15920 - IT Workshop

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course students should be able to understand basic structures of a Personal Computer, Operating System and to use Word Processor and Spreadsheet.

Course contents

Hardware, Software, Operating system, Networks, Clouds, Online collaboration tools.   
Word Processing (MS WORD 2010)

This module enables candidates to demonstrate the ability to use a word processing application to accomplish everyday tasks associated with creating, formatting and finishing small-sized word processing documents such as letters and other everyday documents.


Using the Application

• Open, close a word processing application. Open, close documents.
• Create a new document based on default template, other available template like: memo, fax, agenda.
• Save a document to a location on a drive. Save a document under another name to a location on a drive.
• Save a document as another file type like: text file, Rich Text Format, template, software specific file extension, version number.
• Switch between open documents.
• Set basic options/preferences in the application: user name, default folder to open, save documents.
• Use available Help functions.
• Use magnification/zoom tools.
• Display, hide built-in toolbars. Restore, minimize the ribbon.
  

Document Creation

• Switch between page view modes.
  
• Enter text into a document. 
•  Insert symbols or special characters like: ©, ®, ™. 
•  Display, hide non-printing formatting marks like: spaces, paragraph marks, manual line break marks, tab characters. 
•  Select character, word, line, sentence, paragraph, entire body text. 
•  Edit content by entering, removing characters, words within existing text, by over-typing to replace existing text. 
•  Use a simple search command for a specific word, phrase. 
•  Use a simple replace command for a specific word, phrase. 
•  Copy, move text within a document,between open documents. 
•  Delete text. 
•  Use the undo, redo command. 

Formatting

• Change text formatting: font sizes, font types.
• Apply text formatting: bold, italic, underline. 
• Apply text formatting: subscript, superscript. 
• Apply different colours to text. 
• Apply case changes to text. 
• Apply automatic hyphenation. 
• Create, merge paragraph(s).
• Insert, remove soft carriage return (line break). 
• Recognize good practice in aligning text: use align, indent, tab tools rather than inserting spaces. 
• Align text left, centre, right, justified. 
• Indent paragraphs: left, right, first line. 
• Set, remove and use tabs: left, centre, right, decimal. 
• Recognize good practice in paragraph spacing: apply spacing between paragraphs rather than use the Return key. 
• Apply spacing above, below paragraphs. Apply single, 1.5 lines, double line spacing within paragraphs. 
• Add, remove bullets, numbers in a single level list. Switch between different standard bullet, number styles in a single level list. 
• Add a box border and shading/background colour to a paragraph. 
• Apply an existing character style to selected text. 
• Apply an existing paragraph style to one or more paragraphs. 
• Use copy format tool. 

Objects

• Create a table ready for data insertion. 
• Insert, edit data in a table. 
• Select rows, columns, cells, entire table. 
• Insert, delete, rows and columns. 
• Modify column width, row height. 
• Modify cell border line style, width, colour.
• Add shading/background colour to cells.
• Insert an object (picture, image, chart, drawn object) to a specified location in a document. 
• Select an object. 
• Copy, move an object within a document, between open documents. 
• Resize, delete an object.

Prepare Outputs

• Change document orientation: portrait, landscape. Change paper size. 
• Change margins of entire document, top, bottom, left, right. 
• Recognize good practice in adding new pages: insert a page break rather than using the Return key. 
• Insert, delete a page break in a document. 
• Add, edit text in headers, footers. 
• Add fields in headers, footers: date, page number information, file name. 
• Apply automatic page numbering to a document. 
• Spell check a document and make changes like: correcting spelling errors, deleting repeated words.
• Add words to a built-in custom dictionary using a spell checker. 
• Preview a document. 
• Print a document from an installed printer using output options like: entire document, specific pages, number of copies. 

Spreasheet (MS EXCEL 2010)

Spreadsheets requires the candidate to understand the concept of spreadsheets and to demonstrate an ability to use a spreadsheet to produce accurate work outputs. 

Using the Application

• Open, close a spreadsheet application. Open, close spreadsheets. 
• Create a new spreadsheet based on default template. 
• Save a spreadsheet to a location on a drive. Save a spreadsheet under another name to a location on a drive. 
• Save a spreadsheet as another file type like: template, text file, software specific file extension, version number.
• Switch between open spreadsheets.
• Set basic options/preferences in the application: user name, default folder to open, save spreadsheets. 
• Use available Help functions. 
• Use magnification/zoom tools. 
• Display, hide built-in toolbars. Restore, minimize the ribbon

Cells

• Understand that a cell in a worksheet should contain only one element of data, (for example, first name detail in one cell, surname detail in adjacent cell). 
• Recognize good practice in creating lists: avoid blank rows and columns in the main body of list, insert blank row before Total row, ensure cells bordering list are blank. 
• Enter a number, date, text in a cell. 
• Select a cell, range of adjacent cells, range of non-adjacent cells, entire worksheet. 
• Edit cell content, modify existing cell content. 
• Use the undo, redo command. 
• Use the search command for specific content in a worksheet. 
• Use the replace command for specific content in a worksheet. 
• Sort a cell range by one criterion in ascending, descending numeric order, ascending, descending alphabetic order. 
• Copy the content of a cell, cell range within a worksheet, between worksheets, between open spreadsheets. 
• Use the autofill tool/copy handle tool to copy, increment data entries. 
• Move the content of a cell, cell range within a worksheet, between worksheets, between open spreadsheets. 
• Delete cell contents. 

 Managing  Worksheets

• Select a row, range of adjacent rows, range of non-adjacent rows. 
• Select a column, range of adjacent columns, range of non-adjacent columns. 
• Insert, delete rows and columns. 
• Modify column widths, row heights to a specified value, to optimal width or height. 
• Freeze, unfreeze row and/or column titles. 
• Switch between worksheets. 
• Insert a new worksheet, delete a worksheet. 
• Recognize good practice in naming worksheets: use meaningful worksheet names rather than accept default names. 
• Copy, move, rename a worksheet within a spreadsheet. 

 Formulas and  Functions 

• Recognize good practice in formula creation: refer to cell references rather than type numbers into formulas. 
• Create formulas using cell references and arithmetic operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). 
• Identify and understand standard error values associated with using formulas: #NAME?, #DIV/0!, #REF!. 
• Understand and use relative, absolute cell referencing in formulas. 
• Use sum, average, minimum, maximum, count, counta, round functions. 
• Use the logical function if (yielding one of two specific values) with comparison operator: =, >, <. 

Formatting

• Format cells to display numbers to a specific number of decimal places, to display numbers with, without a separator to indicate thousands. 
• Format cells to display a date style, to display a currency symbol. 
• Format cells to display numbers as percentages. 
• Change cell content appearance: font sizes, font types. 
• Apply formatting to cell contents: bold, italic, underline, double underline. 
• Apply different colours to cell content, cell background. 
• Copy the formatting from a cell, cell range to another cell, cell range. 
• Apply text wrapping to contents within a cell, cell range. 
• Align cell contents: horizontally, vertically. Adjust cell content orientation. 
• Merge cells and centre a title in a merged cell. 
• Add border effects to a cell, cell range: lines, colours. 

Charts

• Create different types of charts from spreadsheet data: column chart, bar chart, line chart, pie chart. 
• Select a chart. 
• Change the chart type. 
• Move, resize, delete a chart. 
• Add, remove, edit a chart title. 
• Add data labels to a chart: values/numbers, percentages. 
• Change chart area background colour, legend fill colour. 
• Change the column, bar, line, pie slice colours in the chart. 
• Change font size and colour of chart title, chart axes, chart legend text. 

Prepare Outputs

• Change worksheet margins: top, bottom, left, right. 
• Change worksheet orientation: portrait, landscape. Change paper size. 
• Adjust page setup to fit worksheet contents on a specified number of pages. 
• Add, edit, delete text in headers, footers in a worksheet. 
• Insert and delete fields: page numbering information, date, time, file name, worksheet name into headers, footers. 
• Check and correct spreadsheet calculations and text. 
• Turn on, off display of gridlines, display of row and column headings for printing purposes. 
• Apply automatic title row(s) printing on every page of a printed worksheet. 
• Preview a worksheet. 
• Print a selected cell range from a worksheet, an entire worksheet, number of copies of a worksheet, the entire spreadsheet, a selected chart. 

Readings/Bibliography

Any manual MS Word 2010 and MS Excel 2010 (software Word and Excel). Alternatively, the manual (ECDL modules 1, 2, 3, 4  and 7 are those interested).  Remain fundamental to the purchase of alternative texts meetings held by the teacher.

Teaching methods

20 hours (10 lesson).
mandatory attendance course: 70% 

Assessment methods

Test and practice about lessons.
The student must demonstrate knowledge of and ability to use quickly and correctly the two applications MS Word and MS Excel.
Test consists in create using these applications, two PDFs delivered by the teacher.  The first PDF, related to Word, contain text and a variety of objects (images, clipart, wordart, tables, forms, etc..) and must be made ​​according to the specifications laid down by the teacher formatting (font size, margins, line spacing, paragraphs, indents, , etc..).  The second PDF, Excel, ontain formatted tables, formulas and graphs.  The delivery time is one hour for every application.  Those who are in possession of the Skill Card and Certificate ECDL Core can get the recognition of the Computer Laboratory. In this regard, it is necessary to fill out the form (please request via mail to the teacher or the Student Office) and submit it with the required documents to the Student Secretariat

Teaching tools

PC

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Scheda