DRAFT Computer Skills Assessment

Computer Skills Assessment

Page Prepared by James Falkofske, St. Cloud Technical College, St. Cloud, MN 56303

ASSUMPTIONS:

Even though a large number of users work on Apple Macintosh computers, this skills assessment assumes that you will need to use campus computing labs for some of the coursework in your program. The computer laboratories are Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office based, so you must have competencies with these systems.

INSTRUCTIONS:

For each of the items listed below, place a checkmark next to the items you are confident you can complete from memory (without assistance from others, books, or “help pages”).

At the end of each section is the number of checks that you should have in order to have competency for that section. If you do not earn enough checkmarks to demonstrate a competency, there Open Computer Lab can provide you with additional instruction and access to technology tutorials.

File Management in Microsoft Windows

·  Navigate to a subfolder given a specific path to follow

·  Create a subfolder

·  Move a file to a subfolder

·  Copy a file to a subfolder

·  Rename a folder

·  Rename a file

·  Determine a file’s characteristics (filesize, creation date, author, etc.).

·  Create an archive / zip folder from a set of files specified

·  Extract files from a zip folder

·  Shortcut key combinations for
Copy (Ctrl + C), Paste (Ctrl + V), Cut (Ctrl + X), Print (Ctrl + P), Save (Ctrl + S)

·  Identify common file extensions and uses (.com, .exe, .pdf, .doc, .ppt, .xls, .txt, .html, .jpg, .gif, .xml, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mov, .wmv, .avi, etc.)

Competency Requirement: 9 of 11 tasks

Microcomputer Hardware

·  Power-up the computer

·  Shut down the computer to a power-off state

·  Utilize the keyboard

·  Utilize the mouse

·  Connect the power, mouse, and keyboard cables to the appropriate jacks on the computer

·  Open files from a CD-ROM

·  Store and open files to a USB Flash drive device

·  Adjust the monitor resolution settings to 800x600 and back again to normal resolution

Competency Requirement: 6 of 8 tasks

Internet Explorer Use

·  Open a browser and navigate to a specified URL

·  Navigate using hyperlinks in a page

·  Print content from a web page in Landscape mode

·  Install the Java runtime library

·  Install the Flash plugin

·  Clear the browser cache

·  Change the Internet Options > Security settings

·  Change the Internet Options > Privacy (cookies) settings

·  Change the popup blocker settings

·  Add “trusted” sites to the popup blocker

·  Turn toolbars on and off as specified

·  Change the default text size

·  Open a link in a new window

·  Open a link in a new tab

·  Close a tab

·  Save a file from a web link (Save Target As)

·  Effective Google searches (keyword and advanced attributes in search terms)

Competency Requirement: 13 of 17 tasks

Media

·  Create a screenshot of a window (Alt + PrtScr)

·  Create a JPG image in Microsoft Paint (FILE > SAVE AS)

·  Crop an image in Microsoft Paint

·  Resize an image in Microsoft Paint

Competency Requirement: 3 of 4 tasks

Microsoft Word (version 2003 or 2007)

·  Open a document

·  Save a document

·  Close a document

·  Set page margins and orientation

·  Change screen view (Print layout, outline, web, draft)

·  Set paragraph spacing and margins

·  Choose paragraph style (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.)

·  Set font size and face

·  Utilize bold, italic, underline

·  Create a bulleted list

·  Create a numbered list

·  Indent paragraphs and sub-lists

·  Use spell and grammar check

·  Print a document

·  Turn on Track Changes and changing display views

·  Using Track Changes add Comments, accept changes, delete changes

·  Insert a table

·  Insert an image from a file (that has already been appropriately resized)

·  Insert an image from clipart

·  Insert a hyperlink

·  Insert a symbol

·  Insert a manual page break (CTRL + ENTER)

·  Inserting a manual line break (SHIFT + ENTER)

Competency Requirement: 19 of 23 tasks

Campus Networks

·  Initiate a campus account

·  Change password

·  Access student portal

·  Access personal network drives for personal storage

·  Access shared drives for distributed information

·  Connect to a campus printer

·  Access Computer Helpdesk web pages and tutorials

Competency Requirement: =5 of 7 tasks

Campus Email

·  Access campus email

·  Process email Quarantine messages

·  Attach files to campus email

·  Download files from campus email

·  Deleting messages from email and clearing trash folder

·  Explain strategies for composing effective subject lines

Competency Requirement: 6 of 6 tasks