The Shelly Cashman Series® offers the fi nest textbooks in computer education. We are proud of the fact that our Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Vista books have been so well received by students and instructors. With each new edition of our Windows books, we have made signifi cant improvements based on the software and comments made by instructors and students.

Microsoft Windows contains many changes in the user interface and feature set. Recognizing that the new features and functionality of Microsoft Windows 7 would impact the way that students are taught skills, the Shelly Cashman Series development team carefully reviewed our pedagogy and analyzed its effectiveness in teaching today’s student. An extensive customer survey produced results confi rming what the series is best known for: its step-by-step, screen-by-screen instructions, its projectoriented approach, and the quality of its content.

We learned, though, that students entering computer courses today are different than students taking these classes just a few years ago. Students today read less, but need to retain more. They need not only to be able to perform skills, but to retain those skills and know how to apply them to different settings. Today’s students need to be continually engaged and challenged to retain what they’re learning.

As a result, we’ve renewed our commitment to focusing on the user and how they learn best. This commitment is refl ected in every change we’ve made to our Windows 7 books.