I find that when I’m staring at a blank canvas or a nice and blank “new document” I don’t have a good idea of what direction I could be heading with my thoughts or needs. If you start with a template and see what other people have done with the tool you’re using, it can help get your own gears of creativity spinning and give you an idea of what’s possible with the application you’re getting started using.

If you’re trying to learn what one of the Microsoft Office applications are capable of, starting with a template is a great way to see the power and features of the app.

You can look through templates based on themes, industry or in our case of learning a new program, by “Program Category”. The Microsoft Office Online website has templates available in the following apps:

• Microsoft Office Access
• Microsoft Office Excel
• Microsoft Office InfoPath
• Microsoft Office OneNote
• Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint
• Microsoft Office Project
• Microsoft Office Publisher
• Microsoft Office Visio
• Microsoft Office Word

So, whatever the business app you’re more than likely trying to learn, Microsoft probably has a template to help get you started.

Post from: EveryJoe

Use Templates to Help You Learn a New Office Program

When I was first learning and teaching myself HTML, I always enjoyed the way information was presented in the "Bible" series from Wiley. I felt the way the book was organized and gave the reader a nice overview of the information was very helpful. I’ve also read through a couple of O’Reilly books and also enjoyed them. The "For Dummies" series are really popular, but I’ve never used one to learn something.

Here’s another question for you, the readers, what books have you enjoyed. Which ones have you read that helped you really grasp and understand that topic at hand with whatever technology you were trying to learn and teach yourself?

If you were going to buy a single book to learn a topic, what series would you look for first on the shelf? Let us know in the comments below.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Best Computer Books for Learning Something New

We’ve all heard the analogy of giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish. The same holds true for technology. I can keep doing something for you, or I can teach you how to do it. The great thing is that sometimes the task is really so simple I don’t even need to teach you. You just need to do it yourself a couple of times and you’ll figure it out.

If you need directions somewhere, go visit Google Maps (http://local.google.com) which is my personal preference and put your address in. Then you can click on the little link that says get directions and put your other address in. Done! Print it out, email the directions, embed the map into your website or blog.

Need a phone number? Don’t call me and ask me what it is. Use the Internet and you can find just about anything you want.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to call my dad and remind him how to move files from his 3.5" disk over to a CD-ROM.

Post from: EveryJoe

How to Stop Relying on Others for the Simple Stuff