Business Information Management 12 - Skills Development

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• demonstrate a high proficiency in keyboarding skills and speed to meet employment standards
• evaluate and use standard records management procedures to establish and maintain systems
• research, analyse, and justify the use of desktop publishing software for a given task
• create documents using word processing and desktop publishing software

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• At the beginning of the course, assess students' skill levels with respect to touch keyboarding and document production. Then work with them to set realistic objectives for their performance over time. Encourage them to work beyond minimum employment-level standards for touch keyboarding and document production.
• Ask a human resources manager to discuss employment standards regarding keyboarding speed and accuracy, formatting, software skills, and ergonomics. Encourage students to ask questions that address why these skills are important on the job.
• Have students research standards for keyboarding and word processing skills using the business want ads in a newspaper and at Internet job sites. Discuss terms used by prospective employers such as "good keyboarding skills required" or "computer skills required."
• Using a hypothetical business situation, place students in charge of planning, preparing, and printing publications necessary for an annual general meeting (e.g., brochures, financial statements, flyers).
• Set up a simulated small business and develop company materials (e.g., letterhead, business cards, invoices) using desktop publishing software. Encourage students to find creative solutions to meet objectives or address problems.
• Provide students with a set of records and a system for its classification. Have them use appropriate software to set up a filing system that will facilitate retrieval of the files. Challenge students to assess the merits of a given records management system and to propose an alternative system, justifying why it might be more effective.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Have students develop plans to improve their keyboarding skills and speed to meet the employment standards identified for jobs they choose. Ask them to include milestones and describe the steps needed to achieve them. Encourage students to monitor their progress and make adjustments to their plans as required. 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.
• Have students gather several desktop published documents. Ask them to review the documents and develop a list of good and limiting features related to their format and layout (e.g., use of fonts, choice of heads, white space). Note the extent to which students apply these criteria in designing their own documents.
• Ask students to compare the feasibility of using word processing or desktop publishing in terms of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, text and graphical requirements, and needs associated with a document's purpose and audience. As a class, develop guidelines for producing a document. Have students use the guidelines to justify decisions they make for the documents they develop in class.
• Review students' assessments of a record management system and their rationales for selecting an alternative system. Note evidence that they:
  • describe standard records management procedures
  • identify the features of an effective records management system
  • rank or weight the importance of each feature
  • illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of each system's features
  • justify their selection using information from their analyses

• The Canadian Office: Systems and Procedures, 2nd Edition
• Desktop Publishing Practical Exercises, Second Edition
• Exploring Desktop Publishing: A Projects Approach

• Business Desktop Publishing Applications
• Database Applications, Third 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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