ECDL Part 4

Is this course for you?

The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) is becoming one of the most widely recognised 'generic' qualifications, and is intended to represent a broad level of PC competence.

The Reeltime ECDL courses have been developed specifically around the skills required by the ECDL syllabus and are an ideal way to prepare for the ECDL examination.

This course covers ECDL Module 6 - Presentation and Drawing and Module 7 - Information Network Services (Internet and e-mail). It is based on the Microsoft Office 2000 software, using Powerpoint and Outlook together with Internet Explorer.

The course includes the basics of PowerPoint, Outlook and Explorer, so previous experience is not required. Some experience with Windows is highly desirable and we recommend that novices start with our ECD1 course.

The course includes the following elements:

Lesson 1: Presentation basics 1 Lesson 15: Browser basics 2
Lesson 2: Help functions Lesson 16: Browser basics 3
Lesson 3: Presentation basics 2 Lesson 17: Web navigation
Lesson 4: Create a presentation Lesson 18: Using a search engine
Lesson 5: Copy, move and delete with PowerPoint Lesson 19: Printing web information
Lesson 6: Format text Lesson 20: Using bookmarks
Lesson 7: Modify text boxes/draw lines Lesson 21: Electronic mail basics
Lesson 8: Drawing objects Lesson 22: Email help functions
Lesson 9: Charts Lesson 23: Send messages
Lesson 10: Images and other objects Lesson 24: Copy, move and delete with Outlook
Lesson 11: Printing and distribution Lesson 25: Read a message
Lesson 12: Slide show effects Lesson 26: Reply to a message
Lesson 13: View a slide show Lesson 27: Addressing
Lesson 14: Browser basics 1 Lesson 28: Message management
Pre-defined curricula What you will need to enrol

Lesson 1: Presentation basics 1 top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open a presentation application
  • Open an existing presentation
  • Modify a presentation and save it
  • Save an existing presentation onto the hard disk
  • Open several documents
  • Close the presentation document
  • Close the presentation application
PowerPoint is the Microsoft Office application for creating and showing presentations, using the computer screen instead of the traditional methods of slides or overhead transparencies. In this lesson we concentrate on the basics of opening and modifying a presentation and finding your way around the application software.

Lesson 2: Help functions top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Get help at a dialog box
  • Use ScreenTips
  • Use the What's This? feature
  • Use Microsoft PowerPoint Help
  • Show Tip of the Day at startup
Microsoft PowerPoint has different ways of giving you information while you work, from simple ScreenTips and information panels to the full blown help system where you look up information. Microsoft Office also comes with an Office Assistant which not only helps you look up information but will make suggestions from time to time about what you're currently doing.

Lesson 3: Presentation basics 2 top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Change the display modes
  • Use the page view magnification Zoom tool
  • Modify the toolbar display
  • Save a presentation in a different file format
  • Save data as a web page
PowerPoint has a range of features that control how your work looks on screen. You can change these basic settings to hide and display different features. Once you have created presentation documents you will need to save them. If you are exchanging them with others, you have a range of different formats you can use.

Lesson 4: Create a presentation top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Create a new presentation
  • Choose an appropriate automatic slide
  • Add text
  • Modify slide layout
  • Add an image from an image gallery
  • Use a master slide
In this lesson we see how to create a presentation from scratch. You can quickly build up a very effective presentation starting from a blank slide. PowerPoint takes care of most of the details for you, so you are free to concentrate on the message you want to get across.

Lesson 5: Copy, move and delete with PowerPoint top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Copy and paste text within the presentation
  • Use cut and paste to move text to another slide
  • Delete selected text
  • Duplicate an image within the presentation
  • Use cut and paste to move an image within the presentation
  • Delete an image
  • Use copy and paste to duplicate a slide
  • Use cut and paste to move a slide within the presentation
  • Reorder slides within the presentation
  • Delete slides within a presentation
As you build up details for slides in a presentation you'll want to duplicate or move items or slides. To do that you use the standard Cut, Copy and Paste features to reposition information. You'll may also want to change the order of the slides, and we look at different ways of doing that in this lesson.

Lesson 6: Format text top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Change font type
  • Apply italics, bold and underlining effects
  • Change the case
  • Apply shadow sub-script and super-script effects
  • Apply different colours to text font
  • Control text alignment
  • Adjust line spacing
  • Change the type of bullets in a list
How text appears on a slide depends on the slide design you use for the presentation. However, it is easy to apply custom effects to slides to make slides stand out, or to help control how much information it contains.

Lesson 7: Modify text boxes/draw lines top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Resize and move a text box within a slide
  • Set line weights, style and colours of a text box
  • Add different types of lines to a style
  • Move lines in a slide
  • Change line colour and modify line width
PowerPoint uses 'text boxes' to place text and other items on a slide. In this lesson we see how to control the size of the text boxes and modify them to give custom effects. The drawing feature allows you to take control and create your own graphics.

Lesson 8: Drawing objects top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Add different types of shapes to a slide
  • Rotate a drawn object in a slide
  • Change the attributes, colour and line type of a shape
  • Apply a shadow to a shape
In this lesson we look at more options on the Drawing toolbar to draw different types of shapes and control how they appear on the slide.

Lesson 9: Charts top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Create an organisational chart
  • Modify the structure of an organisational chart
  • Create different types of charts
Although you can draw lines and shapes on a slide to create diagrams such as organisational charts, PowerPoint has a feature which speeds up the process for you. In this lesson we look at how to create and modify different types of charts. We assume that you have the Microsoft Organization Chart feature installed on your PC. If not, check the Assignment before you start this lesson.

Lesson 10: Images and other objects top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Import images from other files
  • Resize and move an image in a slide
  • Insert other types of objects
  • Copy an imported object to a master slide
  • Add border effects to an object
Presentations benefit from images and other objects to illustrate your text. You can Import images from other files, and resize and move them on a slide. You can also import other objects such as text, spreadsheets, tables, charts or graphic files to a slide. If you want to repeat an imported object on your slides you copy it to a master slide, finally you can enhance objects by adding border effects,

Lesson 11: Printing and distribution top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Select an output format for the presentation
  • Change the slide orientation
  • Add notes for the presenter to slides
  • Number the slides
  • Use the spell-check program
  • Preview the presentation document in slide, outline, slide sorter or notes view
  • Print slides in various views and output formats
In this lesson we look at how to set up slides for a presentation. What you select depends on the format that will be used for the presentation. You can add notes for the presenter, number the slides and check the spelling. You can preview your presention using different views as well as print this information on paper.

Lesson 12: Slide show effects top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Add preset animation effects to slides
  • Change preset animation effects
  • Add slide transition effects
You can make your slides more interesting by adding animation effects to text and individual objects on a slide. You can also add slide transition effects to control what happens when each slide appears. Once you have set up your slides you need to decide how you are going to move from one slide to another - automatically after a preset time, or manually. You can also set special effects, add sounds and so on, to make the presentation more entertaining.

Lesson 13: View a slide show top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Start a slide show on any slide
  • Use on-screen navigation tools
  • Hide and unhide slides
Once your slide show is complete you will want to view it. You can choose to start the show from any slide, not just the beginning. You can use the slide transition options to control how the slides advance. If you choose to use the mouse to move from item to item you have access to more options as well as choose how the pointer looks on your screen. You can also hide slides to omit them from the show when you view it.

Lesson 14: Browser basics 1 top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open a web browsing application
  • Understand the make-up and structure of a web address
  • Display a given web page
  • Save a web page as a file
  • Close the web browsing application
In this lesson we look at the basics of using the web browser application Microsoft Internet Explorer. Information is published on the web in the form of web sites which you display by giving their web address. Although web sites can be anywhere in the world, you can find out information about a site from its address. Once you have found some information you may want to save it as a file.

Lesson 15: Browser basics 2 top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use application help features
  • Change the web browser start page
As with other applications, there is a lot to learn. You do not need to remember everything as Microsoft Internet Explorer has a help system that enables you to look up topics. When you start the browser application, it is normally set to display a particular web page. This is called the Home page and you can change the address to show different information.

Lesson 16: Browser basics 3 top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Change view modes
  • Modify the toolbar display
  • Display images on web pages
  • Do not load images onto web pages
Internet Explorer has different features that you can hide or display. In this lesson we look at how to control what is displayed on your screen. Many web sites have pictures and animated images. These can sometimes slow down the rate at which the information is displayed. To speed things up you can opt not to load the image files and concentrate just on the text.

Lesson 17: Web navigation top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open a URL and collect data
  • Open an image link and return to the origianl page
  • Browse a site and collect data
Web sites can be made up of huge amounts of information. They can have links (hyperlinks) that take you to other information. The process of finding your way around web sites and looking for information is referred to as browsing or surfing. How easy it is to find your way around a site will depend on the skills of the web designer. No two sites will be alike but all have common features that you will recognise and use.

Lesson 18: Using a search engine top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Define search requirements
  • Use a key word in a search
  • Refine a search using common logical operators
You can spend hours surfing the Internet looking for information but to make life easier you can use a search engine to look for information for you. You need to think about that you want to find, use key words and then refine your search using more advanced search features that are sometimes referred to as 'common logical operators'.

Lesson 19: Printing web information top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Modify page setup options
  • Print a web page using basic print options
  • Present a search report as a printed document
When you use the World Wide Web, you will find that is often more convenient to print a 'hard copy' of the information that you require, rather than reading it on-line. The web browser has its own printing functions built in, in much the same way as a word processor might. For example, you may only want to print off part of the information on the screen so in this lesson we will look at the various options available from the print and page set-up menus.

Lesson 20: Using bookmarks top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Bookmark a web page
  • Open a bookmarked web page
  • Add web pages to a bookmark folder
The World Wide Web represents a huge collection of information resources. You can spend a lot of time on searches and with directories to find the really useful sites. When you find a site you think you may want to come back to, it is useful to 'bookmark' it so you can easily find it again. In Internet Explorer, these bookmarks are called Favorites.

Lesson 21: Electronic mail basics top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open an electronic mail application
  • Change display modes
  • Open a mail inbox
  • Open a mail message
  • Modify the toolbar display
  • Close the electronic mail application
Electronic Mail or E-mail is one of the most convenient ways to communicate. Once you know someone's e-mail address, sending e-mail is as easy as typing a memo. Many people find e-mail is an indispensable tool, not just for business but for keeping in touch with friends and contacts around the world - and many web sites include e-mail facilities. For this part of the course we use the Microsoft Outlook e-mail application.

Lesson 22: Email help functions top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use ScreenTips
  • Use the What's This? feature
  • Use Microsoft Outlook Help
  • Show Tip of the Day at startup
  • Get help at a dialog box
As with Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook has a built-in help function to enable you to look up information. In this lesson we look at the different ways you can do this. Which one you use will depend on the level of information you need about a topic.

Lesson 23: Send messages