Reviews ASTD Members Only

Industrial-Strength Authoring
By Michael Feldman

Produced by Click2learn, ToolBook II Instructor is a feature-laden, object-oriented authoring package for creating computer-based (CD-ROM or network-resident) and online (Dynamic HTML) Web-delivered training courses.

The best way to describe ToolBook II is in three dimensions. Content designers would likely enter the first axis by drilling down through a "stack" of over a dozen course templates (skills training, sales training, employee handbook, etc.).

The second dimension is represented by the pages in each template that serve as frames for the course information: title pages, objectives pages, video content pages, graphic content pages, remedial/feedback pages, and so on.

Finally, each of the pages contains a catalog of over a hundred action objects that are used to control the appearance and behavior of the content.

The templates provide the basic structure for the creation of specific types of courses. For example, the template for sales product training contains pages for product features and benefits, competitive overview, product pricing and availability, market overview, product positioning, marketing plan, and so forth.

When selecting the template, designers further identify the method of deployment. If the course is to be Web-based, there are additional templates for publishing in DHTML to enable user interactivity. Further choices of Web templates allow customization for either high-bandwidth (T1, ISDN, and cable) or low-bandwidth (dial-up) applications. Content pages designed for low bandwidth would include less complex functions and much plainer presentation features. Construction wizards called Specialists allow designers to create their own templates. And, of course, there is a plain vanilla, unstructured start-up document called Blank Native Book.

The objects available for the presentation pages can be any of the common linked or embedded variety (Instructor supports OLE 2.0 and above.), such as navigation hotspots, media items, fields, buttons, and so on. These are structured for manipulation using the Actions Editor, a visual programming tool for customizing interactive behavior. The editor provides options that pass course information to Web-hosted applications (CGI) for storing and retrieving from Web databases.

Characteristics

It took about four minutes to load ToolBook II Instructor onto a Pentium 4 machine running Windows XP, and there were no surprises. A call to the Click2learn technical support center on a separate matter took 24 minutes, all but about 3 minutes of which was spent on hold.

Instructor contains a separate module, called Neuron, that extends the capabilities of Web browsers by utilizing ActiveX controls for Microsoft Internet Explorer or a 32-bit plug-in for Netscape Navigator. OpenScript is the object-oriented programming language used by ToolBook II and it can create custom objects beyond those already included in the templates.

Also supplied with ToolBook II are a dozen utility programs that perform various functions such as removing the executable script code to prevent the editing or viewing of application scripts. Another utility allows the user to divide a larger ToolBook II application into smaller segments. There is also a bitmap editor and a palette editor, among others.

ToolBook II is fully compliant with most technology standards, including SCORM, AICC, XML, and IMS. Compatibility is one of the big differences between low- and high-cost authoring tools. The low-end packages generally aren't standards based. If your organization develops content for larger-scale e-learning systems, such as learning management systems and learning content management systems, standards compliance is critical.

No review of ToolBook II would be complete without a reference to the Click2learn Website (www.click2learn.com). In addition to product descriptions, the site contains an array of support features such as the ToolBook Knowledgebase with tech support articles and the Developer Corner with white papers, information concerning utilities, and inside tips. I think the most useful location on the site is the ToolBook Showcase, which displays several executable applications containing actual courseware developed using ToolBook II.

ToolBook II Instructor 8.1 Ease of installation **** Presentation **** Production quality **** Ease of use **** Value of purpose **** Value for the money ***½ Documentation **** Overall rating ****

Recommendation

Some people might consider ToolBook II Instructor to be a little pricey, but not if they're serious about training content development and concerned about the repetitive nature of creating multiple types of courses of consistent quality and timeliness. Rich in features and standards compliant, ToolBook II takes time for a newcomer to learn and isn't for the casual user. Nevertheless, it has an established spot in the top tier of authoring tools.