Week 8, Keyboarding

Hello and Welcome to our Keyboarding Class BLOG.  It's now official--we are at the half-way mark in our class.  This is Week 8 of a 16-week class.  So if you haven't turned in all the assignments up through Week 7, you are behind in the class.  This means you may not finish unless you get all the assignments current.  And for those of you who are working ahead, the end is in sight!


I woke up to another generous dusting of snow this morning in El Paso.  So it's on the way to MS also.  Maybe it won't mean another snow day! I know many of you already have to go to school much beyond the normal start of summer vacation.  


Capitalization  Rules
Here are some important rules for you to consider in your assignments for this week.  The emails you write will be checked very closely for correct punctuation as well as for proper grammar.  Double check your assignments before you submit them so you can get full credit for your work.

Capitalize This:	Example
The first word of every sentence.	It is very important to follow the correct grammar rules.
The first-person pronoun, I.	I am going to Mississippi in March.
The first, last, and important words in a title.	"Important words" usually do not include articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions.
Proper nouns	Mrs. McKee talked with  Mr. White, the high school principal.
Specific persons and things	Barack Obama, the White House, Mini BMW  Motor Company.
An official title when it precedes a name or when used elsewhere if it is a title of high distinction.	Tell Uncle Joel to call the Senator from Florida.
Specific geographical locations	Gulfport, Mississippi, Africa, Forest Park Zoo, Lake Erie, the Northeast, the Southwest.
However, we do not capitalize directions or locations that aren't being used as names	This is the north side of the city; we're heading south this winter.
Names of newspapers and journals	Do not, however, capitalize the word the, even when it is part of the newspaper's title: the Orlando Sentinel
Days of the week, months, holidays	Do not, however, capitalize the names of seasons (spring, summer, fall, autumn, winter). "Next winter, we're traveling south; by spring, we'll be back up north."
Historical events	World War I, the Renaissance, the Crusades
Names of organizations and companies	Chamber of Commerce, General Motors, Girl Scouts
Races, nationalities, languages	Swedes, Swedish, African American, Jewish, French, Native American. (Most writers do not capitalize whites, blacks.)
Names of religions and religious terms	God, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Christianity, Christians, Judaism, Jews, Islam, Muslims
Names of courses	Economics, Biology 101. (However, we would write: "I'm taking a course in biology this summer.")
Brand names	Tide, Maytag, Chevrolet, Monopoly
Names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name.	(Often this means that when there is modifier, such as a possessive pronoun, in front of such a word, we do not capitalize it.) Let's go visit Grandmother today. Let's go visit my grandmother today. I remember Uncle Arthur. I remember my Uncle Arthur. My uncle is unforgettable.

Punctuation and Spacing Rules
(Source:  joblack59.com, 12.20.2009)

, Space once after a comma.

: Space once after a colon. 

- Do not space before or after a hyphen.

: Space twice after a colon.

.?! Space twice after punctuation at the end of a sentence.

. Space once after periods used with titles or initials.

( ) Do not space after opening parenthesis; space once after closing parenthesis.

# Do not space between the # sign and the quantity following it.

(The # before a number means number; the # sign following a number means pounds.)

& Space once before and after the ampersand.

$ Do not space between $ and amount.

 @ Space once before and after @ except in email addresses.

% Do not space between % and number that follows. 

 / Do not space before or after forward slash.

Reminders for this week's assignments

Follow the lesson task instructions carefully.

Use the form in the lesson to complete your emails; complete all sections.

Use proper punctuation and spacing.

Double check your grammar and spelling.

To start a paragraph, use Tab (do not space 5 times).

Space twice after punctuation at the end of a sentence. 

REVISED GRADING RUBRIC for Timed Writings.

Grading Rubric
GWAM (Gross Words A Minute)	Grade
You must complete all sections of each lesson and meet keying speeds and accuracy on the Lesson Report section as outlined below.
30+ Average GWAM with at least 85% accuracy	100
25-29 Average GWAM with at least 85% accuracy	85
20-24 Average GWAM with at least 85% accuracy	75
15-19 Average GWAM with at least 85% accuracy	65
Attempts under 14 GWAM or less than 85% accuracy	40

*Points awarded based on quality of work

Week 7, Keyboarding

Looks like the "BIG" snow, Presidents' Day, and Mardi Gras made a good combination for a mini vacation for many of you. Welcome back to school and to our class.  We are now in Week 7 of Keyboarding!  These assignments are due Monday, February 22.  Please review your grades and if you have any 0s, complete the work. Your grade depends on it!

By the time you read this blog, I will be back in El Paso.  The trip to South MS was great, but I am pleased to be back in the regular routine.  Note my office hours and call me if you have questions.  My number is 601.810.4923.

LESSON NOTES

This week we are wrapping up our learning of the keyboard. You should now know the correct technique for all the keys, including alphabetic, numeric, special characters, and the keypad. Some of you are really flying on those keypad lessons!  Review the techniques and keep practicing to maintain your speed and accuracy.

 

EXAM NOTES

To ensure the best grade possible on the written exam for Module 2, read and carefully follow the directions below.

Exam 2: Timed Writing Instructions

Print this document so you can check off each item as you complete it.

You will now complete the exam in MicroType 4.2. This will be a timed writing. You will have one minute to type as much of the sample text as quickly and accurately as you can. Remember, your goal is to have fewer than three errors. It is better to go a little slower and make fewer errors than go too fast and make too many mistakes.

You may want to do the Quick Review sections in MicroType 4.2 to practice and warm up before taking this exam.

Important Tips: You will find some great tips (below) that you should read before beginning to type your timed writing. Be sure to read all of this page before you begin to type.

Timed Writing Instructions

Open the Microtype 4.2 program and login

On the main screen, Click. Timed Writing (clock face) located in the green section on the left side of the screen.  Select Writing 1 for one minute.

Be sure Writing02 is highlighted.  The Timing Link should be set to 1 minute.

In the Timing Options Display  timer should be checked. You should uncheck the Beep every 15 seconds option. Then click the OK button.

Pressing OK will give you the Timed Writing Dialog box. It should look similar to the box displayed below.  Your text to be keyed will appear in blue in the dialog box above the typing box.

 

Read the message window that pops up and then click the OK button.  Please do not tap the ESC key but continue to type until your time is completed. 

VERY IMPORTANT: When you press a key on your keyboard, the clock timer will begin, so please do not press any keys until you have read this entire document.

When you are ready, position yourself in the correct typing position, press the Tab key to indent, and begin to type the text from the dialog box at the top of the screen. Continue typing at a steady pace until the minute is up.

You must type the timed writing twice.  Your work will be saved automatically.  

Important Timed Writing Tips 

1. The timer starts the minute you hit a key. Do not begin until you are ready. Minimize distractions as much as possible so you can perform at your very best.

2. It has always been standard practice in keyboarding to use two spaces after the end-of-sentence punctuation (periods, questions marks, exclamation marks) and colons (:). Not keying two spaces at the end of a sentence will count as an error each time you make this mistake.

3.    Use the TAB key to indent paragraphs. Using the space bar will count as multiple errors.

4.    Press the ENTER key only at the end of a paragraph. Microtype will display this symbol 8 to indicate that Enter should be pressed.  (Do not press the ENTER key at the end of a printed line.)

5.    If you are an experienced typist you may finish the document before the timer stops. If this happens, do not stop the software will return to the beginning of the document and you should continue typing.

6.   Your goal is to key at least 16 gwam (gross words a minute) with three or fewer errors. (To receive an "A" on this assignment, you need to key at least 20 gwam.) If you did not meet your goal, simply complete the Quick Review in MicroType and then retake the timing. You may retake the timing as many times as you like before you submit it to your teacher.  You must submit at least 2 different screen shots for a grade.

How to Submit Your Test

After you have completed your test that you wish to submit, please follow these directions carefully. 

1.    Return to the main screen and access the Report menu as shown in the diagram.

2.    Select Timed Writings from the dropdown menu.

3.    When you access the Timed Writing Report, the first screen is a summary screen of the timed writings taken.

4.    Scroll down the page until the writing summary that is to be submitted is visible.  Your name, date, Writing 01 and both first and second attempt information should be visible on the screen.  Click Print Screen to capture the image of your results. 

5.    Open the Word Processing Program as we have been doing to submit the assignments and paste the image of your test results. Save the file as xx2_11 (replace xx with your initials) and submit it to the dropbox. 

FINAL EXAM GRADING RUBRIC

Grading Rubric
GWAM (Gross Words A Minute)	Grade
20+ GWAM with three or fewer errors	100
18-19 GWAM with three or fewer errors	85
16-17 GWAM with three or fewer errors	75
14-15 GWAM with three or fewer errors	65
Attempts under 14 GWAM or over three errors	40

Week 6 Keyboarding

Looks like the start of another great week.  Most of you are completing those lessons on time and earning great grades.  For those of you who are still behind on your assignments, there is no time like TODAY to double up on those assignments.  Did you know we have only 10 weeks left in class?  

Check your grades:  you can see them at a glance by checking "My Progress" on the Course Home page or clicking on the "Grades Tab" of your home page.  If you see any zeroes, turn those assignments in right away.  Those zeroes won't look good on progress reports!

Assignments for Week 6 are a continuation of the numeric keyboarding lessons.  Practice those keyboarding techniques we studied and move to the next level of speed and accuracy.  Practice until you get no more than 3 errors on your lessons.  The proper techniques are even more important with the number keys.  Moving off home row with your entire hand to strike a number will probably result in errors when you key the next alphabetic letters.

With all the practice on your computers, I know they are getting dusty and dirty.  Here is a short video on cleaning a laptop.  It is so important to keep them clear of dust and grime.  Who wants to pay for another computer when all yours needs is a little attention to details like cleaning?

Here is the direct link to the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWwejCKVGOY

Other Notes

I am in South MS this week.  You may call me at 601.876.6855 (home) or 601.810.4923 (cell) during office hours.  You may text or email me at any time.  If you have not taken your Oral text for Module 1, review your notes and call me during office hours.  Your grade depends on it!

Week 5, Keyboarding

Wow, 25% of our class is over!  How time flies when you are busy.  And speaking of busy, thanks for signing in and getting work done.  As you may recall, you are required to sign in at least 4 times a week and complete some work during those sign-ins.  You may not know, but MVPS is dropping students who are not signing in regularly and/or who have failing grades.  So, I know I can count on each of you to do the right thing in Keyboarding!  Your grade depends on it!


ETHICS

Speaking of the doing the right thing, this week's lesson includes a discussion post on "Ethics" where you examine situations and select one to discuss.  As you may already know, ethics is not a clear cut right or wrong.  Ethics involves responsible decision making and then taking actions.  Webster’s definition of ETHICS is a system of moral standards or values. ETHICS derives from the Greek ethos, which means “character.”  Another way to look at ethics is to "Exercise the Golden Rule" or "what goes around, comes around."


View the video below about Amy's choices in two situations at school. She is having an "ethical dilemma".  The direct link to the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_b-aTwBVkA

 A dilemma (Greek δί-λημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering at least two solutions or possibilities, of which none are practically acceptable. One in this position has been traditionally described as "being on the horns of a dilemma", neither horn being comfortable, "between Scylla and Charybdis"; or "being between a rock and a hard place", since both objects or metaphorical choices being rough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilemma  

Now, one last video CyberSmart to watch. Here is the link for the video shown below. 
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=26584&title=Be_CyberSmart__Cyber_Ethics_and_Bullying








After viewing the 2 video presentations, add a comment in the space at the bottom of the BLOG.  Your comments should include your definition of ethics and what Amy should do in either one of "ethical dilemma" situations on the video.  Twenty (20) BONUS POINTS!


OTHER NOTES FOR WEEK 5.
You will continue to work with MicroType 4.0 and learn several numeric keys.  Remember to use those techniques we talked about in Week 4.  And try to keep that speed steady without making mistakes.  Mistakes take time to correct and "time is money" for you and business.  (So is that an ethical decision or just being responsible?)


As in the past MicroType Lessons, continue to turn in multiple lessons from a dropbox on ONE MS WORD OR WORK document.  If you need to refresh your memory on how to do this, here is a copy of the file I sent to you in your email.

How to Turn in Assignments to Dropboxes by Dannie McKee, Spring 2010

1.       After you complete EACH lesson, take a screen shot of your completed work. (Press the print screen key--you may have to press FN+Print Screen, depending upon your keyboard layout. Nothing will happen when you press Print Screen.)

2.      Create a new MS Word Document.

3.       Change the page orientation (layout) to Landscape.

4.      Paste the screen shot on the page. (Ctrl+V) OR (Edit, paste).

5.      Submit multiple lessons in a single MS WORD document by pressing Ctrl+Enter between screenshots.

6.      Save your work as xxdropbox (replace xx with your initials and replace dropbox with the dropbox number.) Example dm1_02 (File names cannot contain periods or certain other special characters.)

7.       Upload your MSWord document to the correct dropbox.

8.      Back up your work on your Thumbdrive on a daily basis.

My Travel Plans for this Week
If you have any questions about our assignments this week, please call me at 601.810.4923.  I will be driving from El Paso to South MS on Saturday and Sunday this week.  So if you get my voice mail, leave a message and I will return your call when I stop for a break.   (It's 1174 miles and takes about 20 hours.)  Then after Sunday evening, call me on 601.876.6855 because my cell phone doesn't pick up in the country.  So make a note of my number in case you need some help this week.


Week 5 assignments are due Monday, February 8, 2010! 

WHO DAT? WHO DAT?  Go Saints!