Word Processing is one of the basic skills required from anyone who claims to be literate in computer today
If you already know how to operate computer like carry out basic task with a computer system, one of the basic computer skills you can learn that is always in demand especially in a digital-enabled work environment is Word Processing
Word processing is simply the act of creating, editing, typesetting, and formating words that can be printed on a document page or as a book
It’s one of the basic ICT skills required to work in the online space today
When it comes to tools used in word processing today, Microsoft Word and Google Doc is the most used tools
In this course, you will learn the environment of the top 2 word processing application used today. By mastering these top 2 word processing software you will be able to work with any type of word processing tool that comes your way.
The course is made up of 2 major modules:
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Microsoft Doc Mastery
In this module, you will learn how to create, save, edit, typeset format and print documents with Microsoft Word.
2. Google Doc Mastery
In this Module, you will learn how to create, save, edit, typeset format and print documents with Google Docs.
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If you are a graduate and undergraduate who wants to learn Word processing skills to increase employment opportunities in a computer age, this course is designed for you
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For professionals who want to be proficient in word processing skills, to be able to create contracts, letters, etc for clients, this course is designed for you
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Business owners, entrepreneurs, Coaches or trainers who want to be skilled in word processing will benefit from this course too.
Looking forward to walking with you on this journey to mastering word processing.
To your Growth
Goals
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You will learn word processing from basic to advance with a comprehensive practical class
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You will learn how to create, save edit, type-set, format and print documents with Microsoft Word and Google Doc
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Discover how to access different types of document templates for easily creating different type of document
Prerequisites
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Basic Computer operation skill
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A Computer to practices Practical class
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Determination and commitment to learning new skills
Beginners Guide to Word Processing
Haroon Malik, MSC Advanced Computer Science & IT Management
A must step by step guide on word processing for all starters
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Current Status
Not Enrolled
Course Content
Various operations of a Word Processor
Principal Features of a Word Processing Program
Course Description
This training develops basic understanding of the word processing office software such as WPS Document or Microsoft Word. Training videos contain step by step guide to further develop your skills.
Course Goals
The aim of this training is to develop word processing skills so that learners can use a word processing office software to increase their work efficiency and office productivity.
Audience
This course is intended for learners who wish to expand their Word Processing skills
Topics Covered
Requirements
No prior Word Processing Knowledge needed. WPS Office FREE software should be installed on your computer. You can download the software from WPS
Instructor
Mr. Haroon Malik is an IT Consultant. He did MSc. Advanced Computer Science and IT Management form the University of Manchester, UK. He has over 12 years working experience of the UK, UAE and Pakistan. He has provided IT services for the businesses operating in IT, education, real estate, travel, healthcare and sports fields.
Contact him on LinkedIn here: Haroon Malik
Other Courses by Instructor
What you will get upon completion
After course completion, you can also get a course certificate for a fee that you can show to your prospective or current employer to demonstrate your proof of competency and skill on this subject.
This is your sample QR verifiable certificate
Special offers
No special offers are available at this moment.
Course Ratings & Reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
5 star
80%
4 star
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3 star
20%
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Reviews
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ByCreated Pelagio Paul Drake (2021-10-15 04:21:43)
My learning is gives me an update of basic word processing. Thank you
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ByCreated Nida Liaqat (2021-04-14 11:44:19)
The course is amazing and very much informative. I must say I have learnt a lot from this course and instructor is also great.
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ByCreated Farheen shafiq (2021-01-16 10:58:23)
Awesome and fabulous sir Haroon
Microsoft Word, like any other Microsoft Office application, is a household name, at least in India. We are using it all the time for all kinds of work – be it school projects, letters, note-making, official documents and so on. The list is endless.
However, being so popular and easily available has its downsides as well. We’re easily tempted into believing it’s too easy and basic to learn anything more than we actually know. But that’s not true. An average Word user might be using only 20% of Word’s functionalities!
So to avoid that, and learn how to use Word’s powers to the fullest, I’ve selected the 10 best Microsoft Word free and paid online courses for you from the 130+ Microsoft Word courses on our catalog by following a well-defined methodology that you can find below.
But if you want to jump straight to the results, here are my top 10 picks. You can click on a course to jump to the corresponding section:
| Course | Workload | In Brief |
| 1. Work Smarter with Microsoft Word (Microsoft) | 31 hours | Professionally built, well-structured online course on Word directly from Microsoft, free to audit |
| 2. Master Microsoft Word Beginner to Advanced (Udemy) | 7 hours | One of Udemy’s best-selling MS Word course with a highly acclaimed instructor |
| 3. Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training (Skillshare) | 3-4 hours | Well-designed Microsoft Word training with a friendly instructor, free trial available, sample on YouTube |
| 4. The Complete Microsoft Word Course: Master Microsoft Word (Udemy) | 10 hours | Simple, easy-to-understand Microsoft Word course with a helpful instructor ready to clear doubts |
| 5. Learning Word 2019 (LinkedIn Learning) | Less than 1 hour | Great for learning how to use MS Word effectively in a very short time, free trial available |
| 6. Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training (Udemy) | 1-2 hours | Great for learning beginner to intermediate-level MS Word training through practical exercises |
| 7. Word 2019 for Mac Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning) | 2-3 hours | MS Word training for all those Mac users out there, free trial available |
| 8. Microsoft Word from beginners to advanced. (Skillshare) | 2-3 hours | Good for learning Microsoft Word for professional use in office, free trial available |
| 9. Master Microsoft Word – excerpts from Levels 1 and 2 + more (Udemy) | 2-3 hours | Free-to-audit online course on Microsoft Word covering all the essential topics starting from the basics |
| 10. Learning Word for the web (Office 365/Microsoft 365) (LinkedIn Learning) | 1-2 hours | Handy for those who want to use MS Word on directly the web, free trial available |
What is Microsoft Word?
Microsoft Word is a popular word processing application developed by Microsoft. A word processor is a computer program we can use to input, edit, format, and output text. It is different from Notepad which is a text editor (used to edit plain text), not a word processor.
Word is part of the Microsoft Office suite containing other software like Excel, PowerPoint, and Access among others. Not only Windows, Word can also be run on Android, MacOS, iOS, and even on the web.
Word makes it possible to create just about any kind of document you can think of. It can be letters, résumés, forms, brochures, reports, flyers, certificates, books, and so on. A big part of word processing is formatting to make your documents look good, which you can do with ease in Word.
With Microsoft’s genius, Word is becoming more powerful and versatile than ever. You can now easily transform your Word documents into webpages, get real time translations, insert 3D models directly in your document, and get intelligent suggestions in the Microsoft Editor!
Why are Word skills important?
Since Word has such a wide variety of uses, it’s only natural that it’s a much sought-after skill. According to a research by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the Government of UK, Microsoft Word is one of the most common productivity software skills requested by UK employers. With 175,513 job adverts, a high advertised salary of £27,900 and a versatility of 0.99 (very high), Microsoft Word has a projected growth rate of 2% in the next 5 years.
In the US too, millions of jobs require you to have Word skills. A research by Burning Glass Technologies and Capital One has found that having digital skills leads to better employment and higher income. In fact, the impact is actually more not on sophisticated skills such as writing code but on using software such as word processors.
What is my experience with Word?
Like many others, I’ve been using Microsoft Word to document my writings since my school days. Being a content writer at Class Central too requires me to have a good grasp of Word. I am a Guided Project Instructor at Coursera. I am also a Beta Tester at Coursera, having tested many courses before they’re officially launched (including one in this list).
I have taken over 50 online courses in various subjects. My experience as an online learner and teacher has given me some perspective on what to look for in an online course. I used my experience to evaluate each course in this list.
Course Ranking Methodology
I built this ranking following the now tried-and-tested methodology I used in previous rankings (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:
- Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with over 100K online courses and 200K+ reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of 130+ Microsoft Word courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
- Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
- Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content and they have to fit in a set of criteria and be ranked accordingly: comprehensive curriculum, release date, affordability, ratings and enrollments.
The end result is a unique selection of courses that combines a decade of Class Central data and my own experience as an online learner to try to get the best of both worlds. So far, I’ve spent more than 10 hours building this list, and I’ll continue to update it.
Course Ranking Statistics
Here are some statistics regarding this course ranking:
- Combined, these courses have accrued over 150K enrollments.
- Six courses are free or free-to-audit and four courses are paid.
- The most-represented course provider in the ranking is Udemy, with four courses.
- The Microsoft Word subject has been bookmarked over 8.0K times on Class Central.
So without further ado, let’s get to my picks for the best Microsoft Word online courses.
1. Work Smarter with Microsoft Word (Microsoft)
My first pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is the free-to-audit Work Smarter with Microsoft Word, offered by Microsoft on Coursera.
Microsoft being the creator of Word, this course easily makes it to the top of the list. Undoubtedly, Microsoft knows its Word best, and will be able to teach you exactly what you need to know in order to be able to use Word easily and effectively. Moreover, a Microsoft certification will look great on your profile too!
This course will introduce you to Microsoft 365. Not only will you learn how to use Microsoft Word, but you’ll also touch upon the other Microsoft Office 365 applications such as Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote, and Microsoft 365 services such as Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint and Delve.
By taking this course, you’ll be able to prepare for Exam MO-100: Microsoft Word (Word and Word 2019). This is Microsoft’s very own exam that will test your ability to create professional-looking reports, multicolumn newsletters, résumés, and business correspondence. You’ll need to correctly apply the key tools and features of Word in order to be successful in this exam.
What You’ll Learn
The first module is an introduction to Microsoft 365. You’ll take a look at how to login and navigate your Microsoft account. You’ll explore the basics of the most used Office 365 applications such as Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote, and Microsoft 365 services such as Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint and Delve.
In the next module, you’ll get started with the Microsoft Word application. Here, you’ll learn about the components of Word’s user interface, create a new document in Word, change document views and get help, edit a document using Word’s editing tools, and proof a document using Word’s tools.
The third module is all about working with text tables and lists. You’ll learn how to format text, format paragraphs, and take a look at how to add tables in Word. After that, you’ll begin to work with those tables and control cell layout. Finally, you’ll learn how to manage lists in Word. This includes sorting a list, renumbering a list, and customizing a list.
You’ll move on to working with graphics in the fourth module. You’ll take a look at how to add graphics like symbols and special characters, use images in your document, and create text boxes and pull quotes. Then you’ll learn how to use shapes in Word, and enhance your documents using WordArt and complex illustrations.
In the fifth module, you’ll explore the different features used to finalize documents in Word. You’ll start by utilizing the accessibility features of Word, set save options, and change the page appearance. You’ll also control text flow, and add captions, references, hyperlinks, footnotes, endnotes, citations, bibliography, and a table of contents.
The next module focuses on collaborating on documents with other team members. You’ll learn how to modify user information and share a document with others, work with comments and compare document changes, perform a document review and implement document changes.
There is an optional “Honors” module at the end of the course. Module seven will give you an opportunity to put your word processing skills to the test by completing an optional peer-graded project. Passing this will give you the special “Honors” recognition on your certificate!
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 7 modules. Each module involves about 5 to 6 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos, readings and practice exercises.
The videos are very concise and professionally built, featuring three excellent instructors. The readings include step-by-step instructions to practice exercise. All necessary files are provided neatly under the “Resources” section of the course for download.
Along with the readings, there are ample ungraded practice quizzes in each week to test your knowledge before you attempt the graded quizzes. At the very end, there is an optional “Honors” assignment. You’ll need to apply all that you’ve learned in this course to complete them.
| Institution | Microsoft |
| Provider | Coursera |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 31 hours |
| Enrollments | 9.7K |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- This course is the first of the three courses in the Microsoft 365 Fundamentals Specialization.
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
2. Master Microsoft Word Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)
My second pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Master Microsoft Word Beginner to Advanced on Udemy.
This course is one of Udemy’s best-sellers and one of the most popular on Microsoft Word, with the highest number of enrolments on this list! Kyle Pwe, the instructor, has received much praise for his expertise and teaching style, as you can see below.
This is my second class with Kyle. WELL worth the money! His progression of learning is organized and easy to follow and the best part is the wealth of information/instruction that you can return to over and over again. Kyle is a great teacher, easy to listen to, good humor. Loved it! – Mary Anne H., Udemy learner
The course is taught using Microsoft Word 2013 and 2016. But since the basic concepts remain the same, you can use lower versions of Word as well to follow along with the instructor. This course takes you not only through the basics of Microsoft Word, but actually makes you an advanced Word user (and hence the name)!
What You’ll Learn
First up is Word 101. You’ll start from the ground up by learning about the Word interface and creating a new Word document. You’ll work with text, take a look at common keyboard shortcuts, and save a Word document.
Then, you’ll learn how to format your Word document. This includes creating bulleted and numbered lists, formatting text and paragraphs, and creating custom Microsoft Word Styles.
You’ll also change the page layout by working with margins, adding columns and page breaks, changing the orientation of a page, inserting headers and footers, and working with page backgrounds.
Next, you’ll finalize your document. You’ll do this by using Microsoft Word Spell Checker, AutoCorrect, and Find & Replace. Then you’ll be ready to print your document and also email it to others. And you’re done with Word 101!
Next is Word 102. You’ll start by working with Word tabs. Then, you’ll create and format tables in Word, use some Word Styles features such as using the Heading, creating a document outline, and reorder document content.
Then, you’ll learn how to use pictures in your Word document. You’ll insert pictures, resize them, crop them, and apply Picture Styles. You’ll also learn how to work with text wrapping (how your picture “sits” among the text).
You’ll also add videos to your document, and understand Microsoft Word Mail Merge to create mailing labels and form letters. Now you’re done with Word 102!
Now, you’ll enter Word 103. In this advanced-level Word training, you’ll understand Microsoft Word forms, work with text boxes, and use radio buttons, combo box controls and check box controls in your forms.
You’ll then create and edit Word templates, understand document protection, review changes in a document, and build a table of contents using Styles. You’ll also add and edit footnotes and endnotes to your documents.
Finally, you’ll learn how to work with citations, insert captions and a table of figures, and add cross-reference document objects. You’ll end the course by creating and updating a Word document index.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 26 sections. Most sections involve about 30 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through lots of short videos and quizzes after each section.
Each section consists of one or more lecture videos. The videos are short and concise, focusing only on the key topics. There are German, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Thai subtitles as well. This course features 30 downloadable resources and full lifetime access upon subscription.
In order to complete this course, you need to have Microsoft Word 2010, Word 2013 or Word 2016 installed on your computer. Additionally, after purchase, Udemy gives you a 30-days money-back guarantee. So if you enroll and then don’t feel like continuing, you can always cancel your subscription.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Instructor | Kyle Pew |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 7 hours |
| Enrollments | 79.6K |
| Rating | 4.7/5.0 (18.7K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- This course is trusted by renowned businesses worldwide such as Nasdaq, Volkswagen, Box, NetApp, and Eventbrite.
- Pew is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and a certified Microsoft Office Master Instructor.
- He has provided training for top companies such as Brocade, Chevron, Genentech, Facebook, Levi Strauss, PMI Mortgage Insurance, State Fund, Bank of the West, VISA, Walmart, and many more!
- He also has a 4.7 instructor rating on Udemy with over 1 million students.
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
3. Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training (Skillshare)
My third pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training, offered on Skillshare.
Daniel Scott or Dan is the creator of the website, Bring Your Own Laptop. As creative as the website name is, Dan is an equally fun instructor. What will attract right away are the excellent video quality and video editing. And Dan’s way of talking, of course!
This is a project-based course. You’ll create real world documents such as a formal business letter, monthly newsletter, business report, a timetable and much more. Although you’ll be advised to use Word 2016 for this course, I believe lower versions of Word should do the work too.
There is a YouTube version of this course too. Even though it has only 21 of the 52 videos, it’s still worth giving a try since it’s completely free! You don’t need to create an account or log in anywhere. You can just watch it on YouTube and follow along on your computer.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll start the course by learning how to create a formal business letter in Word. You’ll learn how to convert units in Word, and understand text formatting in detail. Then, you’ll use text boxes, add images to you document, and finalize the formatting for your business letter.
You’ll take a look at saving files for different versions of Word, saving PDFs and printing your documents. You’ll also see how you can get inspiration for your design ideas from professional designers by following different websites.
Next, you’ll start creating a monthly company newsletter in Word. You’ll learn to add and crop images, add default colors, and fix and color images. You’ll also take a look at how you can install new fonts, set default fonts, adjust line height, line spacing and space after, and add a Drop Cap.
You’ll move on to inserting colored columns or text boxes, create a two-column layout, add Heading 1 style, and make your own custom styles. You’ll also learn about the different ways of adding images, adding a pull quote, and putting text along a path.
Then, you’ll format a long business report. You’ll create a company template in Word, and remove double returns, double line spacing and double line breaks. You’ll learn more about adding page numbers to your document and adding headers.
You’ll also learn how to add a table of contents in Word, create bulleted and numbered lists, indent paragraphs, use tabs, and add a graph in Word. You’ll link Excel spreadsheets with Word, and create an infographic (flowchart or diagram) in Word.
You can save and use snippets of text using Quick Parts, and here you’ll learn how. You’ll add and adjust comments in Word, create a company template, create a timetable schedule using tables, and see how you can track changes in your document.
Moving on, you’ll learn to add text on top of images in Word, work with hyperlinks, and add videos to your Word document. You’ll also create interactive PDFs, share Word documents with others, make an interactive form, and create personalized letters in Word.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 52 videos or “lessons”. Most lessons involve about 5 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of short videos and projects.
The videos are professionally made, concise and interactive. Dan is a fun teacher who makes all the lessons interesting and gripping. Unlike other courses, you’ll learn through practical applications and see your work come to life. This course comes with a free trial as well!
This course is project-based. So, it focuses more on creating real-world projects in Word than teaching just the basics. There are 8 projects throughout the course, which you can work along with the instructor while watching the videos.
| Provider | Skillshare |
| Instructor | Daniel Scott |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 3-4 hours |
| Certificate | Not available |
Fun Facts
- Scott is a digital designer, an Adobe authorized instructor, and winner of 2 Adobe MAX awards!
- He teaches all kinds of Adobe and other software on this official website, Bring Your Own Laptop.
- He is also a Top Teacher on Skillshare.
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
4. The Complete Microsoft Word Course: Master Microsoft Word (Udemy)
My fourth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is The Complete Microsoft Word Course: Master Microsoft Word on Udemy.
If you’re looking for a course where you can ask the instructor directly any time, then think no more! Jan Ekhteyari, the instructor, makes sure he is always available for his learners, do they have any kind of question. Feel free to ask him anything and he’ll be there to solve your doubt.
Jan will take you through this journey with Microsoft Word and teach you all that you need to know in order to master the software. Each and every topic is covered carefully in each video so that you don’t miss out on anything. Learning the basics in detail is very important, and he keeps that in mind while teaching.
What You’ll Learn
Jan begins his course by assuring you that he’s there to help anytime. So feel free to ask him anything. He then moves on to teaching Word and explains how to open Word, create a blank document, open an existing document, and recover unsaved files. He also explains the Word user interface.
Next, you’ll take a look at the different menus in Microsoft Word and their components one by one: File menu, Home menu, Insert menu, Design menu, Layout menu, Reference menu, View menu, and Draw menu. You’ll also see how to use Options and Developer. This concludes the first half of this course.
In the next half, you’ll learn about Microsoft Word OneDrive. You’ll start by understanding what OneDrive is, and how to sign up and install it. You’ll also take a look at the OneDrive environment and learn to upload and download in OneDrive.
Then, you’ll learn how to create, select, share and collaborate files and folders in OneDrive. You’ll also take a look at the picture options, right-click options, personal wallet options, shared folder, and OneDrive settings.
Next, you’ll move on to Microsoft Word OneDrive where you’ll take a look at the complete Word environment. You’ll also work on Microsoft Word projects such as making a timetable and bill system in Word. You’ll also touch upon other Microsoft Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
First is Microsoft Excel. You’ll go through the Excel environment, take a look at the Excel Home, use Excel’s number formats and conditional formatting, format a table, and learn about the Insert, Data, Review and View menus in Excel. Then, you’ll work on Microsoft Excel projects to create a salary table in Excel.
Next is Microsoft PowerPoint. You’ll take a look at the PowerPoint environment and check out the Home, File, Insert and Design menus. You’ll also use animations and transitions in PowerPoint, and work on a Microsoft PowerPoint project.
Finally, learn about Microsoft Outlook. You’ll go through the Outlook environment, learn to send and receive emails in Outlook, check out the email options in Outlook, use the Sweep functions of Outlook, and change Outlook settings.
There are other applications in OneDrive such as OneNote and Forms. You’ll also touch upon those applications and learn how to change their settings. At the end of the course, there is a question-and-answer session where you’ll learn about taking screenshots using the Snipping Tool.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 28 sections. Most sections involve about 30 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through lots of short videos.
Each section consists of one or more lecture videos. The videos are short and interactive, with good-quality editing. This course features full lifetime access upon subscription.
Additionally, after purchase, Udemy gives you a 30-days money-back guarantee. So if you enroll and then don’t feel like continuing, you can always cancel your subscription.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Instructor | JM Ekhteyari, TJ Walker |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 10 hours |
| Enrollments | 14.2K |
| Rating | 4.5/5.0 (18.7K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- Walker is the founder of Media Training Worldwide.
- He has trained Presidents and Prime Ministers, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Super Bowl winners, US Senators, Miss Universes and Members of Parliament!
- His book, “Secret to Foolproof Presentations“, was a USA Today # 1 Bestseller.
- In 2009, Walker set the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Talk Radio Appearances ever in a 24 hour period!
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
5. Learning Word 2019 (LinkedIn Learning)
My fifth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Learning Word 2019 on LinkedIn Learning.
This the shortest course on this list of Microsoft Word online courses. Which means, if you want to learn Word quickly, then this is the course you need to take. Paired with a great instructor, this brief Word course keeps things very simple so that you can get going right away!
In this course, you’ll learn some of the most popularly used features of Microsoft Word for common scenarios. You don’t always need to know all the features of Word to be able to use it for your day-to-day tasks. But right now, you might need to produce a presentable document for your office, and this course will help you do just that.
What You’ll Learn
This course is fairly simple. In only one module, you’ll go through the Word user interface and learn to navigate through Word.
You’ll also learn to create and save documents, write and format text, format the document, set up the layout with page breaks, section breaks and columns.
Finally, you’ll learn to add and format images, and add headers, footers and page numbers.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 1 module and it takes less than 1 hour to complete. Concepts are taught through a combination of short videos and a quiz.
Nick uses very short videos or “movies” of around 5 minutes to explain the main concepts very quickly. These are direct and to-the-point, teaching just the right amount of materials you need to get going with Word. This course also comes with a 1-month free trial.
Other than the lecture videos, there is also a quiz and 2 exercise files included in this course. That means, even though this course is so short, it does not compromise on the importance of practice. Once you’ve completed all this, you should feel confident in your basic Word skills.
| Provider | LinkedIn Learning |
| Instructor | Nick Brazzi |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | Less than 1 hour |
| Liked by | 1K |
| Certificate | Paid |
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
6. Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training (Udemy)
My sixth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training on Udemy.
Far from boring lectures and fuzzy visuals, this course features an interactive instructor who will teach you all the useful tools and features of Microsoft Word through high-quality, bite-sized videos. You can even ask him questions and he’ll be there to help you out.
Focusing on practical applications, this course not only teaches you Word but also makes you practice through exercises, quizzes and real-world projects. Even though this course gives up to intermediate-level training, it is enough to be fairly proficient in using Word in professional environments.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll start the course by exploring the Word interface. Then, you’ll take a look at the different tabs (or menus) in Word one by one. First is the File tab, and then the Home tab. Under the Home tab, you’ll learn about the clipboard, text formatting, editing with Styles, and looking for words and phrases.
Then there’s the Insert tab. You’ll learn how to work with cover pages and page breaks, insert tables, and add pictures, shapes and objects from SmartArt. You’ll also learn how to use headers and footers in your document, add page numbers, insert mathematical equations, and use hyperlinks and text boxes.
You’ll move on to the Design tab, and then use the Layout tab to set margins, orientation, size and spacing of your document. Then there’s the Reference tab which you’ll use to add a table of contents, footnotes and endnotes, and captions under pictures.
Finally, you’ll learn to create letters, email messages, envelopes, labels and directories in Word. You’ll then check out the Review and View tabs to use a thesaurus, insert comments and track changes in your document.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 11 sections. Most sections involve about 20 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through lots of short videos and quizzes after each section. At the end of the course, there’s a capstone project where you’ll apply all that you’ve learned.
Each section consists of one or more lecture videos. The videos are professionally made, focusing only on the important features of Word. This course features 1 article, 63 downloadable resources and full lifetime access upon subscription.
In order to complete this course, you need to have access to Microsoft 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 or 2016. Additionally, after purchase, Udemy gives you a 30-days money-back guarantee. So if you enroll and then don’t feel like continuing, you can always cancel your subscription.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 1-2 hours |
| Enrollments | 4.2K |
| Rating | 4.3/5.0 |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- This course is trusted by renowned businesses worldwide such as Nasdaq, Volkswagen, Box, NetApp, and Eventbrite.
- 365 Careers is the #1 best-selling provider of business, finance, and data science courses on Udemy.
- The instructor of this course is a certified Microsoft Office expert with significant professional experience.
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
7. Word 2019 for Mac Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
My seventh pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Word 2019 for Mac Essential Training on LinkedIn Learning.
Are you a Mac user? If you’ve been wondering how you can use Word on your Mac, then worry not! Microsoft applications can be used equally effectively on Mac as well. And Word is no exception. With some differences in the user interface, you can use Word on Mac pretty comfortably, and this course shows you how.
Word for Mac includes all the tools and features that are normally used on Windows. That’s why, being a Mac user won’t stop you from harnessing the power of Word in your documents. Learn from David Rivers the basics of Word for Mac, and impress others with your stunning documents created in Word!
What You’ll Learn
In the first module, you’ll start from the ground up by learning how to open, close and read documents, save new documents, and use the Tell Me assistant of Microsoft Word.
In the next module you’ll learn how to edit text in Word. You’ll be able to rearrange text with Cut, Copy and Paste, and use the Find and Replace tool of Microsoft Word.
The third module is all about formatting the text in your document. You’ll learn how to change font formatting, change text case, and format text with styles.
Next, you’ll learn to work with paragraph text. Here, you’ll be able to change paragraph alignment, adjust line spacing, keep text together across page breaks, and organize text in tables.
In the fifth module, you’ll move on to formatting the pages of your document. You’ll change page layout, use headers, footers and page numbering, organize a document with sections, and put text into columns.
In the next module, you’ll learn to create bulleted and numbered lists. You’ll also take a look at editing and formatting those lists.
Then, you’ll move on to the next module and learn how to illustrate your document in Word. You’ll do so by adding shapes and images. You’ll also learn how to adjust photos in a document.
The eighth module will teach you how to proof your documents in Word. You’ll learn how to set AutoCorrect options, check spelling and grammar, and find synonyms with thesaurus.
Finally, in the last module, you’ll learn how to share and collaborate your documents with others. This includes printing your documents, sending documents via email, collaborating on documents in the cloud, and adding password protection to a file.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 9 modules. Each module involves about 15 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of short videos and quizzes.
David teaches the core concepts of Word through short and simple videos. There are 3 to 4 videos in each module, which means you can learn Word for Mac quickly and efficiently within a matter of hours. This course also comes with a 1-month free trial. However, all the videos are free to access even without an account.
Along with the lecture videos, there are 9 quizzes and 2 exercise files included in this course. These provide a lot of practice opportunities to test your understanding. Once you’ve completed all this, you should feel confident in applying your Word skills on Mac.
| Provider | LinkedIn Learning |
| Instructor | David Rivers |
| Level | Mixed |
| Workload | 2-3 hours |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- Rivers has been teaching Microsoft Word ever since it came into existence!
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
8. Microsoft Word from beginners to advanced. (Skillshare)
My eighth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Microsoft Word from beginners to advanced on Skillshare.
Become an advanced Word user with Colin Marks! Within a matter of a couple of hours, you’ll be proficient in using Word to its fullest capacity. Whether you’re a beginner just starting to use Word or someone already familiar with the older versions of Word, this course will boost your confidence in creating any kind of document.
Colin Marks, the instructor, will carefully take you through each and every section so that you are proficient in all areas of Microsoft Word. This course is designed keeping the average office in mind, and so, the materials taught should be applicable for almost any scenario. Learn all the useful tools and stay at the top of your game!
What You’ll Learn
You’ll begin the course by getting familiar with the Word user interface. You’ll learn to open Word and create a new document. Then, you’ll save your document and switch between open documents. You’ll also take a look at some of the features of Word that enhance productivity.
Next, you’ll learn how to use tools and features such as Find and Replace and Cut, Copy and Paste. You’ll move on to formatting and learn all about it thoroughly. You’ll merge paragraph alignment, apply indentation and tabs, and put line space, bullets and borders.
After that, you’ll use Styles and Format Painter in Word to further format your document. You’ll learn about creating and editing tables, inserting charts, and all about working with graphical objects such as charts, images and shapes.
You’ll end the course by learning how to use the mail merge feature of Word, adjust the page setup of your document, proof your document with spell check, and print it.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 19 videos or “lessons”. Most lessons involve about 5 to 10 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of short videos and a practice exercise.
Colin teaches this course through moderately short videos. The videos are detailed, and Colin explains all the topics neatly and carefully. This course comes with a free trial as well!
In addition to the lecture videos, the course also contains downloadable files so that you can work along with the instructor. There is also a practice project included in this course. You can use this to test your knowledge, and even upload it for grading if you want.
| Provider | Skillshare |
| Instructor | Colin Marks |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 2-3 hours |
| Certificate | Not available |
Fun Facts
- Marks is a certified Microsoft and Apple trainer.
- He has been teaching Microsoft Office Specialist (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and Outlook all to an advanced level) for the past 6 years.
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
9. Master Microsoft Word – excerpts from Levels 1 and 2 + more (Udemy)
My ninth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is the free-to-audit Master Microsoft Word – excerpts from Levels 1 and 2 + more on Udemy.
Unlike the other Udemy courses on this list which are paid, you can access the materials of this course for free! You’ll need to pay only if you want a course-completion certificate. With Philip Burton, you’ll be able to take your Word skills from beginner to intermediate level within hours.
A key feature of this course is that it prepares you for the Exam 77-418: Microsoft Word 2013. In order to be successful in this exam, you’ll need to be able to apply the principal features of Word correctly to create and edit 2-3 page documents for different purposes.
What You’ll Learn
In Level 1, you’ll learn about the different ways of creating a new document. It can either be from a blank document or from a template. You’ll then start navigating your way through your document using the Navigation pane. You’ll also search for some text in your document with the help of the Find box.
Next, you’ll modify the page setup of your document. Here, you’ll format your document and change the mode of the page (portrait or landscape). You’ll also take a look at the five different ways you can view your document.
Before printing, you need to save your file and adjust the print settings. You’ll learn how to save your file, configure your document for printing, and print document sections. Then, you’ll take a look at how to open a document, navigate around it and append text. You’ll also learn to use useful shortcut keys for moving around your document easily.
You’ll also learn to change font attributes (font size, font style, font color, etc.) and see how you can manipulate them, including through a dialog box.
Next is Level 2. You’ll start by preventing widows and orphans (lines at the beginning or end of a paragraph left alone on a page, separated from the rest of the paragraph). You’ll also look at Keep with Next and Keep Together, and why they are often used with headings.
You’ll then move on to creating tables, setting autofit options to fit the column widths to the text, and using Quick Tables (predefined tables) in Word. You’ll also learn how you can customize the style of your tables.
You’ll also learn how to create bulleted and numbered lists in Word. You’ll modify list indentation, and find out how to indent and outdent. Then there are footnotes and endnotes which you’ll insert and use some shortcut keys for the same.
Objects can be captioned for future reference. You’ll learn how to add captions, and then move on to inserting quick parts (reusable blocks of content). You’ll also use styles and see how useful StyleRef is for us.
Next, you’ll learn how to work with graphical objects. Word is not just about working with text. You can add and adjust images and shapes to your document too! You can insert images from your computer or from the internet.
Before you end the course, Philip will teach you some useful tips and tricks to make your work easier. You’ll use the Format Painter and Reveal Formatting to copy the formatting of some text to another. Then, you’ll work with headings, modify styles, use multi-level numbering, and indent and outdent paragraphs.
Finally, you’ll see how menus can appear or disappear based on what you’ve selected, and get the most used functions into the Quick Access Toolbar. You’ll also take a look at Microsoft’s official exam, 77-418, what its requirements are, and what advantages you’ll get from that certification.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 5 sections. Most sections involve about 30 minutes to 1 hour of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos and practice activities.
The videos are moderately short. Practice exercises are included in between the videos. This is a great feature since it keeps your practice in check. Some of the courses on this list don’t have these, so this is definitely a plus.
Unlike the other Udemy courses on this list, this course is free. However, the certificate is not included. You can access the videos and gain all the knowledge. Use this course to take your Word skills from beginner to intermediate level.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Instructor | Phillip Burton |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 2-3 hours |
| Enrollments | 16.4K |
| Rating | 4.4/5.0 |
| Certificate | None |
Fun Facts
- Burton has a 4.6 instructor rating on Udemy with 472.5K students.
- He has been a Computing Consultant providing expert services in the development of computer systems and data analysis.
- He is one of 9 award winning Experts for Experts Exchange’s 11th Annual Expert Awards!
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
10. Learning Word for the web (Office 365/Microsoft 365) (LinkedIn Learning)
My tenth pick for the best Microsoft Word online course is Learning Word for the web (Office 365/Microsoft 365) on LinkedIn Learning.
Thanks to its versatility, Microsoft Word can be used on the web too without having to install it on your computer. All you need is a Microsoft account and you’re ready to go! In this course, you’ll be introduced to the Office 365 version of Word.
However, keep in mind that although Word can be used online, it is limited to only some of the basic features. It is not as robust as the desktop version of Word. But nonetheless, as long as you’re creating a regular document, these features should be enough.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll start the first module by getting to know the prerequisites for this course. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with those, you’ll move on to signing in to your Microsoft account and creating a new document. You’ll learn to rename your document, and close, open and manage documents.
In the next module, you’ll learn the basics of Word for the web. You’ll learn how to type or dictate text into a Word document, use the transcribe feature, format text and use styles, and apply document formatting. You’ll also add and format graphics, use headers and footers, and add polish to your document with Designer.
In the final module, you’ll see how you can share and collaborate your documents with others. You can save your Word documents in other formats for sharing, and print documents from Word for the web.
How You’ll Learn
The course is broken down into 3 modules. Most sections involve about 15 to 30 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through short videos.
Just like Word 2019 for Mac Essential Training, David Rivers is equally professional with this course as well. He keeps his lectures short and simple, teaching only what you need to know in order to be able to use Word efficiently.
Additionally, this course offers a 1-month free trial so that you can test out before taking the complete course. However, all the videos are free to access even without an account.
| Provider | LinkedIn Learning |
| Instructor | David Rivers |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 1-2 hours |
| Certificate | Paid |
Fun Facts
- Rivers has been teaching Microsoft Word ever since it came into existence!
If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.
Word Processing
Andrew Prestage, in Encyclopedia of Information Systems, 2003
I. An Introduction to Word Processing
Word processing is the act of using a computer to transform written, verbal, or recorded information into typewritten or printed form. This chapter will discuss the history of word processing, identify several popular word processing applications, and define the capabilities of word processors.
Of all the computer applications in use, word processing is by far the most common. The ability to perform word processing requires a computer and a special type of computer software called a word processor. A word processor is a program designed to assist with the production of a wide variety of documents, including letters, memoranda, and manuals, rapidly and at relatively low cost. A typical word processor enables the user to create documents, edit them using the keyboard and mouse, store them for later retrieval, and print them to a printer. Common word processing applications include Microsoft Notepad, Microsoft Word, and Corel WordPerfect.
Word processing technology allows human beings to freely and efficiently share ideas, thoughts, feelings, sentiments, facts, and other information in written form. Throughout history, the written word has provided mankind with the ability to transform thoughts into printed words for distribution to hundreds, thousands, or possibly millions of readers around the world. The power of the written word to transcend verbal communications is best exemplified by the ability of writers to share information and express ideas with far larger audiences and the permanency of the written word.
The increasingly large collective body of knowledge is one outcome of the permanency of the written word, including both historical and current works. Powered by decreasing prices, increasing sophistication, and widespread availability of technology, the word processing revolution changed the landscape of communications by giving people hitherto unavailable power to make or break reputations, to win or lose elections, and to inspire or mislead through the printed word.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122272404001982
Computers and Effective Security Management1
Charles A. Sennewald, Curtis Baillie, in Effective Security Management (Sixth Edition), 2016
Word Processing
Word processing software can easily create, edit, store, and print text documents such as letters, memoranda, forms, employee performance evaluations (such as those in Appendix A), proposals, reports, security surveys (such as those in Appendix B), general security checklists, security manuals, books, articles, press releases, and speeches. A professional-looking document can be easily created and readily updated when necessary.
The length of created documents is limited only by the storage capabilities of the computer, which are enormous. Also, if multiple copies of a working document exist, changes to it should be promptly communicated to all persons who use the document. Specialized software, using network features, can be programmed to automatically route changes to those who need to know about updates.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128027745000241
Globalization
Jennifer DeCamp, in Encyclopedia of Information Systems, 2003
II.D.2.c. Rendering Systems
Special word processing software is usually required to correctly display languages that are substantially different from English, for example:
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Connecting characters, as in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and Hebrew
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Different text direction, as in the right-to-left capability required in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Hindi, or the right-to-left and top-to-bottom capability in formal Chinese
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Multiple accents or diacritics, such as in Vietnamese or in fully vowelled Arabic
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Nonlinear text entry, as in Hindi, where a vowel may be typed after the consonant but appears before the consonant.
Alternatives to providing software with appropriate character rendering systems include providing graphic files or elaborate formatting (e.g., backwards typing of Arabic and/or typing of Arabic with hard line breaks). However, graphic files are cumbersome to download and use, are space consuming, and cannot be electronically searched except by metadata. The second option of elaborate formatting often does not look as culturally appropriate as properly rendered text, and usually loses its special formatting when text is added or is upgraded to a new system. It is also difficult and time consuming to produce. Note that Microsoft Word 2000 and Office XP support the above rendering systems; Java 1.4 supports the above rendering systems except for vertical text.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122272404000800
Text Entry When Movement is Impaired
Shari Trewin, John Arnott, in Text Entry Systems, 2007
15.3.2 Abbreviation Expansion
Popular word processing programs often include abbreviation expansion capabilities. Abbreviations for commonly used text can be defined, allowing a long sequence such as an address to be entered with just a few keystrokes. With a little investment of setup time, those who are able to remember the abbreviations they have defined can find this a useful technique. Abbreviation expansion schemes have also been developed specifically for people with disabilities (Moulton et al., 1999; Vanderheiden, 1984).
Automatic abbreviation expansion at phrase/sentence level has also been investigated: the Compansion (Demasco & McCoy, 1992; McCoy et al., 1998) system was designed to process and expand spontaneous language constructions, using Natural Language Processing to convert groups of uninflected content words automatically into full phrases or sentences. For example, the output sentence “John breaks the window with the hammer” might derive from the user input text “John break window hammer” using such an approach.
With the rise of text messaging on mobile devices such as mobile (cell) phones, abbreviations are increasingly commonplace in text communications. Automatic expansion of many abbreviations may not be necessary, however, depending on the context in which the text is being used. Frequent users of text messaging can learn to recognize a large number of abbreviations without assistance.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123735911500152
Case Studies
Brett Shavers, in Placing the Suspect Behind the Keyboard, 2013
Altered evidence and spoliation
Electronic evidence in the form of word processing documents which were submitted by a party in litigation is alleged to have been altered. Altered electronic evidence has become a common claim with the ability to determine the changes becoming more difficult. How do you know if an email has been altered? What about a text document?
Case in Point
Odom v Microsoft and Best Buy, 2006
The Odom v Microsoft and Best Buy litigation primarily focused on Internet access offered to customers in which the customers were automatically billed for Internet service without their consent. One of the most surprising aspects of this case involved the altering of electronic evidence by an attorney for Best Buy. The attorney, Timothy Block, admitted to altering documents prior to producing the documents in discovery to benefit Best Buy.
Investigative Tips: All evidence needs to be validated for authenticity. The weight given in legal hearings depends upon the veracity of the evidence. Many electronic files can be quickly validated through hash comparisons. An example seen in Figure 11.4 shows two files with different file names, yet their hash values are identical. If one file is known to be valid, perhaps an original evidence file, any file matching the hash values would also be a valid and unaltered copy of the original file.
Figure 11.4. Two files with different file names, but having the same hash value, indicating the contents of the files are identical.
Alternatively, Figure 11.5 shows two files with the same file name but having different hash values. If there were a claim that both of these files are the same original files, it would be apparent that one of the files has been modified.
Figure 11.5. Two files with the same file names, but having different hash values, indicating the contents are not identical.
Finding the discrepancies or modifications of an electronic file can only be accomplished if there is a comparison to be made with the original file. Using Figure 11.5 as an example, given that the file having the MD5 hash value of d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e is the original, and where the second file is the alleged altered file, a visual inspection of both files should be able to determine the modifications. However, when only file exists, proving the file to be unaltered is more than problematic, it is virtually impossible.
In this situation of having a single file to verify as original and unaltered evidence, an analysis would only be able to show when the file was modified over time, but the actual modifications won’t be known. Even if the document has “track changed” enabled, which logs changes to a document, that would only capture changes that were tracked, as there may be more untracked and unknown changes.
As a side note to hash values, in Figure 11.5, the hash values are completely different, even though the only difference between the two sample files is a single period added to the text. Any modification, no matter how minor, results in a drastic different hash value.
The importance in validating files in relation to the identification of a suspect that may have altered a file is that the embedded metadata will be a key point of focus and avenue for case leads. As a file is created, copied, modified, and otherwise touched, the file and system metadata will generally be updated.
Having the dates and times of these updates should give rise to you that the updates occurred on some computer system. This may be on one or more computers even if the file existed on a flash drive. At some point, the flash drive was connected to a computer system, where evidence on a system may show link files to the file. Each of these instances of access to the file is an opportunity to create a list of possible suspects having access to those systems in use at each updated metadata fields.
In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, Volume Shadow Copies may provide an examiner with a string of previous versions of a document, in which the modifications between each version can be determined. Although not every change may have been incrementally saved by the Volume Shadow Service, such as if the file was saved to a flash drive, any previous versions that can be found will allow to find some of the modifications made.
Where a single file will determine the outcome of an investigation or have a dramatic effect on the case, the importance of ‘getting it right’ cannot be overstated. Such would be the case of a single file, modified by someone in a business office, where many persons had common access to the evidence file before it was known to be evidence. Finding the suspect that altered the evidence file may be simple if you were at the location close to the time of occurrence. Interviews of the employees would be easier as most would remember their whereabouts in the office within the last few days. Some may be able to tell you exactly where other employees were in the office, even point the suspect out directly.
But what if you are called in a year later? How about 2 or more years later? What would be the odds employees remembering their whereabouts on a Monday in July 2 years earlier? To identify a suspect at this point requires more than a forensic analysis of a computer. It will probably require an investigation into work schedules, lunch schedules, backup tapes, phone call logs, and anything else to place everyone somewhere during the time of the file being altered.
Potentially you may even need to examine the hard drive of a copy machine and maybe place a person at the copy machine based on what was copied at the time the evidence file was being modified. When a company’s livelihood is at stake or a person’s career is at risk, leave no stone unturned. If you can’t place a suspect at the scene, you might be able to place everyone else at a location, and those you can’t place, just made your list of possible suspects.
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When, How, and Why Do We Trust Technology Too Much?
Patricia L. Hardré, in Emotions, Technology, and Behaviors, 2016
Trusting Spelling and Grammar Checkers
We often see evidence that users of word processing systems trust absolutely in spelling and grammar checkers. From errors in business letters and on resumes to uncorrected word usage in academic papers, this nonstrategy emerges as epidemic. It underscores a pattern of implicit trust that if a word is not flagged as incorrect in a word processing system, then it must be not only spelled correctly but also used correctly. The overarching error is trusting the digital checking system too much, while the underlying functional problem is that such software identifies gross errors (such as nonwords) but cannot discriminate finer nuances of language requiring judgment (like real words used incorrectly). Users from average citizens to business executives have become absolutely comfortable with depending on embedded spelling and grammar checkers that are supposed to autofind, trusting the technology so much that they often do not even proofread. Like overtrust of security monitoring, these personal examples are instances of reduced vigilance due to their implicit belief that the technology is functionally flawless, that if the technology has not found an error, then an error must not exist.
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Establishing a C&A Program
Laura Taylor, Matthew Shepherd Technical Editor, in FISMA Certification and Accreditation Handbook, 2007
Template Development
Certification Packages consist of a set of documents that all go together and complement one another. A Certification Package is voluminous, and without standardization, it takes an inordinate amount of time to evaluate it to make sure all the right information is included. Therefore, agencies should have templates for all the documents that they require in their Certification Packages. Agencies without templates should work on creating them. If an agency does not have the resources in-house to develop these templates, they should consider outsourcing this initiative to outside consultants.
A template should be developed using the word processing application that is the standard within the agency. All of the relevant sections that the evaluation team will be looking for within each document should be included. Text that will remain constant for a particular document type also should be included. An efficient and effective C&A program will have templates for the following types of C&A documents:
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Categorization and Certification Level Recommendation
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Hardware and Software Inventory
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Self-Assessment
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Security Awareness and Training Plan
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End-User Rules of Behavior
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Incident Response Plan
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Security Test and Evaluation Plan
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Privacy Impact Assessment
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Business Risk Assessment
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Business Impact Assessment
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Contingency Plan
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Configuration Management Plan
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System Risk Assessment
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System Security Plan
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Security Assessment Report
The later chapters in this book will help you understand what should be included in each of these types of documents. Some agencies may possibly require other types of documents as required by their information security program and policies.
Templates should include guidelines for what type of content should be included, and also should have built-in formatting. The templates should be as complete as possible, and any text that should remain consistent and exactly the same in like document types should be included. Though it may seem redundant to have the exact same verbatim text at the beginning of, say, each Business Risk Assessment from a particular agency, each document needs to be able to stand alone and make sense if it is pulled out of the Certification Package for review. Having similar wording in like documents also shows that the packages were developed consistently using the same methodology and criteria.
With established templates in hand, it makes it much easier for the C&A review team to understand what it is that they need to document. Even expert C&A consultants need and appreciate document templates. Finding the right information to include the C&A documents can by itself by extremely difficult without first having to figure out what it is that you are supposed to find—which is why the templates are so very important. It’s often the case that a large complex application is distributed and managed throughout multiple departments or divisions and it can take a long time to figure out not just what questions to ask, but who the right people are who will know the answers.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781597491167500093
Speech Recognition
John-Paul Hosom, in Encyclopedia of Information Systems, 2003
I.B. Capabilities and Limitations of Automatic Speech Recognition
ASR is currently used for dictation into word processing software, or in a “command-and-control” framework in which the computer recognizes and acts on certain key words. Dictation systems are available for general use, as well as for specialized fields such as medicine and law. General dictation systems now cost under $100 and have speaker-dependent word-recognition accuracy from 93% to as high as 98%. Command-and-control systems are more often used over the telephone for automatically dialing telephone numbers or for requesting specific services before (or without) speaking to a human operator. Telephone companies use ASR to allow customers to automatically place calls even from a rotary telephone, and airlines now utilize telephone-based ASR systems to help passengers locate and reclaim lost luggage. Research is currently being conducted on systems that allow the user to interact naturally with an ASR system for goals such as making airline or hotel reservations.
Despite these successes, the performance of ASR is often about an order of magnitude worse than human-level performance, even with superior hardware and long processing delays. For example, recognition of the digits “zero” through “nine” over the telephone has word-level accuracy of about 98% to 99% using ASR, but nearly perfect recognition by humans. Transcription of radio broadcasts by world-class ASR systems has accuracy of less than 87%. This relatively low accuracy of current ASR systems has limited its use; it is not yet possible to reliably and consistently recognize and act on a wide variety of commands from different users.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122272404001647
Prototyping
Rex Hartson, Pardha Pyla, in The UX Book (Second Edition), 2019
20.7 Software Tools for Making Wireframes
Wireframes can be sketched using any drawing or word processing software package that supports creating and manipulating shapes. While many applications suffice for simple wireframing, we recommend tools designed specifically for this purpose. We use Sketch, a drawing app, to do all the drawing. Craft is a plug-in to Sketch that connects it to InVision, allowing you to export Sketch screen designs to InVision to incorporate hotspots as working links.
In the “Build mode” of InVision, you work on one screen at a time, adding rectangular overlays that are the hotspots. For each hotspot, you specify what other screen you go to when someone clicks on that hotspot in “Preview mode.” You get a nice bonus using InVision: In the “operate” mode, you, or the user, can click anywhere in an open space in the prototype and it highlights all the available links. These tools are available only on Mac computers, but similar tools are available under Windows.
Beyond this discussion, it’s not wise to try to cover software tools for making prototypes in this kind of textbook. The field is changing fast and whatever we could say here would be out of date by the time you read this. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to the numerous other perfectly good tools that didn’t get cited. To get the latest on software tools for prototyping, it’s better to ask an experienced UX professional or to do your research online.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128053423000205
Design Production
Rex Hartson, Partha S. Pyla, in The UX Book, 2012
9.5.3 How to Build Wireframes?
Wireframes can be built using any drawing or word processing software package that supports creating and manipulating shapes, such as iWork Pages, Keynote, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Word. While such applications suffice for simple wireframing, we recommend tools designed specifically for this purpose, such as OmniGraffle (for Mac), Microsoft Visio (for PC), and Adobe InDesign.
Many tools and templates for making wireframes are used in combination—truly an invent-as-you-go approach serving the specific needs of prototyping. For example, some tools are available to combine the generic-looking placeholders in wireframes with more detailed mockups of some screens or parts of screens. In essence they allow you to add color, graphics, and real fonts, as well as representations of real content, to the wireframe scaffolding structure.
In early stages of design, during ideation and sketching, you started with thinking about the high-level conceptual design. It makes sense to start with that here, too, first by wireframing the design concept and then by going top down to address major parts of the concept. Identify the interaction conceptual design using boxes with labels, as shown in Figure 9-4.
Take each box and start fleshing out the design details. What are the different kinds of interaction needed to support each part of the design, and what kinds of widgets work best in each case? What are the best ways to lay them out? Think about relationships among the widgets and any data that need to go with them. Leverage design patterns, metaphors, and other ideas and concepts from the work domain ontology. Do not spend too much time with exact locations of these widgets or on their alignment yet. Such refinement will come in later iterations after all the key elements of the design are represented.
As you flesh out all the major areas in the design, be mindful of the information architecture on the screen. Make sure the wireframes convey that inherent information architecture. For example, do elements on the screen follow a logical information hierarchy? Are related elements on the screen positioned in such a way that those relationships are evident? Are content areas indented appropriately? Are margins and indents communicating the hierarchy of the content in the screen?
Next it is time to think about sequencing. If you are representing a workflow, start with the “wake-up” state for that workflow. Then make a wireframe representing the next state, for example, to show the result of a user action such as clicking on a button. In Figure 9-6 we showed what happens when a user clicks on the “Related information” expander widget. In Figure 9-7 we showed what happens if the user clicks on the “One-up” view switcher button.
Once you create the key screens to depict the workflow, it is time to review and refine each screen. Start by specifying all the options that go on the screen (even those not related to this workflow). For example, if you have a toolbar, what are all the options that go into that toolbar? What are all the buttons, view switchers, window controllers (e.g., scrollbars), and so on that need to go on the screen? At this time you are looking at scalability of your design. Is the design pattern and layout still working after you add all the widgets that need to go on this screen?
Think of cases when the windows or other container elements such as navigation bars in the design are resized or when different data elements that need to be supported are larger than shown in the wireframe. For example, in Figures 9-5 and 9-6, what must happen if the number of photo collections is greater than what fits in the default size of that container? Should the entire page scroll or should new scrollbars appear on the left-hand navigation bar alone? How about situations where the number of people identified in a collection are large? Should we show the first few (perhaps ones with most number of associated photos) with a “more” option, should we use an independent scrollbar for that pane, or should we scroll the entire page? You may want to make wireframes for such edge cases; remember they are less expensive and easier to do using boxes and lines than in code.
As you iterate your wireframes, refine them further, increasing the fidelity of the deck. Think about proportions, alignments, spacing, and so on for all the widgets. Refine the wording and language aspects of the design. Get the wireframe as close to the envisioned design as possible within the constraints of using boxes and lines.
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Word processing is the process of adding text to a word processing unit such as a computer or typewriter. The typed words are stored in the computer or word processor temporarily to allow for editing before a hard copy of the document. The term «word processing» is a fairly general term, so it may refer to several types of writing without the use of pen and paper. Typewriters, for example, process words directly onto a paper without storing the data, while computers use specific programs to store the typed data before printing.
Modified typewriters have been commonly used in the past for word processing. The typewriter would store the data — usually with the use of a computer chip — before printing the words onto a page. The person using the word processor could then check the writing for errors before printing the final draft. When computers became common in the workplace and at home, word processors became mostly obsolete, though some models are still used for a wide range of purposes, including as educational devices for students with special needs.
Computers have generally taken over word processing duties. The computers feature specific programs in which a person can type manuscripts of any length. The data is stored as an electronic document that can be opened, closed, saved, and edited at any time. This allows the user to make corrections or changes to a document multiple times before printing out a hard copy of the document. In many cases, the document is not printed out onto hard copy paper at all; instead, it can be used on the internet, in e-mails, or for other digital purposes.
Simpler programs, such as text editors or notepads, can be used to record text quickly without excess formatting options, such as multiple fonts or font sizes. Such programs are easy to use and do not come loaded with formatting features, such as color, multiple fonts, line spacing options, and so on. They are meant to be used for quick word processing that will not need to be formatted for presentation.
Word processing software often includes several features unavailable on typewriters or older word processors. Such features may include the ability to manipulate the layout of the text, the size and color of the font, the type of font used, line spacing, margin adjustments, and the ability to insert photos, web links, graphs, charts, and other objects directly into the document.