Why Should You Learn About Microsoft Office 2007?
Microsoft Office 2007 has a user interface which has been completely redesigned to better meet the needs of its users. The changes are based on years of research about the functions and options you need to be able access easily. However, the bottom line is that it is different. It looks different, and it works differently, so some learning is required to be able to use the software effectively.
More importantly, Microsoft Office 2007 offers many options that you can use to not only make your administrative and non-teaching duties more manageable, but also to improve teaching methods through the incorporation of useful technology.
Ways to Use Microsoft Office 2007 in Your Work and With Your Students
Many Microsoft templates are available to you which can reduce the time you'll need to spend creating paperwork and accomplishing non-teaching duties. For instance, within the templates sections in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, you have access to many pre-made forms and documents:
- academic calendars
- letters to parents
- essay and multiple choice test forms
- homework schedules
- essay templates
- teacher's weekly plans
- field trip permission slips
- students behavior forms
- substitute feedback form
- progress reports
- a Welcome Back to School presentation and various content presentations.
There are too many options to list, but they are easy to investigate by clicking "New" in any one of the programs and choose "Templates."
Educators across the country have used Microsoft software to do everything from create collaborative classrooms, to analyze, publish, and present material, to complete administrative duties. A few of the relevant links are listed in the column to the left.
How to Proceed Through These Tutorials
There are eight tutorials available at the top of the left column, under the heading "Tutorial Pages." Begin with the Interface Tutorial in order to familiarize yourself with the basic format of the new Office programs. Proceed through the Tutorial links in the column.
- Click on the tutorial link and begin with a brief introduction to the topic of the tutorial.
- Scroll down the page to the Tutorial Video and click on the Play icon twice. The video will begin playing. Watch the video; you can use the status bar at the bottom of the video to fast forward or rewind. The text below the video is meant to be used as reference material and to ensure accessibility and self-pacing for all learners. If you view the video, you do not need to read the text below the video.
- Scroll down to review the assessment instructions. When you click on the assessment link, your computer will automatically access your Microsoft Office software. When you have completed the assessment, save it using the following file name format: tutorial title+last name. For example, I would save my assessment for the first tutorial as, "InterfaceAssessmentGibson."
