What is good for SharePoint beginner user tutorials?

Question

Ok I've been tasked with creating a wss v3.0 website for a government internal site with very little internal SharePoint experience (though it's an IT department so they're very tech literate). I'm already fairly good at SharePoint (having earned some Microsoft Certifications in SharePoint and done plenty of stuff for myself), but need to educate the others. Part of this has involved training, in-person and available online. I've done my own series of SharePoint wikis on the stuff I anticipate will be most commonly used, but I'm hoping for some productive links that other people here have used in the past. So what's worked out well for yourselves in learning SharePoint?

Edit: I'd like to emphasize on the "beginning" aspect of this, not developer tutorials but simple stuff like "how to submit to a document library", etc. Thanks!

Answer 1

Have you looked at the Microsoft Sharepoint Learning site?

Answer 2

Hi , ramp up for the startup, and the genius Andrew Connel once you want to get something done.

There are plenty of more links, these are the stuff you need for starters (IMHO)

if you just like tutorials someone compiled this cool page

Answer 3

You are me.

I got the idea about what I wanted to ask by subscribing to this feed. http://feeds.feedburner.com/sharepointmvpblogs?format=xml Then when I learned who I liked and who I didn't, I picked just a few to read. (Andrew Connel of course made the cut)

Then I started going to my local user group to listen to presentations. First and foremost you will need to learn what you need to learn because sharepoint can do so much. Then you need to imprint upon yourself DO NOT CUSTOMIZE and keep saying it over and over.

Once you have time under your belt and have found the bugs and errors, then and only then can you think about customizing Share Point. Walk before you crawl.

Also, Heather Solomon is great for design issues and ideas.

Answer 4

Book by Andrew Connel : 'Real World SharePoint 2007'... good book..

Answer 5

There are a handful of podcasts out there - but you need to sift through them to find the ones that are discussing the topics at the level that you're interested in (end-user vs. developer vs. administrator, etc.)

Since SharePoint is part of the Office family, don't forget to check out the Office resource sites like this one: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/default.aspx

That's great from more of an end-user perspective. More the "How to add documents to Document Libraries" types of instructions rather than "How to create a new SharePoint Site Collection."

I haven't been there in a while, but I spent a fair amount of time poking around that site for ideas on my team's "SharePoint Tip of the Week" docs I send out (and by "send out" I mean post to our portal's Document Center and send everyone links to view as they have time). I find something simple like "how to add your team's SharePoint calendar to Outlook" and type up the step-by-step instructions with screenshots. I try to keep it 1-2 pages depending on the content. I also setup a Discussion Board with a thread for each Tip, a summary, a link to the Tip, etc. so people can add comments and questions.

One last thing - check this place out: http://www.customguide.com/quick_references.htm

They have "Quick References" for a LOT of applications/platforms. A great little resource to hand out to people if you just upgraded to Office 2007 or similar situation. Just be aware that they'll follow-up with you trying to sell you their training.

Answer 6

Go to http://www.safaribooksonline.com/ and have a Library on hand. I find it useful for almost any topic I need. I wanted to create a powershell script for a SharePoint upgrade so I put 4 or 5 books in my Library and had plenty of info to get me started.

Answer 7

checkout, http://sharepoint-training-videos.com . This is excellent for beginner users that are just beginning to use SharePoint. put it in your portal and have them see short animated clips.

also see Free Quick How To's

here's a sample video from the premium videos.

here is the outline:

1 Introduction Covers what is to be expected in the course and the skillset the trainee should expect to leave the training with.

2 Understanding Your Roles Gives an overview of the different roles that a SharePoint user can have mainly SharePoint Administrators, Site Owners, and End Users

3 Why SharePoint Describes important key benefits of using SharePoint around Collaboration, Document Management, Alerts, Self-service, Forms and Workflows

4 Understanding Key Concepts Introduces important concepts to understand prior to using SharePoint. Those concepts include Sites, Lists, Permissions, Navigation, Webparts, Views and Metadata.

5 Document Library Gotchas Warns the users about limitations and best practices to follow when using document libraries as opposed to shared drives.

6 Document Library Basics Demos how to navigate to document libraries and how to open documents and upload documents.

7 Creating Documents in SharePoint Demos how to create documents directly in SharePoint.

8 Saving Documents Directly to SharePoint Demos how to save Office documents directly to SharePoint libraries without opening a browser.

9 Adding Shortcuts to SharePoint Libraries in Office Demos how to save shortcuts to more relevant document libraries and folders in Office. A trick that would save valuable time frustration to the end user.

10 Understanding Concurrent Editing Describes the new working habits that a user must get used to in SharePoint and demos how multiple users can work on documents at the same time.

11 Moving SharePoint Documents Around Demos how to copy and move documents from one location to another, different sites, lists, or portals.

12 Understanding Check-in and Check-out Demos and walks through the check-in and check-out process, explaining benefits and best practices.

13 Working with Versions Demos and explains how versions work, what gets versioned, and how to restore versions, pointing to best practices and important details in the process.

14 Working with Metadata Defines metadata and explains the benefits of metadata with documents. Also shows how to work with metadata and how to update them.

15 Editing Metadata in Datasheet Shows a trick when working metadata that could save valuable time. The Datasheet allows the users to edit metadata quickly without going through many clicks and screens.

16 Sorting & Filtering Documents Demos how to work with a collection of documents by sorting and filtered through lists.

17 Understanding Views Explains views and their benefits and how to modify views.

18 Collaborating with Documents and Emailing Links Shows how to work documents in SharePoint and how to share them with others. A critical concept to understand and grasp within yours of your orgnization.

19 Understanding Alerts Describes that benefits of Alerts and demos how to setup alerts on either documents or document libraries.

20 Working Offline Desribes how to work in a disconnected fashion with SharePoint and how to re-sync once the user is connected.

21 Understanding the Recycle Bin Explains how the recycle bin works and demos how to retrieve documents from it

hope that helps