Business Computer Applications 11 - Skills Development

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• demonstrate keyboarding skills acceptable for personal and business use
• use touch-keyboarding techniques and improve on speed when producing correctly formatted business communications
• demonstrate attention to ergonomics issues associated with the workplace

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• At the beginning of the course, assess students' skill levels with respect to touch keyboarding and their practice of ergonomics principles. Then work with students to set realistic objectives for their performance over time. Encourage them to work toward and surpass minimum employment-level standards for touch keyboarding.
• Motivate students to increase their keyboarding accuracy and speed by using a variety of approaches and techniques (e.g., use of speed charts, stickers, team competitions, rewards).
• Have students research keyboarding requirements in the local business community with respect to speed, accuracy, formatting, software, and ergonomics. Check with employers to determine if keyboarding speed tests are required for employment.
• Ask students to use industry-standard software to chart and monitor daily activities (e.g., a school fundraising project, keyboard drill). Emphasize the need for standardized report formatting while providing students with opportunities to be creative.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Have students monitor and keep records (manual or electronic) of their progress in daily keyboard drills and practice. Ask them to note whether they met their objectives and to comment on aspects of keyboarding (e.g., posture, technique, accuracy, speed and efficiency, use of special features). Check their records periodically for evidence that they are progressing in speed and accuracy, and offer suggestions to help them achieve the goals they have set for themselves.
• Ask students to put together a collection of their work to provide evidence that they can format various business documents correctly. In groups, have students use samples from their collections to develop checklists of criteria for the correct formatting of different business documents.
• Ask students to gather examples of different document types and bring them to class. In groups, have students identify the keyboarding techniques used and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the formatting of each document. Have them use this information to contribute to a set of class guidelines for document-formatting and keyboarding techniques. Use these guidelines as a checklist to review all projects that require word processing.

• Desktop Publishing Practical Exercises, Second Edition

• Desktop Publishing Activities
• Excursions International: A Computer Applications Simulation, Third Edition
• A Guide to Microsoft Office 97 Professional for Windows 95

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