Created by Mary Mingle, Central-Northeast PDC

Basic Tutorial of Internet Use
and
an Introduction to Microsoft Word and Excel.

The following activity would best be described as a Unit for an Adult Basic Education student in a workplace development or pre-GED setting where the goal is obtaining a GED and preparing for further education or developing practical workplace computer skills. The Unit itself would follow a basic tutorial of Internet use and an introduction to Microsoft Word and Excel.

Within this unit, the student will use the Internet in one of the lessons to further develop their mathematical, graph reading and spreadsheet skills.

The student will also need to download the assignment from the Internet or by E-Mail and print the Data and Exercise sheets provided. Ideally, progression through this Unit should be supervised by an instructor or tutor.

I developed this Unit and the materials using Microsoft Word for Windows, version 7.0; Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 7.0 and Netscape Communicator 4.01a.

Grade Level: Adaptable to Intermediate Level ABE (7 or 8); ASE 9-12; GED prep; or

workplace skills development

Objectives: Upon completion of the lessons described in this unit, the student will be

able to:

1. Create charts from collected data.

2. Read and interpret data from charts and apply the information to answer specific questions or draw conclusions.

3. Read and interpret data from bar graphs and apply the information to answer specific questions or draw conclusions.

4. Demonstrate a knowledge of mathematical average and calculate an average using given data.

5. Read for meaning, interpret and follow instructions effectively.

6. Use Microsoft Excel for Windows, 7.0 to create charts and bar graphs given specified parameters (these skills are general enough to be easily translatable to other common spreadsheet applications).

7. Use the Internet to locate a news information Web site and navigate through the site to find specific information.

8. Use the Internet to download information for further use.

Pre-Instruction:

The student should complete a basic tutorial on the use of Microsoft Word and Excel for Windows, 7.0 and navigating the Internet using Netscape Communicator 4.01a. The instructor may also introduce these applications to the student prior to this unit.

Materials:

The student will access an E-Mail transmission or educational Web site, download and save to disk a folder entitled "Developing Charts and Graphs on Microsoft Excel 7.0." This would contain only the exercise sheets, not my demonstration sheets (i.e., the answers).

The student will print the document "Data A" and follow the instructions given (please refer to page 3). The student will perform Lesson 1 using the document "Chart A" (I have provided a blank Chart A and a completed one; the student would not initially receive the completed charts in his/her folder). The student will follow the directions given on each document to proceed to the next lesson. Printing the documents beforehand is helpful. The student has the option of printing all documents and writing the information on paper before inputting the information.

Copies of all 17 worksheets and activities are available from Mary Mingle at mingles@sunlink.net.

Evaluation:

After completing each lesson, the student will be given access to completed

copies of the activities to check his/her work. The student will compare the charts and graphs provided with his/her own work and work through any discrepancies with the help of the instructor. If the student can complete the assignments and complete the last Internet lesson with little supervision, the student will have successfully completed the unit and would move on to the next level (probably a math related use of Excel involving functions and equations; learning to create your own charts from scratch using data acquired from the Internet; or learning to interpret pie graphs).