Authorware 5 Attain Authorized., Orson Kellogg. 1999. Macromedia, Inc. and Peachpit Press. ISBN 020135411X. 448 pages, with 1 CD-ROM. $39.99 soft cover.
Orson Kellogg designs and develops instructional and marketing interactive media. His work on behalf of such companies as Autodesk, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Sun, and Symantec has won three awards from the Society of Technical Communication. Macromedia Authorware is the leading authoring tool for creating interactive instructional media for use on the Internet, Intranets, and CD-ROM. Training developers, instructional designers, and subject matter experts use the program to produce computer-based and Web-based training.Currently, Authorware 5 Attain Authorized is the only publication available for the latest version of Authorware. The title, however, should be called Authorware 4 Authorized or A Beginners Guide to Authorware 5 Attain. In fact, on page 3 of the introduction, Kellogg states that the book is intended for Authorware beginners. There are plenty of books currently available, however, for Authorware beginners based on previous versions of the software.
Kellogg does a poor job of addressing the Authorware Knowledge Objects feature. He writes that by using Knowledge Objects an inexperienced Authorware user can create complex interactions. Kellogg points out as well that because his book’s purpose is to help users learn to work directly with Authorware and to thoroughly understand how Authorware works, they won't be using Knowledge Objects here. It is this reviewer's experience that Knowledge Objects does allow one to create interactions and quizzes through the use of wizards, but it's not that simple. One has to incorporate graphics into the Knowledge Objects and then package them.
Kellogg completely disregards other Authorware features that require technical proficiency, such as using Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), writing and reading text data from external files, and tracking data using open industry-standard (AICC) learning management systems.
The one bright spot for the book is in its organization and layout. The book contains many screen captures for easy reference and is divided into 18 lessons with an accompanying CD-ROM. However, the index is limited, which is no doubt due to the lack of depth in the book.
A full-feature, 45-day trial version of Authorware is also included with the Authorware 5 Attain Authorized. That may be enough time to complete the 18 lessons, but if one wants to use the book as a text for a semester long course, one should probably make the investment and purchase the software.
I would not recommend Kellogg's book as the authorized reference to learning and using Authorware 5. I have found The Official Guide to Authorware 4 by Nick Roberts to be a more valuable resource.
