By Phil Race and Steve McDowell
Sterling, Va: Stylus, 1996
Administrators and faculty alike have seized upon the idea of computer-mediated instructional technologies as the wave of the future. Faculty believe (often with little justification) that the new information technologies can increase teaching effectiveness and reduce their ever-increasing workload; administrators believe (often with little justification) that these new technologies can lead to more efficient, and hence less expensive, teaching, usually based on the idea that buying computer simulations of laboratory experiments is less expensive than actually doing the experiment.
"500 Computing Tips for Teachers and Lecturers" is aimed at the first of these two groups -- the instructor who is just setting out to learn how computers might be used. Presented as brief, paragraph long "tips," the book follows the format of several popular books by Phil Race, including "500 Tips for Teachers." Some of the tips are aimed at the very beginner, such as "Avoid replaing text accidentally." Some are for the more advanced practicioner, such as "Explore any options you may have for numbering and bulleting paragraphs or sections." Most of the tips are followed by a brief paragraph of explanation, while some have somewhat longer glosses.
"500 Tips" is probably most appropriate for the beginning computer user. Some of the tips -- such as writing down in a dedicated notebook every question the user has about their computer, then posing those questions of an expert all at once -- are tips that would help even the advanced user. But the majority of the tips, such as items describing various sorts of software, would be obvious or unnecessary to the non-beginner. General tips about how to use a computer are, of necessity, at a generic level, and the sorts of questions the more advanced user might have are usually about the more esoteric qualities of some specific software package. Hence the beginner's level of this book is inherent in its approach.
Yet, for the user just starting out, "500 Tips" could be a valuable resource. The questions of "How do I make PageMaker do this?" are usually readily answered by one's local expert. Questions like "How do I use this thing in teaching?" are far more difficult to get answered by a local guru, and it is in that vein that this text is most useful.
Mark West
UNC-Asheville