David Rivers

David Rivers has been recording elearning courses for lynda.com for over a decade. He's one of our star authors! In this interview (conducted from his home recording studio in Canada), he offers lessons from his 100-course journey with lynda.com. David shares his process for creating and recording course content, and provides inspiration for other authors who want to turn their knowledge into tutorials for the emerging elearning market.

Many people take notes on scraps of paper, only to have trouble piecing them together with their computer files and staying organized. OneNote 2007 Essential Training is for those who want to learn how to organize their work or life using various applications, including the Microsoft Office suite. David Rivers shows how to use OneNote notebooks to store, edit, and share files from different applications that pertain to one subject. He demonstrates how create new notes, organize notebook content, and even connect this information with tasks, contacts, and meetings in Outlook. Exercise files accompany the course.

Switching from Windows to the Mac focuses on the similarities and differences between the two operating systems, highlighting the new terminology and interface that can initially be mystifying for first-time Mac owners. Author David Rivers explores not only the software—Mac OS X Lion and its bundled applications—but also important hardware subjects, like understanding keyboard and mouse differences, interacting with gestures, and connecting to printers and cameras. The course also covers transferring files and mail from a Windows computer to a Mac, and installing and working with applications. Along the way, David shares a few of his favorite free apps and tips for adjusting the system preferences, so you can get the most out of your Mac experience.

PowerPoint 2003 Essential Training with David Rivers is a movie-based tutorial designed to help new and existing PowerPoint users get a basic to intermediate understanding of this latest version of Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The training begins with a basic overview of the newly designed PowerPoint interface and quickly advances to cover such topics as formatting slides, adding charts and tables, graphics, special effects, printing, templates and much, much more. Exercise files accompany the training, allowing you to follow along and learn at your own pace.