I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Advanced Computer Applications

2. Course Prefix & Number:
COMP 1121

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

4. Course Description:

This course covers some of the advanced features and formatting options available in the Microsoft Office suite applications of Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. Topics include: creating tables, charts and watermarks in Word documents, generating form letters, mailing labels and envelopes, creating newsletters, using the financial functions available in Excel to create data tables and amortization schedules, creating templates, creating reports from an Access database, creating Access forms and subforms, creating macros and using wizards, creating a switchboard manager in Access, using and modifying visual and sound elements in PowerPoint presentations, delivering PowerPoint presentations and collaborating in workgroups. Integration between the Office suite applications will be emphasized. Career Preparation: Any business career that uses the Microsoft Office suite applications, including, but not limited to: Computer Support Specialist, Network Administrator, Network Engineer, Systems Analyst, Systems Engineer, and Business Analyst.

5. Placement Tests Required:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

8. Prerequisite (Entry) Skills:
Students must have entry level skills in the following software: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Alexandria Technical & Community College, CSBT1501 Spreadsheets & Database Applications, 3 credits
St. Cloud Technical and Community College, ADMS1204 - Advanced MS Office, 3 credits
Hennepin Technical College, CCIS2051 MS Office Integration/Outlook 2010, 4 credits

3. Prior Learning - the following prior learning methods are acceptable for this course:

• Written
• Oral
• Demonstration
• Portfolio

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course fulfills a requirement for the following program(s):

Business Management, AAS
Computer Information Technology, AAS
Computer Support Specialist, Diploma

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Use a current release of Microsoft business and office application software as an end user.
Utilize appropriate technology	Use advanced features of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Use current version of Microsoft Word to create documents with title pages, lists, tables, watermarks. 
• Use and create templates. 
• Generate mailing labels, directories, form letters and source databases. 
• Create newsletters with pull quotes, tables, and graphics.
• Use current version of Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations.
• Create presentations using information graphics, collaboration, delivery techniques, action buttons, hyperlinks, and self-running animation.
• Use current version of Microsoft Excel to create workbooks and worksheets
•  using financial functions, data tables, sorting, querying functions, and data imports.
• Use current version of Microsoft Access to create forms, reports, queries, multi-table forms, multi-table reports, and relational links between tables.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Creating a Document with a Title Page, Lists, Tables, and a Watermark
• Creating a proposal
• Title pages
• Inserting an existing document in an open document
• Creating headers and footers
• Editing and formatting lists
• Editing and formatting tables
• Creating a watermark
2. Using a Template to Create a Resume and Sharing a Finished Document
• Creating a resume
• Using a template to create a resume
• Sharing a document with others
• Creating a Web page from a Word document
• File types
3. Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory
• Identifying the main document for form letters
• Creating or accessing a data source
• Composing the main document for the form letters
• Merging the data source with the main document to generate form letters
• Addressing and printing mailing labels and envelopes
• Merging all data records into a directory
4. Creating Newsletters
• Creating the nameplate
• Formatting the first page of the body of the newsletter
• Creating a pull-quote
• Formatting the second page of the newsletter
• Inserting and manipulating graphics and completing the newsletter
5. Working with Information Graphics in PowerPoint
• Creating a presentation with SmartArt, a chart and a table
• Creating and formatting a SmartArt graphic
• Adding a chart to a slide and formatting
• Adding a table to a slide and formatting
6. Collaborating on and Delivering a Presentation
• Presentation with comments, inserted slides and protection
• Collaborating on a presentation
• Reusing slides from an existing presentation
• Setting slide size and slide show resolution
• Saving and packaging a presentation
• Protecting and securing a presentation
• Using presentation tools to navigate
7. Navigating Presentations Using Hyperlinks and Action Buttons
1. Creating a presentation from a Microsoft Word outline
2. Adding hyperlinks and action buttons
3. Positioning slide elements
4. Modifying placeholder text settings
5. Modifying bullets
6. Running a slide show with hyperlinks and action buttons
8. Creating a Self-running Presentation with Animation
   1. Presentation with adjusted pictures, animated content, and slide timings
   2. Adjusting and cropping a picture
   3. Picture editing tools
   4. Animating slide content
   5. Preparing for a self-running presentation
   6. Kiosk presentation setup
9. Financial Functions, Data Tables, and Amortization Schedules in an Excel worksheet
• Create a loan payment calculator with a data table and an amortization schedule
• Adding custom borders to a range and creating cell names
• Using a data table to analyze worksheet data
• Creating an amortization schedule template
• Printing sections of a worksheet
• Protecting and hiding worksheets and workbooks
• Formula checking
10. Creating, Sorting and Querying a Table in Excel
• Adding computational fields to a table
• Creating a lookup table
• Conditional formatting
• Working with tables in Excel
• Sorting a table
• Querying a table using the AutoFilter
• Using a criteria range on a worksheet
• Using database functions
• Using the SUMIF, COUNTIF, MATCH, and INDEX functions
• Displaying automatic subtotals in a table
11. Working with Multiple Excel Worksheets and Workbooks
• Creating a consolidated worksheet
• Formatting a consolidated worksheet
• Working with multiple worksheets
• Adding a header and footer
• Changing the margins
• Printing the workbook
• Consolidating data by linking workbooks
12. Creating Excel Templates, Importing Data, and Working with SmartArt, Images, and Screen Shots
• Creating templates
• Using templates
• Importing data
• Using the find and replace commands
• Inserting charts
• Working with SmartArt graphics
• Using images on a worksheet
• Using screen shots on a worksheet
13. Creating Access Reports and Forms
• Report creation
• Multi-table reports
• Form creation
• Mailing labels
14. Multi-table Forms in Access
• Adding special fields
• Updating the new fields
• Multi-table form techniques
• Object dependencies
• Date/time, memo, and yes/no fields in queries
• Datasheets in forms
• Creating a multi-table form based on the many table
15. Access Advanced Report Techniques
1. Additional tables
2. Creating reports in design view