Reviews ASTD Members Only

Bird's eye view of Dreamweaver 4
By Barbara Fillicaro

Dreamweaver 4 is the latest version of Macromedia's authoring tool. Dreamweaver is a front-runner in the high-end segment of e-learning content creation tools. It offers unequaled capability, though at the expense of a long learning curve.

Macromedia University, the company's educational arm, offers two instructional delivery versions--instructor-led and self-paced--of its course Dreamweaver 4, Level 1. Both versions are offered through Element K.

The self-paced course is an overview of version 4's basic features. Topics include an orientation to design and code views, creating a simple Webpage, working with text and images, building a site with frames, and using templates.

Pros	Cons
• Fast download • Self-running • Self-paced	• Visuals feel compressed • Audio just repeats text • Very little skills building or application offered

How good is the course? It's adequate for the right user. If you're looking for a quick summary of Dreamweaver features, this tutorial may do the trick. Likewise, if you're looking for minimal interaction, have used a previous version of Dreamweaver, and want a brush-up review of what's new in this version, add this to your short list. However, if you're a new Dreamweaver user, you may be better served by other courses.

Users do not take this course online. Macromedia's Shockwave player is used to deliver the course, like CBT- or CD-ROM-based training, to your computer. The module download was fast considering that I use a POTS (plain old telephone service) connection. The access performance of the training module was fast, too.

To access the course, you must have Dreamweaver running on your computer first. Shockwave then opens a new browser window in order to run the training module. One complaint: The window is about two-thirds the size of the computer screen, which meant that an instructional dialog box was always covering part of the Dreamweaver window. I had to drag the box around the screen constantly just to see the Dreamweaver display. Screen real estate is limited, but this solution is distracting and slows learning.

Another feature I didn't care for was the audio. A voice reads the text displayed in the instructional dialog box. As a reinforcement, I guess the audio is fine, but it didn't add anything. The scripting could've been tighter. Instructional designers need to keep in mind what is nice to know versus what a user needs to know.

Recommendation

If you're looking to spend a minimum amount of time learning the new features of Macromedia's Dreamweaver 4 or if you've had prior experience with e-learning authoring tools, you may find this self-paced course adequate. However, if you're new to Web design and development, perhaps the instructor-led version of this course would offer a more appropriate hands-on experience.