This is great for anyone who is a beginner to Windows 7, Word 2010, and Excel 2010. Microsoft Press has made available for FREE a series of video tutorials on YouTube from some of their Step by Step books with a total of over 14 hours worth of material.

Each video in the series is based on a specific book in the highly successful Step by Step print book series, and adds best practices, tips, tricks, and enhanced explanations and commentaries.

Here is what the Microsoft Press said:

So far, as I mentioned above, there are three series of videos, each series is about 4 hours long, which are divided into many small video tutorials for Windows 7, Word 2010, and Excel 2010. The great thing is that if these videos work, meaning that people find them interesting and resourceful, Microsoft may continue creating more of them.

“We’re pretty excited to unveil nearly fifteen hours of free video instruction, based on three of our most popular recent Microsoft Press Step by Step title releases. The videos are based on, but not exact copies of each book; there’s material in the videos that you won’t find in the books, and vice versa.

Why free? We’d like to know what you think of these and if you find them helpful. We all learn in different ways, and if there’s enough demand for video editions or companions to existing Microsoft Press books, we’ll certainly consider making the commitment to produce more. We’re even open to the possibility of creating learning resources exclusively in video.”

Course #1: Mike Halsey: Microsoft Windows 7 Step by Step

  • 12 video tutorials
  • Total time 5 hours
  • Average 30 minutes each video

Buy the book!

Experience learning made easy and quickly teach yourself the essentials of working with Windows 7.

Book author: Joan Lambert & Joyce Cox

In this series of videos you will learn things such as: Manage User Accounts, Manage Your Network, Work with Programs, Set Up Hardware Devices and much more.

Here is the YouTube link to watch the videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE70E63A6B2DFD196

Course #2: Mike Halsey: Microsoft Word 2010 Step by Step

  • 16 videos tutorials
  • Total time 4 hours 24 minutes
  • Average 18 minutes each video

Experience learning made easy-and quickly teach yourself how to create impressive documents with Word 2010.

In this series of videos you will learn things such as: Editing and Proofreading Text, Organizing Information in Columns and Tables, Collaborating with Documents and much more.

Here is the YouTube link to watch the videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEC59ED056A5F1C58

Course #3: Curt Frye: Microsoft Excel 2010 Step by Step

  • 15 videos tutorials
  • Total time 4 hours 35 minutes
  • Average 20 minutes each video

Experience learning made easy-and quickly teach yourself how to organize, analyze, and present data with Excel 2010. 

Book author: Curtis D. Frye

In this series of videos you will learn things such as: Setting Up a Workbook, Performing Calculations on Data, Creating Charts and Graphics and much more.

Here is the YouTube link to watch the videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBB8F203F33525925

What do you think about this Microsoft Press initiative? Tell us what you think in the comments below.