IT/206 Week 1 - Microsoft Word

Checkpoint: Formatting Issues

Word Count: 280 words = A+

What are some business uses for inserting a canvas within a Microsoft Word document? From these uses, propose a strategy that may help users overcome formatting issues.

Discussion Questions

Word Count: 248 words = A+

DQ#1 - Microsoft Word provides keyboard combinations that can increase a user’s efficiency. How can these shortcuts simplify the support process for Word? For those customers that solely use alternative methods of completing these tasks, how would you introduce these key combinations?

Word Count: 297 words = A+

DQ#2 - Microsoft Word provides the ability to set defaults allowing users to customize their style within their document. Explain how you would educate a customer on setting his or her own document style. What strategies would you advise to help the customer avoid common style problems?

IT/206 Week 2 - Microsoft Word Exercises

Knowing Where You Placed Your Document

Word Count: 271 words = A+

Customers often save their Word documents to unknown folders within their computers. What are some ways to search for recent .doc files using Microsoft Word? What recommendations would you provide a user to minimize such misplacements? Explain your answer.

Assignment: MS Word Exercise - Part I

Complete the following tasks by using the Microsoft Word document provided within Course Materials: 

• Change the document body to left alignment.
• Correct any header and footer misspellings.
• Set margins at 1 inch.
• Wrap text around graphics.
• Insert page numbers within the header.
• Replace the existing date with the auto date function.
• Set the hanging indention for all paragraphs at .25 inch.
• Create a comment for the introductory paragraph.
• Change bullet point styles.
• Create a table of contents using the Table of Contents feature.

Microsoft Word Exercise - Part II

You are working at a support desk for a company providing onsite and telephone support to customers with Microsoft Word questions. On this particular day, you are presented with the following three situations:

This applies to Word 2007, Word 2010, and Word 2013. 

Word Count: 322 words = A+

Situation 1: A student, planning to attend a local college in the fall, has been told to purchase word processing software for an English class. He is currently looking to buy Microsoft Word, but he wants to know the major functions of this software.

Word Count: 324 words = A+

Situation 2: A woman, who owns her own business, calls the support desk looking to create a Microsoft Word template for mail sent to customers. She wants each letter to look similar; she is also tired of cutting and pasting her company logo and contact information into each letter.

Word Count: 363 words = A+

Situation 3: An employee working in the human resources department of your company is writing the Employee Handbook. He wants to insert various headers and footers in different sections of the handbook, but needs it all to be contained in a single Microsoft Word file. He tells you that he has already set section breaks within the handbook, but all headers and footers he has inserted are the same for all sections. He asks you why this is happening and how he can fix it.

IT/206 Week 3 - Microsoft Excel Support

Checkpoint: Simplifying Your Excel Usage

Word Count: 293 words = A+

Based on the article, how is a macro utilized within Microsoft Excel? Name various business functions that require the use of a macro. What are possible limitations using macros within Microsoft Excel and how would you convey this to a user?

Discussion Questions

Word Count: 405 words = A+

DQ#1 - What are some qualitative tools used to analyze data within Microsoft Excel? How do these tools assist users with their business decisions? Provide an example from a past or current work experience when the use of these tools would have helped to analyze data in your spreadsheet. How was the data originally analyzed? Explain your answer.

Word Count: 386 words = A+

DQ#2 - Microsoft Excel’s versatility allows users to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. How does the versatility of Microsoft Excel affect application support? Because of its versatility, what assumptions must be made when diagnosing and troubleshooting Microsoft Excel-based problems?

IT/206 Week 4 - Microsoft Excel Support

Checkpoint: The Risk of Macros

Word Count: 268 words = A+

What is a primary security risk that users should acknowledge when using macros? Why is it important to educate users of these risks once their dilemma is resolved? Aside from installing Microsoft’s service packs, what types of support strategies should be utilized to ensure risks are minimized? Explain your answer.

MS Excel Exercise - Part I

Complete the following tasks by using the Microsoft Excel document provided:

• Format appropriate cells for currency.
  
• Merge title cells.
• Construct a bar graph using the existing data and provide labels and a legend.
• Insert a border around data.
• Freeze the first column of the data set.
• Sort the daily spending amounts in ascending order.
• Using the Tools menu, set the Excel spreadsheet to be protected.
• Calculate the sum of the entire data set.
• Calculate the average of the entire data set.
• Delete any empty cells between the data cells to condense the data.

You are working at a support desk for a company providing onsite and telephone support to customers with Microsoft Excel questions. On this particular day, you are presented with the following three situations:

Word Count: 336 words = A+

Situation 1: A business professional wants to use Microsoft Excel to organize data for the monthly expense report. He has never used Microsoft Excel and is inquiring about the functions that would support him with this task.

Word Count: 338 words = A+

Situation 2: A husband is having difficulties with his Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. He has been trying to track his monthly grocery spending to find the daily average he spends on food. The spreadsheet is organized by day, and for the days in which no groceries were purchased, he enters zero. He is seeking assistance to calculate the correct monthly average.

Word Count: 249 words = A+

Situation 3: A local grocery store owner has created a spreadsheet containing the types of inventory she carries within the store. The spreadsheet contains 235 different kinds of inventory, defined by price, quantity on hand, ordered quantity, and category. She loses her placement every time she scrolls through the data set. She wants to know how to effectively scroll through the data sheet and manage this large data set.

IT/206 - Week 5 - Microsoft Access

Mail Merging Checkpoint

Instructor Feedback - Perfect Score = A+

Word Count: 445 words = A+

The article from Product News Network introduces 4TOPS, a mail merger that can be embedded within Microsoft Access. What are some key attributes of this product and how may it help the operations of an organization? How do third-party plug-ins change the process of diagnosing and troubleshooting errors within an application? What steps would you take in diagnosing an application that has been changed from its original state? How does this affect the level of support required to facilitate Microsoft Access users? Explain your answer.

Discussion Questions

Word Count: 572 words = A+

DQ#1 - Identify common Microsoft Access database terms. How would you explain them to various Microsoft Access users with little database knowledge? How would the description of these terms vary depending on the experience level of the customer? How would you determine this experience level? Explain your answer.

Word Count: 248 words = A+

DQ#2 - Micosoft Access is often more efficient than Microsoft Excel when constructing databases. Explain why a customer using Microsoft Excel may want to use Microsoft Access as an alternative. How would you explain usage of data between both applications to users?

IT/206 - Week 6 - Microsoft Access Support

Checkpoint: Analyzing Data

Word Count: 876 words = A+

• What are the five basic steps required for analyzing data using Microsoft Access?

• How could these steps help you diagnose and troubleshoot Microsoft Access errors?

• Which of the five steps presents the greatest possibility for user error and why? Explain your answer.

MS Access Exercise - Part I

Complete the following tasks using Microsoft Access:

1. Create a database consisting of two tables.

2. Name both tables.

3. Create fields for each table. The first table must contain the following fields:

   • Student ID number

   • First name

   • Last name

   • Gender

   • Phone number

   • Address

   • Major

   • Minor

4. The second table must contain the following fields:

   • Student ID number

   • Course

   • Letter grade

     • Establish a primary key for each table.

     • Create a relationship between the two tables.

     • Set appropriate properties for all fields.

     • Enter at least five mock student records in the first table. In the second table, enter at least three courses for each student listed in the first table.

     • Create a report containing student ID numbers, first names, last names, courses, and letter grades for all students.

     • Create a query to search for students who received an A in a course. Display student ID number, first name, and last name in the query.

MS Access Exercise Part II

Instructor Feedback - Perfect Score = A+

You are working at a support desk for a company providing onsite and telephone support to customers with Microsoft Access questions. On this particular day, you are presented with the following three situations:

Word Count: 576 words = A+

Situation 1: Jack, a veterinarian, has experienced tremendous growth within his business. All animal records are shelved in folders and are sorted alphabetically by the owner’s name. Jack is ready to rid himself of the time and space these files take and has inquired about Microsoft Access. He wants to know about the key functions of using Microsoft Access and how a table, query, primary key, and a report are important to his database needs.

Word Count: 365 words = A+

Situation 2: Frank has created a database to inventory his customers’ past due accounts to ensure that he receives payment. He has created two tables: one for customer demographics, and the other for the type of service rendered. When he creates a report, the customers’ demographics are all that show and not the amount that is past due.

Word Count: 415 words = A+

Situation 3: Stephanie has been using a Microsoft Access database and queries to track her commemorative plate collection. She recently discovered that her plates have serial numbers and decided to record these within her database. When she replaced each plate’s ID with the appropriate serial number, she was unable to use her queries. She wants to know why this has happened. Stephanie also wants to know if each serial number is unique or similar to the assigned ID number she has used in the past.

Write a 1-page response for each of the three situations. Include the following items in each response:

• Identify a general approach for facilitating the customer over the telephone. What are possible challenges in the given situation? What strategies would help you overcome the challenges?

• If causes to the problem or question described by the customer are unclear in the situation, explain how you would further diagnose the problem or question.

• Once the causes are identified, describe a step-by-step troubleshooting process to help the customer complete the task.

• If the customer has problems understanding your instructions, briefly explain an alternative solution.

IT/206 - Week 7 - Microsoft PowerPoint

Other Uses for PowerPoint

Word Count: 465 words = A+

In his article from Computer Act!ve, Stevenson introduces an alternative use for Microsoft PowerPoint. List and explain the five steps to creating a basic Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. How would these steps differ if the presentation had a business orientation? What features should be emphasized and why?

Discussion Questions

Word Count: 423 words = A+

DQ#1-Microsoft PowerPoint is evolving graphically. How might this change the complexity of a presentation? Do you think Microsoft’s plug-ins enhance the effectiveness of its product? Why or why not?

Word Count: 333 words = A+

DQ#2-Microsoft PowerPoint provides features that assist developing various presentation styles. What are two features that must be used cautiously when creating a business presentation? What effect do these features have on an audience? Explain your answer.

IT/206 - Week 8 - Microsoft PowerPoint Support

Pitfalls to a Presentation

Word Count: 289 words = A+

Write a 200- to 300-word response that explains the following: Based on the article by Fontana (2008), what is the motivation for the pptPlex prototype Microsoft is trying to implement in Microsoft PowerPoint? How might this affect existing Microsoft PowerPoint users and the level of support required by the software? Explain your answer.

MS PowerPoint Exercise - Part 1

• Create a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation with at least six slides.
• Make the topic of the presentation on how a support desk can communicate effectively with customers.
• Create a master slide with a logo, footer, and font.
• Add notes to each slide.
• Insert a graphic or picture.
• Implement a background.
• Place a text box in the title slide with your name.
• Insert transitions for each slide.
• Adjust text alignment in the title slide so it is centered.
• Insert an organizational chart.

MS PowerPoint Exercise - Part 2

You are working at a support desk for a company providing onsite and telephone support to customers with Microsoft PowerPoint questions. On this particular day, you are presented with the following three situations:

Word Count: 620 words = A+

Situation 1: Susan, a pharmaceutical representative, must create a presentation about a new drug recently approved by the FDA. She wants to know the main functions of Microsoft PowerPoint. Susan’s gathered data includes graphs, videos, and statistics of the new drug.

Word Count: 400 words = A+

Situation 2: The training department from a local electronics store provides presentations to newly hired employees about the company and its operations. There are four different presentations created by four different people. The training supervisor wants to unify all four presentations into one without manually manipulating each slide.

Word Count: 485 words = A+

Situation 3: Tim, a college sophomore, is having trouble with a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation he e-mailed to himself from the library’s computer. When he executes the presentation, the slides change too fast, the font changes, and the audio from each transition does not match. Tim wants to know why this has happened and what can fix it.

IT/206 - Week 9 - Capstone & Final

Capstone Discussion Question

Word Count: 1,012 words = A+

Create a draft of an application support checklist for Outlook. You should first identify and diagnose five frequent errors in Outlook. Each error must then offer possible diagnosing strategies and troubleshooting tactics. Provide an alternative support approach for each error for customers who might be at a lower skill level.

Common MS Office Errors

Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook

Word Count: 7,294 words = A+

Create an application support checklist for each Microsoft Office application (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Outlook) using the information accumulated from your individual assignments from Weeks One through Nine. For each application, identify common user errors as well as provide a step-by-step strategy to diagnose and troubleshoot such problems for users at beginning and intermediate skill levels. Each application support checklist must include the following:

• Summary of the application
• Five common errors for each application
• Strategies used to diagnose the errors for an array of different audiences
• Proposed support tactics to resolve the errors for different audiences

Week 9: PowerPoint Presentation

17 Slides with Speaker Notes = A+ Work!

Create and submit a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to summarize your findings. The slideshow should resemble an actual presentation that could be used for training application support staff.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.