Professional Training Books

The book made me think of a big box full of broken china. There is a lot in there, and if you are willing to work very hard you could make it usefull. SMS is a very complicated product and cheif among the goals of the writers should have been to make clear how the peices of the app. fit together. Look for another book.

700 + pages and for what. The book will start to detail a feature that it has not mention up to that point in the book. As for MCSE,this book is about 30% of the test. For the time that is need to read/skip around, you could be reading the online help file for MUCH better test prep "book". At least it reads like a "book". MS Press should laugh out of business, when they can't print a book on their own product. Run don't walk to buy any other book on SMS 1.2

This is a fairly comprehensive book at over 700 pages. There is a lot to take in if you are using it as study material for the MCSE exam. I felt the information could be better organised as it gives you information on a particular topic and then a few pages later on it gives even more detailed information on the same subject, why not keep it all together? A lot of the text is simply duplicated from Microsoft's TechNet CDs and some use of colour would have been useful. Overall though a good study guide to SMS 1.2

I was very pleased with the amount of information given in this book. The depth of the material covered was sufficient to succeed in the "REAL WORLD".

The Distributing Software section was very in depth and gave me the necessary information to actually use the software in the manner described.

The book thoroughly prepared me for Exam 70-018.

Compared to other SMS reference books, this book is worth every penny and I highly recommend it!

Very incoherent and does not prepare you for the MCSE test. The book keeps jumping around... The CD is a definite thumbs down also! Run as fast as you can to buy another book!!!!!!

I had high hopes for this book what with Dr. Allen's apparent endorsement and Jay Cross writing a positive review of it. I found the book dry and boring. I started each chapter with the hope that it would reveal something useful that could be readily applied, but each chapter ended flat. I found a great deal of wisdom in Dr Allen's books. I was hoping that this book might give me somewhat of a different perspective that would expand upon (and even disagree with) the instructional design perspective in Dr Allen's books. Instead it caused me to want to go back and re-read Dr Allen's books to see if my present experience level would cause me to find new meaning. (Micheal Allen's Guide to E-Learning and Creating Successful e-learning)

I give this book 2 stars because Clark Quinn does include some examples. I think that this book would have been far more worthwhile if it was written around these examples. I would have liked to see him explain an idea and then really delve into how he applied that idea in the examples he shows in the book. Instead the examples seem somewhat removed from what the author is primarily saying in each chapter.

a very basic overview fo the situation; does not include major players like BTS, SMG, Real Learning that are the worlds number 1 in simulation these days from invoicing and development of simulations.

I have yet to finish this book; however, for the portions I have already read, I am not impressed. To begin, his expanded usage of the English language is unnecessary for the simplicity of his context. He also has multiple run on sentences that can be as long as 64 words! Also, "his" concepts are more or less variances of colorations of others theory's. The first half of the book is lofty, very wordy and lacking clear definitions. Perhaps this may be a test to see if I can Engage in learning.

Also to gain my credit I am a student of new media including Flash and have read multiple books based on learning through interactivity.

I will be brief. That's the way you feel when you're engaged in an eLearning Simulation Game. You get swept up in it. You're turned on. You block out life's static in order to reach your goal. Clark's book is like that. BUY THIS BOOK!

I've known and worked with Clark Quinn for several years. He's written a very good book. Like the e-learning it advocates, Engaging Learning is fun, accessible and, well, engaging. Working from a solid theoretical framework, Clark explains why learning should be "hard fun" and then shows how to create that kind of e-learning. He includes several detailed case studies. As someone who develops e-learning for a living, I appreciated his pragmatic approach and acknowledgement that e-learning can be developed at different levels of engagement, depending on budget, schedule, quality of source material, etc.

What really shines through, though, is Clark's passion for incorporating simulations and gaming techniques into e-learning. If you read this book and some of that rubs off, you will develop better e-learning.

If your short on time to prepare for the PPST, or you have a higher skill level than average and do not need as much detailed instruction, this book is for you. The tutorials are short and to the point and provide instruction along the path to successful study. The book is a great resource for math formulas, grammatical rules, and study skills. Practice test are provided in the book and there is a great CD version included that can easily be used to practice for the CBT test. Be aware that the test format on the CD (mulitiple choice) does not follow the exact format of the CBT (multiple choice, fill in the blank, cut and paste, highlighting).

This book was not helpful. The questions were too easy compared to the test. This book needed to be more challenging in order to get a better idea of the Praxis math portion.

This guide was helpful because of the CD-Rom. If you're planning to take the CBT Praxis, and have never taken Reading, Writing, and Math tests on computer, you need this guide. It will allow you to answer questions while being timed. The functionality is close enough to make you comfortable with the real test. I took all three on one day and passed all with scores 3 - 5 points above the required score for GA. The material is a couple of years old but the methods for reading, writing, math are current.

For updated material I used Arco 2003 Praxis I guide. It was useful but the CD in this guide was essential for my passing. I wish this company would update their cd rom and create a guide for Praxis II.

I bought this book from Amazon.com before I had to take myPraxis test. Passing this test was an absolute necessity for me inorder for me to get my NH Certification in Guidance Counseling. I studied from the book, especially the math sections, although briefly. I found that the questions and problems in the book were nothing like what was asked on the test. And in spite of the book I still passed anyway! Yeah! My suggestion: find another book.

I found this book to be a great source of help, especially the CD that comes with it. After working through the book I used the CD to prepare for testing. Contary to an earlier reviewer, I found the questions on the exam to be very, very close to those on the CD. It was an excellent prep tool. I also used the following texts: Praxis I:PPST by Jerry Bobrow (Cliff Notes) and The PPST Guide (Educational Testing Service).

I have to agree with the above review for the 10th edition- I have found several errors in the book! Not good when I need to brush up on my math. The review sections were helpful but errors are unacceptable.

I enjoyed the straight forward attitude that the author took in presenting a synopis of the PRAXIS. The tests that were in the book were more difficult than the actual test but that just made me all the more prepared. I would definitely recommend this as a good preparation for the PRAXIS.

The skills sections arent bad for reminding you of some simple things you need to know. But, most poepel buy these books for practice exams and these ones were TERRIBLE! I have only gone through the very first Diagnostic test and already 4 of the supposedly 8 answers I got wrong in the math section were errors on the part of the book. For example. Hopefully you see what is wrong with this statement made by the book. "The answer is 700, becuse: 35 X 20 X 10 = 700. 7000 was in the answer options, but apparently the dumbies who wrote this book think that it wasn't correct.

I'm not even motivated to check do the other 3 or 4 practice exams now, which basically make up the entirety of the book. I almost feel like asking for my money back. (P.S. I am refering to the 10th edition)

This mediocre book is worse than most other Praxis I books I used. I found that Cliffs PPST and Barrons How to Prepare for the PPST and Computerized PPST were much, much better, Both these books cost the same as this book and they are much more helpful with better review and practice tests. Take a look at these books before you buy this one.

I purchased several books to help me study for the Praxis I exam in reading, Writing and Math and I liked this one the best. It gave the best explanations and the practice exams were really helpful.

Just the way I like it!! A very REAL account of Jimmy and WHY he wins everywhere he goes. Nothing held back, if you love reading REAL books about coaching greats like Johnson, then this is for you!!

I've been a Dolphins fan since 1983 and this book was not a fun read at all. The author went into too much description for some of the games played during the season, which made me a little bored. There wasn't that much behind the scenes footage because most of what was said in the book was said on ESPN on a daily basis.

Yes, many of the same stories were reported on ESPN, but the book also has unvarnished stories on players and coaches. It pulls no punches in telling WHY a player was cut.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. Idid not think this was a very insightful bookbecause most of what is said in the book is reported on ESPN, so it wasn't as if you werereally going behind the scenes. Also, there was a little too much description of certain games that the Dolphins played, which bored me.

For those of you who are devout Dolphins fans, this great book gives you an inside look at Jimmy Johnson's first year on the job. Reading it, you will remember a lot of the games from that year, and soon learn of what happened before and after the game. A must read if you love the Dolphins!!!

As a technical instructor I am always looking for new material for the classroom to enhance the teaching and learning process. While this book does provide coverage of the Network+ exam is falls a little short for the classroom.

There is over 600 pages of material and the material does cover the exam objectives completely. Topics like data communications and transmission, modems, the OSI model, 802 standards, TCP/IP, subnetting, WAN routing and protocols, security and satellite communications.

At the end of each chapter there is review questions and multiple choice questions and the lab manual included has exercises that coincide with each chapter of the book. The cd included use the exam gear testing software with over 500 questions.

I think if the author combined the lab manual with the book, added more coverage to routing and switching, included network operating systems like NT, UNIX, Novell and Linux than this book goes to the top.

This book was written before the passing score was raised to 82%. On the test, you will find questions on Unix files, UARTs, and tranceivers. These topics are barely covered or not covered at all in this book. I recommend that you read either Mellisa Craft or David Groth's book if you really want to pass. Good luck

If A+ is a must for the pc technician, than Network+ should be a must for the basic network technician. New Riders Training Guide for Network+ Certification makes a valiant effort to help you along, however they fall a little short.

The book is under 400 pages and overall the material covered leaves you shortchanged. For the price, I expected far more than a basic overview of each subject. I would consider this book a reference, but not a go to source.

The book has practice exam questions and apply your knowledge areas, which should help. What this book needs is hands-on labs or even better a lab manual that coincides with the book. New Riders has created a good book, but with time they could have a real winner.

Network+ certification is fairly new, but growing. New Riders's book will get you started, but you may want another book to fill in the finer points. Overall this book wasn't everything I had hoped it would be.

Overall, this book is mediocre at best.

It was written before the pass rate for the Network+ exam was increased from 68% to 82%.

There is an incompatibility between the material presented in the main part of the book and the summaries of these chapters presented in the fast facts section at the end.

The practice test at the end of the book includes material and terms that are not covered in the corresponding chapter in the book.

It is a dissapointment because most New Riders books are very good.

I am currently a licensed teacher in the state of Ohio, but plan on moving to Oregon after I graduate with my Masters in June. In order to get my Oregon teaching license, I had to take the PPST's. As an English and German teacher, I was scared to death by the fact that I had to take a Math test, when I hadn't had a Math class in almost 12 years (since I almost failed college Calculus).

Two weeks before I was scheduled to take the computerized PPST, I checked out a copy of the ARCO test-prep book from my university library, and took the three practice tests and completely bombed them! Looking at the explained answers on a few of the questions only served to confuse me more! I did find the review section somewhat helpful, but it was incomplete and lacked any actual practice questions with answers.

I then used another test-prep book, and came back to ARCO's book the day before the test. I ended up doing better on the Math practice tests, but still managed to only get a 29/40 as my highest score. As an English teacher, I really struggled with the Reading section of the tests in this book, and found that a lot of the questions were just... BAD, and that some of the answers really didn't make much sense. The questions for all the sections (especially Reading and Math) are way more difficult and tricky than the questions on the actual PPST. I managed to get a 185 on the Math and a 183 on the Reading on the actual test.

If you want some additional practice, and to challenge yourself a bit (or look at things from a worst-case scenario), I recommend using this book... AS A SUPPLEMENT to other test-prep books/study materials. I think that using this book as your only resource could easily lead to feelings of frustration.

This was a useful book for me. I think the math is a little more difficult in this guide than on the actual test. So, don't get discouraged. But it has very good reviews for each of the three test areas, and the tests have explanations of the answers that help so much.

You need this book to help you pass the PPST exam, it help me.. The subject area is simply and complete. The books has follow up review and explanations of tests. This books has at least 2 or more practice tests. I found it to be helpful for me since I have been out of school since 1988. You want regret purchasing this books, once you see PASSES on your test form. Good Luck

I started studying for my teaching exam with this book after using Praxis I: Ppst (Cliffs Test Prep Guides). The Cliff Guide was great, straight forward and had great explanations! This book, however, was very hard and tricky. After taking the Praxis, I can say that this book was nothing like the real test, too many of the questions tried to trick you, and the test is not like that at all! I do not reccomend this book!

I have to agree with the first review; I would not recommend this book. It has been years since I've been in a math class so I needed more detailed explanations of the concepts as well as more practice tests.

This guide worked well for me - it even had the exact essay question that was on my test. Although being fresh out of graduate school may have helped me on the exam overall, the mathematics section seemed to cover all of the areas I needed to review for the exam.

For the price and content covered, and after reviewing other PRAXIS I study guides, I would recommend this one.

Unlike the other reviewers, I found this guide to be extremely helpful. Compared to others I have read, this is my favorite. I found it was very thorough in the areas that it covers and the questions that were on the practice tests were just like what was on the actual test. I learned things from this study guide that I had forgotten since middle school & high school. I passed the Praxis 1 with flying colors the first time I attempted. I know that I would not have done so well if I had not studied with this study guide! I will be using the same line of study guides to prepare for the Praxis 2.

i never write reviews, but i was so annoyed studying with this book that i just had to. there is very little explanation for wrong answers in the practice section, less than 10 practice problems in the subject reviews, and i found several mistakes in the questions/answers. don't buy this book!

I found at least one typographical, mathematical, or grammatical error in each of the three practice exams in this book. Once I discovered the editors had not proofread their own product, I lost confidence in it. I did, however, find that the book helped reacquaint me with the format of the exams.

This book's review section is helpful; however, the explainations to the answers of the practice tests are not detailed. I'm still not sure how to solve some of the problems on the math tests. Other people I questioned had the same problem, which leads me to believe that, maybe, there are editorial errors in this edition. Overall, for me, using this book is beneficial, but has been in some instances frustrating. If you can get past the fact that you may never know how they arrived at some of the answers, you'll be fine, otherwise move on to another study guide.

I found this a useful study guide for the PRAXIS I PPST exams, especially when used with the ETS guide. The ETS sample exams are more authentic and seem better written. A good strategy is to study and practice with this ARCO guide, and then, when you are ready, take the practice exams in the ETS guide.

Anybody could have written this book. It was all common sense, common knowledge information. SAVE YOUR MONEY, you will not learn anything new!

This book provides an easy to read and follow game plan for those seeking to enter the medical field. However, the book is not for the "non-traditional" student (those looking at medical school durring or after their Pre-Graduate years). It would be best to read it, as the book sugests itself, as a High School Student. But hey, if you've ever wondered about what it takes to become a Dr or your just a big ER fan, the books actually a pretty good read.

Every single person considering medical school needs to read this book. It has great tips for medical students at all walks of the game, from high school students to the nontraditional student (like me). It has tips I haven't seen anywhere else... like buying the MSAR when you're a freshman at the latest and working backwards from what schools want, and making yourself that person. This book would be an especially wonderful gift for the student who "thinks" they want to be a doctor, but doesn't yet know what the journey will be like. It covers pre-college preparations, college requirements and tips, the admissions process, choosing a school, the MCAT, financial aid, and what medical school will be like once you're there. More in-depth references will be needed for the MCAT, but this is a great get-started book.

My only complaint is Appendix A (of schools)... some info is incorrect, and some medical schools are completely missing from the list. But, that's information readily available elsewhere. The book is worth the price for the tips alone!