Learn Access 2002 Brief - Softcover

Preston, John; Preston, Sally; Ferrett, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130613134 ISBN 13: 9780130613134

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2001

Synopsis

No experience needed...Jump right into Microsoft(R) Office XP Get started NOW! Prepare for Microsoft(R) Office XP Certification! Highly visual, step-by-step instruction makes LEARNing Office XP easy! * Each step has an accompanying screen so each task is illustrated for you to follow. Cautions, Quick Tips, and In-Depths show you where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them. 4 different levels of exercises in each chapter provide the ultimate practice experience. www.prenhall.com/preston Your on-line resource for learning Office XP / Interactive Study Guides! / Data Files! / On-line Exercises!

About this title

About the Author:

John Preston is an associate professor at Eastern Michigan University in the College of Technology, where he teaches microcomputer application courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has been teaching, writing, and designing computer training courses since the advent of PCs, and he has authored and co-authored over 40 books on Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. He is a series editor for the Learn 97, Learn 2000, and Learn XP books. Two books on Microsoft Access he co-authored with Robert Ferrett have been translated into Greek and Chinese. He has received grants from the Detroit Edison Institute and the Department of Energy to develop Web sites for energy education and alternative fuels, and has also developed one of the first Internet-based microcomputer applications courses at an accredited university. He has a B.S. in physics, mathematics, and education from the University of Michigan, and an M.S. in physics education from Eastern Michigan University. His doctoral studies are in instructional technology at Wayne State University.

Sally Preston is president of Preston & Associates, which provides software consulting and training. She teaches computing in a variety of settings, which provides her with ample opportunity to observe how people learn, what works best, and what challenges are present when learning a new software program. This diverse experience provides a complimentary set of information, which is blended into the Learn series books. Sally has been a co-author on the Learn series since its inception. In addition, she has authored books for the Essentials and Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) Essentials series. Sally has an MBA from Eastern Michigan University and graduated magna cum laude. When Sally is away from her computer, she is often found planting flowers in her garden.

Robert L. Ferrett is the director of the Center for Instructional Computing at Eastern Michigan University, where he provides computer training and support to faculty. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 books on Access, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, WordPerfect, and Word, and he was the editor of the 1994 ACM SIGUCCS Conference Proceedings. He has been designing, developing, and delivering computer workshops for nearly two decades, and is a series editor for the Learn 97, Learn 2000, and Learn XP books. He has a B.A. in psychology, an M.S. in geography, and an M.S. in interdisciplinary technology from Eastern Michigan University. His doctoral studies are in instructional technology at Wayne State University. As a sidelight, Bob teaches a four-week Computers and Genealogy class and has written books on genealogy and local history.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

PHILOSOPHY OF THE LEARN SERIES

The Preston-Ferrett Learn series is designed for students who want to master the core competencies of particular software in an efficient and effective manner. We use the rubric EDU to organize the text into sections labeled "Explain It," "Do It," and "Use It." The books use extensive visual cues to provide immediate feedback to the students. Each step is accompanied by a figure displaying the result of doing that step. Highlights and callouts identify key screen elements. Steps are divided into paragraphs that give specific directions and paragraphs that explain the results of those actions. Special fonts and colors are used to identify the objects of actions and what the student should type. Deeper understanding is provided in asides called "In Depth." Places where students are likely to go astray are identified by asides labeled "Caution." The series uses visual elements, such as buttons and icons, to make it easier for beginners to learn the software. However, it recognizes that students who need to use the software at work are interested in speed. Asides called "Quick Tips" give directions on how to use keyboard shortcuts to accomplish tasks that are likely to be common in the workplace. The exercises at the end of each lesson promote increasing levels of abstraction similar to those described in Bloom's taxonomy. The "Comprehension" exercises test students' knowledge of the facts and their ability to recognize relationships and visual elements. The "Reinforcement" exercises provide the opportunity to apply these new skills to a different assignment with less-detailed instructions. "Challenge" exercises require students to learn a new skill that is related to the skills covered in the lesson. "On Your Own" provides students with guidelines for applying the newly acquired skills to a unique project of their own. The guidelines specify general requirements to give the student and the instructor a common ground for evaluation but otherwise allow for creativity and innovation. Books in this series give beginners very detailed step-by-step instruction while providing challenging options for more advanced learners.

STRUCTURE OF A LEARN SERIES BOOK

Each of the books in the Learn series is structured the same and contains elements that explain what is expected, how to do the tasks, and how to transfer this knowledge into daily use. The elements—"Explain It ,"."Do It," and "Use It"—are described in detail below.

Explain It

Students are provided with a cognitive map of the lesson where they see a list of the tasks, an introduction, and a visual summary.

Introduction
The EDU design relates to the lessons.

Each lesson has an introduction that describes the contents of the lesson to provide an overview of how the tasks are related to a larger concept that is identified by the title of the lesson.

Visual Summary
A visual summary displays the expected results of performing the tasks. Callouts are used to show the student and the instructor where to look in each file to identify the results of following the instructions correctly.

Do It

Once students are oriented to the objective of the lesson and are aware of the expected outcome, they proceed with the task. Tasks begin with an explanation of the relevance of the tasks and are followed by step-by-step, illustrated instructions on how to "Do It."

Why would I do this?
The authors draw upon their experience in education, business, government, and personal growth to explain how this task is relevant to the student's life. Students are motivated to learn when they can relate the task to practical applications in their lives.

Step-by-step instruction
Instructions are provided in a step-by-step format. Explanations follow each instruction and are set off in a new italicized paragraph.

Figures
Each step has an accompanying figure that is placed next to it. Each figure provides a visual reinforcement of the step that has just been completed. Buttons, menu choices, and other screen elements used in the task are highlighted or identified.

Special Notes
Three recurring note boxes are found in the Preston-Ferrett Learn series:
– CAUTION: An area where trouble may be encountered, along with instructions on how to avoid or recover from these mistakes.
– IN DEPTH: A detailed look at a topic or procedure, or another way of doing it.
– QUICK TIP: A faster or more efficient way of achieving a desired end.

Use It

The end-of-lesson material, "Use It," consists of four elements: "Comprehension"; "Reinforcement"; "Challenge"; and "On Your Own." Students are guided through increasing levels of abstraction until they can apply the skills of the lesson to a completely new situation in the "On Your Own" exercise.

"Comprehension": These exercises are designed to check the student's memory and understanding of the basic concepts in the lesson. Next to each exercise is a notation that references the task number in the lesson where the topic is covered. The student is encouraged to review the task referenced if he or she is uncertain of the correct answer. The "Comprehension" section contains the following three elements:

• "True/False": True/false questions test the understanding of the new material in the lesson.
• "Matching": Matching questions are included to check the student's familiarity with concepts and procedures introduced in the lesson.
• "Visual Identification": A captured screen or screens is used to gauge the student's familiarity with various screen elements introduced in the lesson.

"Reinforcement": These exercises which provide practice in the skills introduced in the tasks, generally follow the sequence of the tasks in the lesson. Since each exercise is usually built on the previous exercise, it is a good idea to do them in the order in which they are presented.

"Challenge": These exercises test students' abilities to apply skills to new situations with less-detailed instructions. Students are challenged to expand their skills set by using commands similar to those they've already learned.

"On Your Own": This exercise is designed to provide students with an opportunity to apply what they have learned to a situation of their choice. Guidelines are provided to give students and the instructor an idea of what is expected.

Glossary

New words or concepts are printed in italics and emphasized with color the first time they are encountered. Definitions of these words or phrases are provided in the text where they occur and are also included in the glossary at the back of the book.

MOUS Certification

Students may wish to become certified by Microsoft in the core competencies by taking the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) examination in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access. There is a separate book for each of these applications that covers all of the skills required for core-level certification. The first four or five lessons of each of these books are included in the Learn Office XP book. Students may purchase one of the individual topic books on their own, or instructors may request that the additional chapters from one or more of those books be bundled with the Learn Office XP book to provide a complete set of lessons covering all of the MOUS core objectives in one or more of the applications.

Learn Themes

Personal note from the authors to the student: Microsoft Office is a tool that we have used in our professional and personal lives for many years. This experience helps us explain how each lesson in this book relates to practical use. Between the three of us, our interests range across a broad spectrum of activities. We have chosen four themes throughout the Learn series that are based on our personal use of Microsoft Office. We hope that one or more of these themes will be of interest to you as well.

Business: Sally's financial experience and Bob's personal experience in pool and spa sales provide the background for the exercises dealing with business. We use a fictional company named Armstrong Pool, Spa, and Sauna Company to illustrate the use of Microsoft Office XP in a business setting. Armstrong is a regional company that was founded in 1957 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They have expanded to eight locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and have sales of around $10 million a year. Armstrong has been trying to improve the communication between their locations and has recently installed Microsoft Office XP You will see how a company can use Office XP to communicate with customers, manage finances, organize data, and make presentations.

Travel: All three of us love to travel, so we created the fictional Alumni Travel Club, which is an organization that provides travel packages to the alumni of a local college. This theme illustrates how an organization can benefit from the use of Microsoft Office XP The pictures used for this theme were taken by either Bob or John.

Social Science: Bob's personal interest in genealogy and historical research provides the background for several lessons. Bob's family is from Alcona County, which is a small rural community in the thumb of Michigan. Immigrants from Canada, England, Germany, and other predominantly European countries settled there in the late 1800s. Bob Ferrett and his brother Don gathered data from U.S. government census records for that period of time and have published a book on the subject. This information provides interesting clues about the life of people in a rural community before the 20th century and gives us insight into how much the role of women has changed. You will see how Microsoft Office XP applications can be used to explain, ...

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0130613134
• ISBN 13: 9780130613134
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 231