I needed to step back and consider a lot of the skills I have previously taken for granted. These are skills that I consider rudimentary, but yet are things that I use frequently throughout a given week at college. Most importantly, these are not being adequetly taught.
Word Processing
- Basic formatting
- Bold, Italic, Underline
- Single / Double Spacing
- Bullets
- Numbering
- Tables
- Columns
- Images
- Symbols
- Equation Editor
- Equations are useful, especially in science labs. While often required, it adds an air of professionalism to the document.
Spreadsheets
- Functions
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing
- Summations
- Averages
- Data analysis
- Graphing/Plotting
- Types of graphs
- Trend lines
- Formatting
- Maximizing visibility
Presentations
- Readability
- Backgrounds
- Not using busy backgrounds that distract
- Not using backgrounds that affect readability
- Text colors
- Professionalism
- Not using pointless cute clip art on every page
- Not using useless sounds
- Appropriate animations
- Uniformity
- Formatting
- Bulleted lists
- Text boxes
- Images
- Animations & Transitions
Internet
- Attachments
- Safe Surfing
- Avoiding viruses & spyware
- Protecting self and identity - MySpace etiquette is not something most students will really listen to in school. However, it should still be addressed. The idea of “it can’t happen to me” is one of the most pervasive and dangerous characteristics of my generation today.
- Searching
- In high school, students are taught how to look up authoritative information that can be used in a formal setting. However, there are more than a few questions that I have each day that are readily answered by Google.
