Class Description

(Computer Productivity) One semester course taken in the freshman year. Students are required to complete this course for a graduation requirement. The course is a multi-faceted course. Students will be challenged individually to build their keyboarding skill in accuracy and errors. The students will gain a thorough working knowledge of Open Office software with its three major components of Writer, Impress, and Calc.. The students will be trained on how to use the computer as a tool in the library to do research The students will learn how to type up research papers following Unity's format for all minor and major papers. The students will learn how to go back and forth from the Mac lab and IBM lab. They will learn the proper use of e-mail and internet usage here at Unity. The students will also learn how to be safe on the Internet when they are using for example Facebook. The students will also be introduced to personal applications of word processing such as letters, memo's, graphics, correct spacing and punctuation usage.  A new component this year is learning how to use the features of 'Google Apps for Education'.

Class Expectations

Testing Information:

1. Major tests in this course is minimal. We mostly have quizzes of 25 to 30 points.
2. There is one major test at about 5-6 weeks into the course. It covers how to use Open Office Word Processing software and Windows XP. It will consist of two parts. A 50 to 75 point multiple choice test and a production project using all the features that were covered in class.

Daily Work:

1. All work is done in the classroom time period. If a student gets behind, he is expected to find study hall time or time before or after school to catch up or at home is they have the same software that the class uses.
2. Out of class study will be mainly for quizzes or test preparation.
3. Daily performance, attitude, personal skill growth, and work assignments are graded.

Major Projects:

1. There are a lot of mini projects based on what is being studied.
2. One major project is a 2-3 week session on how to type a report following the Unity's guideline to reports which all teachers use in their classes.

3. A second major project is a personal powerpoint.

Miscellaneous:

1. Major emphasis in this class is personal skill development in speed and accuracy. Student progress is charted through a software package called MicroPace Pro. How they seek to improve themselves is graded.

Final Grade:

1. The final grade will be based on personal improvement in the skill area of keyboarding, quizzes, tests, daily work, and projects. Their overall speed and accuracy level will also be graded.
2. All work is assigned a certain number of points. Total points earned divided by total points possible will be your percentage and that will be converted to your grade. See grading scale by going to the "Technical Communications Home Page" link.
3. The students will have an exam at the end of the semester, which will count for 20% of their final semester grade.

Additional Information:

1. I will not fail a student in this class due to a lack of ability in the skill of keyboarding. But, if they continually don't try and disrupt others in the class, it can happen!
2. Feel free to contact me at Unity (737-4114) or at my home (737-8609). My voice mail is extension 126. Leave a message and I will get back to you. My email address is dpals@unitychristian.net

Class Outline

I. Introduction:

A. Purpose of Class

1. Gain the skills needed to successfully use Unity's computer systems.
2. Enhance personal keyboarding skills to a higher level of achievement in speed and accuracy.
3. Acquire the necessary skills to do research for other subjects by using the internet and other electronic resources available at Unity.
4. Real life applications of Word Processing skills.

B. Goals for Achievement in This Class

1. Personal skill growth--speed and accuracy. Always working hard to achieve new levels.
2. Getting around in Windows XP and the Mac System.
3. Becoming efficient in Writer, Impress, Calc using Open Office 3 software..
4. Learning to use electronic research techniques in the library and the internet.
5. Proper use of e-mail and internet usage. How to set up safeguards using Facebook.
6. Learn how to type us a research paper following Unity's standard guidelines.
7. Using Word Processing for Personal and Business Applications.
8. Acquiring Desktop Publishing skills with graphics.

II. Getting Acquainted

A. Windows XP

1. Just the basics.
2. Start up and shut down.
3. Launching a program.
4. Printing procedures.
5. Other expectations--Do's and Don'ts.
6. Your personal storage.

III. Using Micro Pace Pro

A. Launching, Passwords, etc.

B. Selecting a paragraph to type.

C. Using diagnostics.

D. Individual skill development

E. Reward of hard work--playing the "Game".

IV. Learning to Use Open Office Writer Word Processing

A. Launching Writer.

B. Knowing parts of word processing screen.

C. Button Bar and Keyboard commands.

D. Opening and saving work.

E. Closing and quitting.

F. Entering text, formatting, and editing.

G. Printing procedures.

H. Special formatting techniques.

I. Advanced word processing techniques.

V. Using the Internet and E-mail.

A. Project--Researching a Career.

VI. Unity's Standard Report Lay Out.

A. 1-3 page reports without documentation.

B. 3-10 page research papers with documentation.

C. Keying research projects on Careers.

VII. Learning to Use Open Office Impress.

A. Launching Impress..

B. Learn Drawing Basics and Creating Objects.

C. Creating Presentations--Using Slides.

D. Creating Speaker Notes, Outlines, and Handouts.

E. Special Projects to Apply Skills.

VIII. Learning to Use Open Office Calc.

A. Launching Calc.

B. Learning how to get around in a Spreadsheet.

C. Entering Data into a Spreadsheet.

D. Creating formulas and using functions.

E. Formatting cells and using graphs and graphics.

F. Special projects to apply skills.

VIII. Application for Personal Use or Business Use.

A. Personal/Business Letters.

B. Tables.

C. Reports.

D. Integrating graphics with other documents.