ChrisLee has the distinct privilege of publishing the first guide to ZebraZapps (alsocalled Zebra), and it is sure to be welcomed by the many users of thisrelatively new authoring tool (see my review of Zebra here in Learning Solutions Magazine).
Well-organizedcontent
Leehas divided the 176 pages into eight chapters:
- Let’sGo
- BuildingSimple Instruction
- Interactingwith Your User
- FunStuff
- LogicProblems
- TheWhopping Great Project, Part 1
- TheWhopping Great Project, The Big Finish
- LastCall
Eachchapter begins with a list of bullet points describing what will be covered andends with a summary of the same and any additional features that may have beendiscussed. The first five chapters comprise the first half the book. Chapters 6and 7 make up the second half and cover “The Whopping Great Project,” a drivingsimulation exercise.
Exercisesillustrate the steps
Allof the exercise resource files can be accessed at www.learnzebrazapps.com/resources.html, where you can alsowatch 12 different screencasts narrated by the author. Each screencast iscalled out in the manual at the proper point and helps to illustrate the stepsin the book. I found it a bit unfortunate that the screencasts are availablefor only the first four chapters. I think most would find it quite helpful toalso be able to view similar screencasts for the rest of the book. (Editor’s Note: When I asked him aboutthis, Chris Lee said, “The screencasts coversome of the key instructional elements as they are first introduced. The lastseveral chapters really focus on practice, combining skills to build a bigproject. I didn’t feel screencasts were so relevant there.”)
Theexercises provide interesting and fun examples. They include landing a plane ona runway and having it follow the proper path, thus teaching how to set uppaths in Zebra. Other exercises show how to use sliders in a variety of ways,such as creating a realistic audiometer. Zebra makes it so easy to createinteractivity of so many kinds, and the guide does a good job of coveringinteractions – for example, drag and drop, different types of buttons, andmore.
Chapter5 covers the three table objects that are among the more advanced topics inZebra. Truth tables, answer tables, and state tables offer a tremendous amountof power without the need for scripting or programming; a whole book can bewritten on the myriad ways to use Zebra tables. Again, this manual does a goodjob of introducing the topic of tables and giving an example for each.
Thefinal exercise puts to practice much of what is learned in the prior chapters. Theexercise is attractive, showing a dashboard and windshield, through which yousee video of the road ahead of you as you properly shift gears. It’s anexcellent way of tying together disparate ideas into a cohesive example. Ihighly recommend taking the time to move through the instructions and follow thesteps; they will help ensure a complete understanding of the topics covered.
Summary: A great way to get started with Zebra Zapps
Beingcursed with traits of a copy editor, I couldn’t help but see occasionaltypographical and syntactical errors, but they are not frequent and they do notdetract from the book’s quality. Nevertheless, the manual could benefit from agood copy edit.
Wellillustrated with screenshots and dosed with a sense of humor, the book does agood job of fulfilling its title mission: it is a great way for starters to gettheir feet wet and learn the basics of Zebra. Truth be told, Zebra is such arich environment, with so many features, that to cover it adequately requiresmany more pages. Hence, if you are new to Zebra, this guide will get you up tospeed quickly. If you are already quite familiar with Zebra, you may still findsome nuggets of information that were previously unknown to you.
Youcertainly can’t beat the price. You can purchase a copy of your own for only$9.95 in the Kindle and Nook stores. You can also buy it as a PDF file and readthe first chapter free at www.learnzebrazapps.com.
Full Disclosure: I’min the process of writing the official manual on ZebraZapps for AllenInteractions, the creators and distributors of ZebraZapps. It’s my pleasure tohave been asked to review Chris Lee’s guide with this understanding.
