Thursday, February 18, 2010
Ribbon Hero – Boost Your Microsoft Office Skills With This Fun Add-on
Make Use Of: "We normally don’t associate the word “fun” or “play” with Microsoft. Pinball and Minesweeper are fine…but hey, a game for Microsoft Office? This is where the guys from Redmond have got off the well trodden path and done something that’s downright unique."
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6 comments:
This sounds like a great idea as a way to teach kids how to use Microsoft Office, but at the same time I feel that if they have to create a game to teach you how to use a program, maybe they need to take another look at the program. The majority of office programs, whether on Mac or PC are relatively the same. However sometimes certain programs decide to switch around tools and rename things. I understand that this is how the life of programs goes, but sometimes it just becomes confusing, and I suppose then that this game is a good way to figure out the mess.
I agree with Ariel... This seems like a decent tool for teaching kids or someone who has no experience whatsoever, but for anyone that has some kind of experience, I don't think this is really that great. From the example in the article and the description, it sort of seems very basic and almost too child-like for anyone with some working knowledge of the program. Personally, I prefer just having the help menu or a tutorial for if I don't know how to do something. That way I can just look it up and be on my way.
It seems like an easy program that would be great for kids or senior citizens. I know my grnadfather doesn't know how to operate a computer, let alone word but I would be confident that this program could help him, not only learn word but the necessary tools to operate the program well. I should probably do it, and I am sure I would learn something new. Programs like this are great because they are fun. Not only are you learning about something that seems boring but you ignore it and have fun with it, accepting it as fun, then work or boring. They should create something like this for Computing @ CMU.
This doesn't look like something I would consider a game. But for someone who doesn't know much about Office at all, it would be somewhat motivating that there are points you can get, while at the same time the hint option is available. I think it's a little ridiculous that there is a "share on facebook" feature, because it's not really something that needs to be shared.
I wonder how many complaints about the newer versions of Microsoft Office were needed to inspire Ribbon Hero. It is nice to see Microsoft taking steps to help its users become familiar with the new interface, but I wonder if creating a "game" was entirely necessary. In reading the other comments to this article, the general idea seems to be that this would be a great way for kids to learn the program, but what about those adults that have been using Microsoft Office for years? Is a game really the best way to familiarize themselves with the ribbon aspect of the program? I would probably prefer to ignore Ribbon Hero, and just figure out the new program on my own, which is not what Microsoft was after.
Should be good for schools, but in an office scenario, this seems a bit too much like slacking off. I'd rather spend hours playing this "game" than doing actual work. For finding new features when I'm working, I still prefer the reference textbook, help files, or manual. My other favorite is a google search of forums. For Office things, often the tips a google search comes up with are from blogs of the microsoft office developers.
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