LEARNING TO USE OFFICE 2000 FOR NEW CLAIT AND CLAIT PLUS. By Angela Bessant. Heinemann. Price: pound;14.99

NEW CLAIT TUTOR PACK. By Alan Clarke. Hodder and Stoughton Price: pound;62.25

Angela Bessant’s guide for using Microsoft Word, Excel, and the Access database is a clear, concise and well-structured book that’s endorsed by OCR for use on Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT) courses.

The book and accompanying CD-Rom offer a wide range of exercises designed to enable skills development. These take the user through each application in a carefully structured way, providing the opportunity to develop a thorough understanding of the software. Screen shots and clear explanations also help with learning.

The appendix, which contains guides to key functions and quick references for each piece of software, helps to make this is a bargain product that is likely to exceed the expectations of the purchaser.

For CLAIT tutors rather than learners, Alan Clarke has produced a tutor pack, also approved by OCR, to accompany the successful student work book.

The tutor pack comes with a CD-Rom and is supported by a website.

The worksheets are photocopiable and are also on the CD-Rom that comes with the pack. In addition to the standard Office applications the pack contains chapters on the use of the internet and creating and designing web pages.

There is also a section on presentation software. While this is a useful resource for tutors, it is slightly expensive.

Les Watson is pro vice-chancellor at Glasgow Caledonian University