FAQ: Starlight seems to be fairly complex. Is training available?
Like any information system capable of performing a wide range of functions, Starlight is fairly complex. In addition, Starlight supports a new way of thinking about information and information analysis, one that may at first seem foreign to many people. In particular, Starlight enables the concurrent analysis of multiple information types, an approach that opens up new modes of analysis that are unprecedented.
However, Starlight employs an object-based approach that utilizes familiar, graphical metaphors to communicate the key aspects of the information under study.
Additionally, the Starlight user interface is specifically designed to reduce the amount of time required to attend to software mechanics (such as setting up queries), enabling users to spend more uninterrupted time concentrating on their information and what it means. As a result, we have found that most users adapt quickly and find the software relatively simple (and fun!) to use once they've learned it.
A two-day Starlight User's Training course is currently available to assist users in learning the mechanics of the Starlight Client software. This course concentrates on the design and operation of the visualization and other user interface components of the Starlight Client, as well as how to use these components in conjunction with the other components of the Client to perform a range of information analysis tasks. In addition to the User's Training course, a three-day Starlight Administrator's Training course is available that will provide detailed instruction in topics such as data conversion and preprocessing methods, the development of Starlight object schema, Starlight Server administration, and the use of the Starlight utility software. Starlight Administrator's Training will also include "crash courses" in XML-related technologies.
There are regularly scheduled classes offered in the Washington DC area or we can send an instructor to you. Starlight Support (phone, email, on-site) is available too.
Please contact FPS for Starlight Training and Starlight Support pricing and availability.