The different types of help that you may have in learning a new piece of software.
Online Tutorials. – Video, text and images.
Demos. – Online, CD’s
Websites with FAQ. (email suppliers / complete a form)
Wizards – Step by step process to complete a task.
‘Help’ – Menu or Paperclip!
‘Read Me’ files.
Online Tutorials - This can be found on web pages, on a website, these tutorials will help a person in need. As for the Video, it may show visual examples to you step by step, ‘images’ should also be similar step by step example.
Demos – This can be found on CD’s or even online, it would demonstrate how something might work, or even how you can operate it.
Websites with FAQ – ‘FAQ’ -Frequently Asked Questions. This is another help Method on the pc to help someone. A site would include previously asked questions from many other people who needed help on, and then below the question would be a solution to it.
Wizards - This is a step by step process, which will allow a person to get their work done more quicker.
‘Help’ – A personal assistant is an animated icon that is located on your screen, for example, on the corner of your wordprocessor/ spreadsheet. The personal assistant will give you advantageous tips to whatever you are doing on screen. Questions asked will be answered by the personal assistant. it is usually a paper clip icon that has a speech bubble to communicate with you.
‘Read me files’ – This can be similar to demos, however you cannot interact with it. It is just a file with step by step information you read on.
Vocabulary
Tutorial software: This is a document/software that is a set of instruction used in many different tasks, to help a user. In computing, a tutorial is a computer program whose purpose it is to assist users in learning how to use (parts of) a software product such as an office suite or any other application. Interactive tutorials are forms of softwares that tutor you on how to use the program that you want to use. Within the software you will actually be carrying out the tasks and taken through many steps in order to teach you. For example you want to learn how to use macromedia flash and you want to learn how to start and stop flash animations the interactive tutorial will guide you. Courseware is a term that concists of the words 'course' and 'software'. It is educational material that is a tutorial made specially for students, teachers or trainers used with a computer.
Wizards/ Assistants: A wizard is an interactive computer program which acts as an interface to lead a user through a complex task, using step-by-step dialogs. In other words, it is similar to a tutorial, but this actually goes step by step.
Help menu: This program can be found in Microsoft word, in the top toolbar. It will include a selection of help sources, to aid you with anything, while you are using a program. ‘Help’ will always be on the top tool bar for your convenience.
Help Features: The features on the help icon will include ‘Microsoft office help’ ‘contact us’ which is probably an email address or phone number of the company who has manufactured the software, there is also ‘online help’ which will instantly connect you to the internet and on to their site and lastly ‘More about us’ Which will fill a customer in on the software.
Online Forums- A public board where people can post questions on problems encountered and hope for a knowledgeable person to answer the question asked. There are different varieties to this forum system, most of which are freely accessible and some might require payment to be accessed as they provide expert help. Read Me Files- A text file containing steps or instructions on how a program is supposed to be used and a brief history about the software’s many versions (a changelog). It is commonly distributed with computer software with the given name README so that it will catch the attention of the user.
Online Tutorials - This can be found on web pages, on a website, these tutorials will help a person in need. As for the Video, it may show visual examples to you step by step, ‘images’ should also be similar step by step example.
Demos – This can be found on CD’s or even online, it would demonstrate how something might work, or even how you can operate it.
Websites with FAQ – ‘FAQ’ -Frequently Asked Questions. This is another help Method on the pc to help someone. A site would include previously asked questions from many other people who needed help on, and then below the question would be a solution to it.
Wizards - This is a step by step process, which will allow a person to get their work done more quicker.
‘Help’ – A personal assistant is an animated icon that is located on your screen, for example, on the corner of your wordprocessor/ spreadsheet. The personal assistant will give you advantageous tips to whatever you are doing on screen. Questions asked will be answered by the personal assistant. it is usually a paper clip icon that has a speech bubble to communicate with you.
‘Read me files’ – This can be similar to demos, however you cannot interact with it. It is just a file with step by step information you read on.
Vocabulary
Tutorial software: This is a document/software that is a set of instruction used in many different tasks, to help a user. In computing, a tutorial is a computer program whose purpose it is to assist users in learning how to use (parts of) a software product such as an office suite or any other application. Interactive tutorials are forms of softwares that tutor you on how to use the program that you want to use. Within the software you will actually be carrying out the tasks and taken through many steps in order to teach you. For example you want to learn how to use macromedia flash and you want to learn how to start and stop flash animations the interactive tutorial will guide you. Courseware is a term that concists of the words 'course' and 'software'. It is educational material that is a tutorial made specially for students, teachers or trainers used with a computer.
Wizards/ Assistants: A wizard is an interactive computer program which acts as an interface to lead a user through a complex task, using step-by-step dialogs. In other words, it is similar to a tutorial, but this actually goes step by step.
Help menu: This program can be found in Microsoft word, in the top toolbar. It will include a selection of help sources, to aid you with anything, while you are using a program. ‘Help’ will always be on the top tool bar for your convenience.
Help Features: The features on the help icon will include ‘Microsoft office help’ ‘contact us’ which is probably an email address or phone number of the company who has manufactured the software, there is also ‘online help’ which will instantly connect you to the internet and on to their site and lastly ‘More about us’ Which will fill a customer in on the software.
Online Forums- A public board where people can post questions on problems encountered and hope for a knowledgeable person to answer the question asked. There are different varieties to this forum system, most of which are freely accessible and some might require payment to be accessed as they provide expert help.
Read Me Files- A text file containing steps or instructions on how a program is supposed to be used and a brief history about the software’s many versions (a changelog). It is commonly distributed with computer software with the given name README so that it will catch the attention of the user.
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