Nicole Marie Sartin
Ashford University
EDU620: Meeting Individual Student Needs with Technology (MRC1340B)
Instructor: Kimberly Hall
10/14/13
LESSON OVERVIEW
Title: Communication through Technology: Keyboarding
Author: Nicole Marie Sartin
Subject: Business & Office Administration Management
Grade Level(s): High School Graduates (Freshman Junior College Students)
UNIT DESCRIPTION
This Module is designed to teach students the fundamentals of communication through technology. Students will develop keyboarding skills necessary for a business office environment. This module is one part of a nine-month program in Business & Office Administration Management.
Lesson Outcomes:
• Students will learn to use proper techniques when keying.
• Students will learn appropriate Grammar to be used in a professional environment.
• Students will develop professional skills that result in workplace excellence.
Lesson Goals:
• Students will use the alphabetic, figure and symbol, and numeric keypad keys by touch.
• Students will type content with speed and accuracy appropriate for a business environment.
• Students will correct typographical errors in documents.
• Students will correct grammatical errors in documents.
• Students will use basic word processing commands.
• Students will apply basic business document formats.
• Students will use a keyboard to perform basic Internet tasks.
METHODS
Class Discussions:
As a class, the students will discuss how to use and navigate through the keyboarding software. Next, students will also discuss home row position and practice placing their hands on the keyboard correctly with curved, upright fingers. Finally, the class will discuss the procedure for learning new keys and why the proper posture, hand placement, and hand control are essential in the development of good keyboarding skills.
The class will discuss the various types of written business communications. The class will discuss the two most common types of business communications and their formatting which is business letters and reports. Next, the class will discuss how business letters have common components, such as the date, a salutation, while reports typically have headings that help organization information. Finally, students will discuss why it is important to know how these common types of communication are formatted.
A comprehensive overview of basic sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and capitalization will be provided along with samples of corporate reports and business letters. The class will discuss the importance of accuracy and consistency relative to Grammar and professionalism. One of the main goals of keyboarding is accuracy. An important part of creating accurate documents is identifying and fixing common Grammatical errors in the text.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:
Present students with new information appropriate to the lesson, highlighting the various stages of the creating business documents as well as the formatting and editing phase while correcting errors and changing vocabulary utilizing a Thesaurus.
• A comprehensive overview of basic sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, capitalization
• Samples of corporate reports and business letters
• Review appropriate formatting relative to business communication
• Illustrate using computer technology such as Grammar and spellcheck
• Review best practices for using computer technology to improve typing skills
Guided Practice:
Give students a choice to work alone or with a partner in this activity. Ask students log onto the following site and take the typing test: http://www.learn2type.com/TenKeyTest
Next, students will perform a peer review of their results and discuss measures for improvement. After review and practice, each student will take the test again to achieve a higher score.
Independent Practice:
Set up 4 computer stations in your classroom, to provide opportunities for students to take a typing test and record the results. Students will rotate computer stations until they have completed each lab activity with recorded results. No test may be taken more than 4 times by a student.
Lab Activity 1:
Students log onto the following site and take the typing test: http://www.learn2type.com/TenKeyTestMake
Lab Activity 2:
Students log onto the following site and take the typing test: http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed_num.php
Lab Activity 3:
Students log onto the following site and take the typing test: http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php
Lab Activity 4:
Students log onto the following site and take the typing test: http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed_alpha_numeric.php
Wrap-Up
Once every student has completed each lab activity, the scores will be recorded. Each student will be ranked according to their test scores. Students will have the opportunity to retake a test to improve their scores in an effort to raise their level of ranking. The competitiveness should drive this activity to promote learning, improvement and skill development. Students may not take each test more than four times. This will allow the teacher to chart the student’s progression by using test scores. Ideally, it will be easy to see a student’s score improve as he/she learns from mistakes, takes time to practice and learns better techniques from the others.
ASSESSMENT
Formative/Ongoing Assessment:
Provide ongoing assessment throughout the lesson.
- Observe and encourage student participation in class discussion,
- Asking and answering questions and volunteering comments and ideas.
- Visit students throughout the lab activities, provide direction, correct errors, affirm successes.
- Observe for quality control and ensure that students do now cheat in any way.
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:
At the end of the lesson, collect all test results. Explain the correct sequence and stages of each student’s learning progress based upon test scores. Use the following questions for evaluation.
- Did the students’ scores rise upon retaking the tests?
- Did the student’s score decline upon retaking the tests?
- Did the student show a regression of skills or an improvement of skills?
- Do the student’s test scores show steady improvement or decline in any way?
CONCLUSION
This Module is designed to teach students the fundamentals of communication through technology. Ideally, students will develop keyboarding skills necessary for a business office environment upon completion of this course. However, since this course contains an emphasis on spelling and Grammar, some students may struggle a bit if they have allowed those skills to become too relaxed. I also anticipate that some students may experience a regression in skills as they realize that a popular technique may not be appropriate or correct. This course may also be challenging for students with poor English speaking skills, a speech impediment or English as a second language. Thus, some students may have to re-learn certain basic skills and unlearn bad habits in order to experience true progress.
Initially, it may be difficult for students whose scores are low due to an overuse of industry jargon and quick short-hand typing styles. Nevertheless, the teacher must reinforce quality and the use of appropriate grammar as well as traditional typing techniques over speedy shortcuts and trendy language. Ultimately, students should learn how to use technology to enhance communications for quality, productivity and innovation.
REFERENCES
CAST, Inc. American Institutes for Research's Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students. U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
Edyburn, D. L. (2013). Inclusive technologies: Tools for helping diverse learners achieve academic success. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Moore, R., Seraydarian, P. and Fruehling, R. (2010). Pearson Business Reference and Writer's Handbook. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall.
