Computer Software and Hardware Maintenance

How To – The Art Needed By Computer Technicians

Situation: One skill that every computer technician needs is the skill of explanation. Most people want to know “How did that happen?” or “What did I do wrong?” or “How does this program work?”. As an aspiring computer technician it is time to starting working on your skills of explaining so that others can understand using your knowledge.

Directions: Chose any software application (Ex: MS Word, Paint, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, Internet Explorer) that can be found on the computers inside of the high school. After selecting your software application now it is time to decide on what you are going to explain to a person about the particular application that you have selected. Are you going to cover the Basics of Microsoft Word or How To Get Started In PowerPoint or take a more advanced role such as Writing Equations & Building Charts In Excel. The angle that you choose (basic or advanced) is up to you within this project.

The end product for this assignment will be a brochure. To create a brochure you have two main choices on your computer 1) Microsoft Publisher or 2) Microsoft Word.

**If you wish to show a menu, a page, or steps using pictures from within a program remember the screen capture technique. To do this strike the Print Scrn key on your keyboard, then open up Paint and paste the screen capture. You can then select what you want from the screen to place within your brochure by using the select tool and cutting out what you select and paste it into your brochure. Remember you may have to resize the picture that you paste so that it will fit and look correctly.**

After deciding on the application and the angle that you are going to approach this project with now think about how you wish to explain the application to the prospective computer user. Are you going to use just text, Text and Images or just images? All of the three listed choices have their pluses and minuses and you will have to be the judge of which will work best for your How To project.

After all decisions are made it is time to start thinking through the process needed to use your application and explain to someone who might have very little knowledge of the application or be an expert user How To accomplish your task.

Brochures will vary but when you are finished ask yourself this question, “Does my How To brochure show or explain to someone how to accomplish something?”

Rubric: (100 points)

______/50 Brochure fully explains How To perform operations and/or specific tasks within a selected application.

______/25 Brochure is easy to understand & follow. Brochure looks professional and matches the task with prospective user abilities.

______/25 Brochure uses correct terminology for the selected application.