It’s Time to Get Some Training! (Part Deux)

You may remember that last month, we talked about what to do when you needed to sign up for training. We’re pleased to announce that the new self-paced courses have been released both to the Pearson People Development Network, as well as into our Pegasus system (for external users such as authors or vendor contacts).

The courses have been revamped, rebuilt, and are more focused on specific skills used within WriteRAP. There are six new courses:

Getting Started – Getting Started focuses on logging in and out of WriteRAP and changing and recovering passwords.

Document Management – Document Management focuses on finding projects and documents, previewing documents, and uploading and downloading documents.

Toolbar Basics – Toolbar Basics focuses on opening a WriteRAP document and the toolbar, applying and removing character formatting, working with basic formatting, and applying and removing styles.

Boilerplates – Boilerplates focuses on downloading and opening the Boilerplates Library, inserting and editing boilerplates, working with common boilerplates, and cleaning up styles.

Basic Pagination – Basic Pagination focuses on repositioning boilerplates, resizing and deleting boilerplates, and breaks.

Advanced Pagination – Advanced Pagination focuses on finalizing pagination and the WriteRAP Library.

These courses are all self-paced, and include self-paced modules, job aids, a lab, and an assessment.

If you’ve already taken some training and are just looking for a little remediation, these course can provide that. You can also visit the CMS Website and peruse the Job Aids, which cover sets of skills for each course and can help you brush up on specific things as opposed to re-taking an entire training course.

Pearson People Development Network

What Tier Should My WriteRAP Project Be?

One of the first steps in selecting a project for WriteRAP is to make the decision about in which Tier level you want your project to be. First, a quick word about the Tier levels:

Tier 1 MS through WriteRAP server
-Authors write in Word but take advantage of server- based workflow with version control.
-By not using a WR template, authors can still use the server-based document-sharing tool without installing the Word plug in/tool bar.

Tier 2 Basic MS Template
-Elements are represented manuscript-style. The author is able to identify levels of heads, text, feature material, and key terms.
-Each element is easily identified and distinguished through different fonts, point sizes, color, etc.
-There is no page presentation or set trim size.

Tier 3 Advanced MS Template
-Correct trim size is implemented.
-Template includes visual representations of feature elements, marginalia, and chapter/part openers.
-Elements are not in place on the page but are displayed graphically within the text stream.
-Picture placeholders and callouts can be used.

Tier 4 Standard Page Representation
-Correct trim size is implemented.
-Template includes visual representations of all elements in place on the page.
-Page representation is close but not exact.
-Provides a very good representation of the final product.

Tier 5 Complete Page Representation
-Correct trim size is implemented.
-Template includes visual representations of all elements in place on the page.
-Page representation is exact.
-End product can be printed directly to PDF without going to composition.

That sounds like a lot of information! How do you sift through all of that to really decide what Tier level to use for your WriteRAP project? The best course of action is to consider a few questions about your project:

• Is this a first edition, or a revision? If a revision, is it a light revision or a sweeping revision?
• Is the author writing in WriteRAP? Does the author feel comfortable working with new tools and technology?
• Is accurate page representation important during the authoring phase?
• Are you planning on sending the project into composition software?

If the answers to these questions highlight a project for which there is light revision, the author is not interested or able to write in a structured environment, and accurate page representation in the manuscript phase is not important, then you’d probably want to consider a Tier 1 or Tier 2 project.

For a Tier 1 project, you’re really only interested in version control of your files, by using WriteRAP as a document exchange. Tier 1 projects do not employ a template at all. For a Tier 2 project, you’re providing some structure for the author, but the template they work with truly resembles a standard manuscript.

If page representation is a bit more important, or if you have issues such as length control or even just giving your author a look at their features in the manuscript stage, you might consider a Tier 3 project. Tier 3 introduces the features set into the manuscript, but doesn’t focus as much on page layout. Tier 3 is good for managing length because it allows you to preview how many pages a chapter will be by including representations of all features. It does not, however, focus on layout and accurate page representation.

If the final representation of the pages is very important, Tier 4 is for you. Tier 4 introduces not only the features of the chapters, but also the layout. Tier 4 is good for revisions with length issues, for art-intensive manuscripts, and for manuscripts where it’s important to see features on the same pages in which they’re called out in the text flow.

If you’re looking for a workflow that bypasses composition altogether, then you are looking for a Tier 5 project. Tier 5 Projects are primarily suitable for anything going direct-to-PDF, for any titles that are handled spread-by-spread, or any magazine-like HE titles that are handled the same way. In a Tier 5 project, al composition and layout is done in the WriteRAP template/environment.

Hopefully, this information can help you make the right decision for your project heading into WriteRAP!

It’s Time to Get Some Training!

As we near the release of our full suite of revised training courses, it seems like a good time to review the various training paths for WriteRAP users, both internal and external.

The first, and most important, step in setting up WriteRAP training is to identify some of the basic information about your training needs. You can do this by answering the following questions:

How many users—both authors and business unit team members—will need training?

Is this training for a particular project? If so, what is the project name? Is the project staged in WriteRAP already with at least one chapter uploaded?

What “tier” is the template?

Have the people who will be attending this customized course taken any WriteRAP training? If so, which courses?

Have the people who will be attending training been using WriteRAP?

Are the trainees Mac or PC users? A combination?

Will the trainees attending training be hands-on users of WriteRAP, or are they taking the customized course for more informational purposes?

Once a list of training recipients is identified, the second step is to identify the skills needed for training. What does that mean? The courses being offered focus on specific skills-sets needed for working with WriteRAP. You can use the following list to determine what your project’s training needs are.

The courses, and the skills they cover, look like this:

Course: Getting Started
* Login. Log out
* Change/Recover Password
Course: Document Management
* Find Projects/Documents
* Preview Documents
* Download Documents
* Upload Documents
Course: Toolbar Basics
* Open a WR Document and WriteRAP Toolbar
* Apply/Remove Character Formatting
* Apply/Remove Styles
* Work with Basic Formatting
Course: Boilerplates
* Download/Open Boilerplates Library
* Insert and Edit Boilerplates
* Work with Common Boilerplates
* Clean Up Styles
Course: Basic Pagination
* Reposition Boilerplates
* Remove/Resize Boilerplates
* Breaks (Convert section and Split/slash
Course: Advanced Pagination
* Direct to Print PDF
* Inserting Images

Once you have all of this information targeted, fill out a request for training by visiting the CMS Website here, and you will be contacted about setting up your training.