to ensure that they meet your needs. Their fabulous new content, features, designs and wealth of instructor resources plus distance learning content make it easy for you to prepare for and teach your courses. 

Stay tuned this week as we reveal those new features of our Shelly Cashman Series, New Perspectives Series, and Illustrated Series texts, plus a special SAM 2007 update on Friday.

CourseCasts. Always available…Always relevant.


Imagining your students lost in the tunes of their iPods isn’t hard to do.  Now, with the introduction of CourseCasts, your students may still be engrossed in their iPods, but they will be using them to prepare for your lecture. With CourseCasts, Course Technology’s latest online resource, we’re building a library of podcasts designed to keep your students up-to-date with the latest in computing and technology news. 

Early this year, we asked instructors how happy you were with current media elements available for the classroom.  You told us you needed to get students excited, overcome time and budget costs associated with creating your own media, and keep products timely.  We heard you, and we share your desire to bring excitement to the computing course and the technology industry!  We asked instructors to evaluate our CourseCasts as a resource for their courses.  Over 75% said they would incorporate CourseCasts into their class on a weekly basis, noting that the CourseCasts were “interesting, relevant, and current” and an “ideal means to stimulate student interest in the career field overall.”

Ken Baldauf, host of CourseCasts and Florida State University faculty member, starts each day sifting through dozens of online news sources.  The result?  A CourseCast, that brings the latest and most relevant technology stories along with explanations of what they mean and why they matter – from hardware and software to security and computing ethics to digital media.  CourseCasts will provide regularly updated 5-10 minute podcasts on the latest in technology news and are a great way to get your students excited about technology!  Throughout the spring and summer, we’ll bring you a new CourseCast segment every month.  Then, beginning in August, you’ll have a new CourseCast every week.  Use it to spark in-class discussion.  Open or close a lecture about CourseCasts’ topics.  Assign an online discussion question or have students research more about a particular topic.  We want to get students excited to learn more about technology!

Visit http://coursecasts.course.com to download the most recent CourseCast directly onto your computer or mp3 player, or sign up for our RSS feed to get the latest CourseCasts automatically downloaded to your machine.  And, as always, we appreciate your feedback, so e-mail us and let us know what you think.