Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course

Instructor’s Manual

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Contents

About This Instructor’s Manual

How to Use This Manual

Chapter 1: Microsoft® Digital Literacy: First Course and the Role of the Instructor

Course Structure

Chapter 2: Activities/Exercises

About This Instructor’s Manual

Welcome to the Instructor’s Manual for the course Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course. The course is designed to help learners with no computer experienceto learn how to use the keyboard and mouse. As an instructor, you play an important role in helping your learners start using the keyboard and the mouse. Both first-time and experienced instructors will find valuable information and materials for planning, customizing, and conducting classes.

How to Use This Manual

The manual contains an overview of the course and its structure. It also activities that Instructors should read through the manual and make full use of the teaching materials.

Chapter 1provides an overview of the course: its design, goals, and benefits.

Chapter 2contains a variety of supplemental exercises and activities you can use in conjunction with the e-learning courses. You can adapt the activities to best suit the needs of a particular locale.

Please make sure you have downloaded that Digital Literacy Instructor Manual and studied the materials contained in the manual.

Chapter 1: Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Courseand the Role of the Instructor

Computers have redefined the way we do many things today. Computers have become an integral part of every profession and business, making it more efficient and easier to conduct day-to-day business activities.

Employers increasingly expect people entering the workforce to have basic computer and software skills. Individuals without such skills or a way to obtain them are at an increasing disadvantage in both the local and global economy. In a world where computers are everywhere, learning how to use a computer is necessary.

As a first step toward digital literacy, learners must learn how to use the keyboard and the mouse. This course, Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course, provides the opportunity to learn how to use a keyboard and mouse. The prerequisite for taking the course is the ability to read a newspaper.

Learners can complete the coursewithout an instructor by directly accessing the online course on the Microsoft Web site. Although the online coursereachesmany people, it limits the course in two ways. First, it is difficult for someone with little or no computer experience to use a computer to complete an online course without, at least, minimal assistance. Second, there is no way to offer custom instruction to meet the specific needs of learners in a particular area.

The instructor-led course eliminates both of these limitations and provides one important addition—you, the instructor. Instructors must possess the same basic reading ability as learners, and must be willing to dedicate time and effort to help others learn. Before teaching your first class, you should be familiar with the course materials, the e-learning software, and the information and resources provided in this manual.

As an instructor, you will play a key role in helping learners meet their computer learning goals. Teaching the course in a classroom setting provides access to computers and the courseware. Your presence as a tutor and facilitator helps ensure the learners’ success. This course is available to over one million people around the world. You are part of a global community of Digital Literacy instructors making a difference in people’s lives.

Course Structure

This course covers the basics of using the mouse and the keyboard. Itdemonstrates how to use a mouse and a keyboard and allows the learners to practice through multiple games in the course. The games have been created to provide an engaging environment for learners to practice their newlyacquired skills and gain the confidence required to learn advanced computing. Learners can repeat games more than once so they can practice the skills in each lesson to become comfortable and gain confidence.

The course combines static information, animations, and games into a rich learning environment that allows the learner to thoroughly explore each lesson.

Course Structure

The course has three lessons:

Lesson 1: Welcome to the World of Computers

Objective – Describe the use and prevalence of computers in day-to-day lives.

Lesson 2: Mousing Around

Objective – Perform the click and drag functions of the mouse.

Lesson 3: Keyboarding

Objective – Use the alphanumeric keys on the keyboard.

Lesson 1: Welcome to the World of Computers

This opening lesson acts as both a hook and an anchor for the course. The lesson engagesthe learner and encouragesthem to start using computers and be comfortable with the basic functions of the mouse and keyboard. The lesson helps the learner appreciate that computers are prevalent in every walk of life—in business or at home. At the end of the lesson, learners should be excited about learning how to use the computer and confident that computers are easy to use and that they can be proficient using a computer through knowledge and practice.

In this lesson, computers are presented as a device that learners can use in their day-to-day life for fun activities, such as viewing photos, listening to music, browsing the Internet; and for activities such as managing finances and storing information. Almost all businesses and organizations use computers for their day-to-day work, and learning how to use them is necessary.Associating the use of computers with day-to-day life activities will keep the learner engaged and interested in the course.

Lesson 2: Mousing Around

This lesson familiarizes the learners with the use of the mouse. The lesson begins with concepts such as how to hold the mouse. It describes the different kinds of mice, including scroll wheeland optical mice. This information helpsfamiliarize the learner with a variety of mice so that they are equally comfortable handling any kind of mouse.

The lesson also teaches the different mouse functions, such asleft-click, right-click, double-click, scroll, and drag. The learner should be familiar with using a mouse before learning elementary keyboarding because, in a real environment, many mouse functions need to be performed before elementary keyboarding. Also, learners will receive tips and guidelines for the proper use of the mouse to avoid mouse-related injuries. Holding the mouse incorrectly for a long period of time can strain the wrist and cause discomfort or pain to the hand or arm. Learning how to hold the mouse properly is essential for the learner.

Lesson 3: Keyboarding

This lesson familiarizes the learners with the basic function of the keyboard. The lesson starts by showing the learner what a keyboard looks like and how the keys can be categorized as alphanumeric keys, punctuation keys, and special keys. The lesson focuses on the alphanumeric keys,or typing keys,because a novice learner uses these more thanother keys. The lesson also describes the different types of keyboards available. The learner then learns how to type using the keyboard. This includes concepts such as appropriate hand placement and using fingers for typing letters. In addition, the lesson provides tips and guidelines for healthy keyboarding.Spending long hours on the keyboard in awkward positions can cause injuries to the wrist, elbow, and back. Maintaining good posture and following proper keyboarding techniques are essential for the learner.

Assessments

All learning programs need some form of evaluation to track how well learners have acquired the concepts and skills. Learners and instructors need feedback to assess learner progress and determine which lessons need to be reviewed and reinforced.

In this course, assessment is a separate componentthat the learners can take at any time. There is one hosted assessment for the course. Learners can take the hosted assessment online at the Microsoft Web site. The assessment contains 20 multiple-choice questions and should take approximately 30–40 minutes to complete.. After finishing an assessment, the learner receives a personalized Learning Plan that outlines the topics to study further from that course.

Sample Syllabi

The following is the sample syllabi for this session. Two scenarios are provided below.

Course 1: Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course

Scenario 1

Day One: Duration: 4 hrs

When to use:

You can follow this scenario when you have:

  • A greater number of mature audience, or
  • A classroom setting where you are using a single computer for conducting the session

Class One: 1.5 hours / Introduction to Course/Instructor
Meeting Place/Times/Contact Info/Equipment
Icebreaking—Learners/Syllabus Distribution
Lesson 1: Welcome to the World of Computers
Objective:
  • Describe the use and prevalence of computers in day-to-day lives.
Lesson 2: Mousing Around
Objectives:
  • Describe the mouse and its types.
  • Describe how to hold the mouse.
  • Perform the click functions of the mouse.
  • Perform the drag function of the mouse.

Class Two: 1 hour / Lesson 3: Keyboarding
Objectives:
  • Describe the keyboard and its types.
  • Describe the correct hand placement for the keyboard.
  • Describe types of keys on the keyboard.
  • Use the alphanumeric keys on the keyboard.

Class Three: 1.5 hours / Games and discussion

Scenario 2

Day One: Duration: 4hrs

When to use:

You can follow this scenario when you have:

  • A greater number of teens or young adults, or
  • A classroom setting where you have a computer for each user

Class One: 1.5 hours / Introduction to Course/Instructor
Meeting Place/Times/Contact Info/Equipment
Icebreaking—Learners/Syllabus Distribution
Lesson 1: Welcome to the World of Computers
Objective:
  • Describe the use and prevalence of computers in day-to-day lives.
Lesson 2: Mousing Around
Objectives:
  • Describe the mouse and its types.
  • Describe how to hold the mouse.
  • Perform the click functions of the mouse.
  • Perform the drag function of the mouse.

Class Two: 45 minutes / Games and Discussion
Class Three: 1 hour / Lesson 3: Keyboarding
Objectives:
  • Describe the keyboard and its types.
  • Describe the correct hand placement for the keyboard.
  • Describe types of keys on the keyboard.
  • Use the alphanumeric keys on the keyboard.

Class Four: 45 minutes / Games and Discussion

Chapter 2: Activities/Exercises

There are many types of activities in this chapter, all designed to support different course objectives. Use them to creatively adapt this course in ways appropriate for your audience. Although these activities are described in a fairly prescriptive way, this is just to get you started. You do not have to use them exactly as suggested.

If you are a new instructor, or are new to teaching technical topics, this level of detail can help you supplement and customize the course. Select and prepare for the activities that you want to include in the classroom.

As you get more familiar with the content and how these activities support the course learning objectives, you can use this information in different ways, depending on your level of experience, resources, and the time you have available to prepare for your class.

Use these activities as a starting place and modify them to meet your needs, or create your own activities.

The activities and exercises are numbered as XXA/E-YY-ZZ, where:

  • XX is the serial number.
  • A/E denotes whether it is an activity or an exercise. A denotes an activity and E denotes an exercise.
  • YY is the course number; the Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course is 01.
  • ZZ is the lesson number within the YY course to which the activity or exercise relates.

Activity #: 01A-01-01 / Suggested Time: 10 Minutes
Course Title:Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course
Lesson Title:Welcome to the World of Computers
Type of Activity: Icebreaker / Performance Objectives: Learn more about your learners and develop a climate of trust and open communication.
Materials / Required:
  • Printed copies of the syllabus for each learner.

Preparation /
  • Use this activity at the start of the program Prepare an introduction about yourself.
  • Prepare a template of two columns. The first column should contain the names of learners, and the second column is populated by you in the class.

Activity /
  1. Introduce yourself.
  2. Hand out the syllabus to each learner and explain why these topics are important to them in pursuing future goals.
  3. Ask the learners to introduce themselves one at a time. Also, ask them what they want to achieve by taking this course. Record this information in the template.

Evaluation / The learners are acquainted with each other in the class and are able to easily collaborate with each other. The learners understood the learning objectives of the course and were able to list what they wanted to take away from this course. Understanding the learner requirements will help you customize your lesson plans and create relevant examples.
Closure / After the activity, reiterate the learning objectives for the course and summarize what the class wants to achieve from this course.
Activity #: 02A-01-01 / Suggested Time: 20 Minutes
Course Title:Microsoft®Digital Literacy: First Course
Lesson Title:Welcome to the World of Computers
Type of Activity: Icebreaker/Discussion / Performance Objectives: Describe the use and prevalence of computers in day-to-day lives.
Materials / Required:
  • Whiteboard

Preparation /
  • Use this activity after the completion of Lesson 1.

Activity /
  1. Divide the class into multiple groups (a maximum of 4).
  2. Ask each group to list 4 different uses of the computer in everyday life. A learner from each group will then present their list to the entire class. Point out the most common use of the computer specified by the learners. Follow this up with a discussion on where the learners have seen computers being used.
  3. Allow the learners to look at the animations again if they want to.
  4. Next, ask the groups to list 3 different ways they would like to use a computer. A learner from each group will present the list to the entire class. Note the most common use of the computer mentioned by each group. Find out why these uses of the computer are important to the learners through an informal discussion.
  5. Quiz the learners on the parts of the computer.