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These skill standards for the information technology end user applications cluster are intended to be a guide to workforce preparation program providers in defining content for their programs and to employers to establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition. An introduction provides the Illinois perspective; Illinois Occupational Skill Standards and Credentialing Council requirements for occupational skill standards; sample format; occupational earnings and employment information; assumptions for these specific skill standards; and performance skill levels. The 36 skill standards are categorized into these 8 performance areas: general/multiapplications; word processing; spreadsheet; database; presentation; desktop information management; Internet/intranet; and electronic file management. Components of each skill standard are performance area; skill standard, including conditions of performance, work to be performed, and performance criteria; performance elements; and performance assessment criteria, with a listing of required testing, certification, and/or licensing; product; and process. Appendixes include a cluster-specific glossary; glossary; and listing of workplace skills. (YLB)

Intended for educators who work with or plan to establish a school-based enterprise (SBE) in their school, this guide provides tools and strategies to establish and operate an SBE that provides a context for students to learn a range of academic and career-oriented skills. Section 1 suggests steps educators can take to help their enterprise--an SBE integrated with the school's curriculum--succeed within the school setting. Section 2 describes ways to incorporate planning into setting up an SBE. This business planning process guides students and teachers through the research and investigation needed to create a viable business that meets a need in the school or surrounding community. At the end of the section are nine "tools," activities and forms teachers may wish to use to accomplish the steps to help them get the SBE off to a good start. Each tool consists of some or all of these components: purpose, materials, time required, procedure, reflection, bridges, teacher forms/materials, and handouts. Section 3 provides strategies teachers and administrators can use to augment the learning students derive from an SBE once it is up and running. These strategies are also designed to have a positive effect on the enterprise's profitability, which in turn determines the SBE's ability to generate revenue for social benefits. At the end of the section are tools useful in accomplishing the five strategies. Contains 12 references and an appendix on business and management competencies (student records). (YLB)

This document contains the information required to present a 1-year school course that is the capstone class of a 2-year marketing major and is designed for high school students wishing to develop the skills required for entry into the marketing industry. The document begins with a rationale, brief course description, list of course objectives, and list of 10 best practices identified from a review of literature about current and future workplaces. Presented next are outlines for each of the course's five units. Each outline includes an overview, unit objectives, student activities, and a topic outline. The following are among the topics discussed in the units: economic systems (the free enterprise system, world economies, the global marketplace); entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship, risk management, business plans, business finance); technology in business (computers in marketing, specialized computer technology for marketing); career planning (careers in marketing, career decisions); and communications (the communication process, listening, reading, speaking, telephone skills, writing, resumes and job interviews, electronic mail, nonverbal communication). Concluding the document are a sample final examination and rubric. An attachment constituting approximately 50% of the document includes sample student activities and teacher materials.(Contains 12 references.) (MN)

This document contains the information required to deliver a 1-semester beginning keyboarding course designed to give high school students a basic understanding of the following: parts of a computer; keyboard functions; Windows 95; keypads; techniques for proofreading and formatting various documents; basic word processing features; capitalization and punctuation rules; word division; principles of editing; techniques producing simple tables; and use of the Internet for research. Included in the document are the following: rationale; course overview; course objectives; lesson plans for the course's 13 units; class activities; list of 14 Internet resources; keyboarding rubric for letters and memos; quiz for the proofreading unit; language arts and keypad skills worksheets; and bulletin board ideas. The unit topics are as follows: learn letter key operation; master keyboarding and language skills; get acquainted with symbol keys; learn number keypad operation; learn to center documents; master keyboarding and language skills; learn to format memos; learn block letter format; master keyboarding and language skills; learn unbound report format; learn simple table format; assess keyboarding and application skills; and participate in a keyboarding simulation on ethics--the right thing to do. (MN)

This document, which is intended for business education teachers at the postsecondary level, contains the information required to deliver a 1-semester beginning keyboarding course. The course is designed to help students develop a keyboarding speed of 30-40 words per minute and learn to use word processing software to create, store, print, and edit business and personal-use documents. The guide begins with a brief course description, rationale, list of course objectives, evidence from the research that supports the course's approach and underlying philosophy, brief discussion of assessment techniques, and list of materials and equipment needed. Presented next is a course outline that includes the topics and suggested activities to be covered in the course's four units, which cover the following topics: operating a keyboard; using formatting techniques; formatting basic business documents; and building keyboarding, word processing, and language arts skills and creating simple reports and employment documents. Appendixes constituting approximately 75% of the document contain a keyboarding technique rubric and 17 skill-building exercises and activities including the following: journal activity, group activities, review activity, multicultural timed writing activity, ethics activity, cross-curricular activity, production test, timed writing test, and Internet activity. The bibliography contains 29 references. (MN)

Developed in Virginia, this publication contains task analysis guides to support selected tech prep programs that prepare students for careers in the business and marketing cluster. Guides are included for accounting systems, legal systems administration, office systems technology, and retail marketing. Each task analyses guide has the following essential elements: (1) an occupational task list derived from a panel of local workers or employers (occupational analysis) consisting of a duty area, a task or competency, a performance objective, a performance measure, and enabling objectives and activities; (2) a collection of secondary and postsecondary instructional objectives and performance measures that reflect the occupational analysis; (3) a list of courses and programs that make up the tech prep program; and (4) a list of resources that can be used to support instruction. (KC)

This document contains materials developed for and about the computerized business technologies tech prep program of the South-Western City Schools in Ohio. Part 1 begins with a map of the program, which begins with a computerized business technologies program in grades 11 and 12 that leads to entry-level employment or one of two 2-year programs (microcomputing technology and office administration technology) at a community college that in turn lead to a technical career or transfer to a four-year college or university. Also included in part 1 are the high school curriculum pathways and pathway narratives for three vocational schools and one high school. Part 2, which constitutes approximately 40% of the document, lists the program's (unleveled) secondary technical and academic competencies. Presented in part 3 are secondary competencies leveled for a career center and high school. Postsecondary competencies are contained in part 4. Concluding the document are the following: labor market data; list of advisory/review committee members; and program application (information on employment opportunities in the area, potential exit occupations for the program, and plans for the program's delivery). Among the categories of competencies included are the following: business communication; data entry; accounting; business law; and personal finance. (MN)

This document outlines the curriculum of Louisiana's accounting technology associate degree program, which is a 6-term (77-credit hour) competency-based program designed to prepare students for employment as accounting technicians providing technical administrative support to professional accountants and other financial management personnel. Presented first are a description of the program and a list of the general education (behavioral science, humanities, mathematics, and natural and applied science) courses required of students in the accounting technology program. Next, the course numbers/titles and credit hours of the program's 26 required and 16 elective courses are listed. The third section of the document contains descriptions of each course, and the fourth section lists the competencies that each course is intended to help students develop. Among the topics of the required and elective courses described are the following: principles of accounting, payroll accounting, computerized accounting, business law, spreadsheets, database management, business English, business communications, environmental science, computer literacy, word processing, desktop publishing, job-seeking skills, electronic calculators, business math, office procedures, human relations, filing/records management, total quality management, keyboarding, federal income tax, technical report writing, medical transcription, legal transcription, medical terminology, medical coding, paralegal studies, and speech. (MN)

This document outlines the curriculum of Louisiana's office systems technology associate degree program, which is a 6-term (75-credit hour) competency-based program designed to prepare students for employment as special assistants for business executives and top management. Presented first are a description of the program and a list of the general education (behavioral science, humanities, mathematics, and natural and applied science) courses required of students in the office systems technology program. Next, the course numbers/titles and credit hours of the program's 24 required and 18 elective courses are listed. The third section of the document contains descriptions of each course, and the fourth section lists the competencies that each course is intended to help students develop. Among the topics of the required and elective courses described are the following: principles of accounting, business law, spreadsheets, database management, business English, business communications, environmental science, computer literacy, word processing, desktop publishing, job-seeking skills, electronic calculators, business math, office procedures, human relations, filing/records management, total quality management, keyboarding, federal income tax, technical report writing, medical transcription, legal transcription, medical terminology, medical coding, paralegal studies, and speech. (MN)

This Administrative and Office Technology Occupational Competency Analysis Profile (OCAP) is one of a series of competency lists, verified by expert workers, that have evolved from a modified DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) job analysis process involving business, industry, labor, and community agency representatives from throughout Ohio. This OCAP identifies the occupational, academic, and employability skills (or competencies) needed to enter administrative and office technology occupations. The OCAP clusters the competencies into broader units and details the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (competency builders) needed to perform each competency. The competencies are clustered into the following six units: communications; office technology; financial functions; records management; support tasks; and professionalism. This guide also includes the following components: (1) an OCAP listing employability competencies; (2) work keys assessments that measure students' applied academic skills; (3) job profiling, a key to the level of applied skills required for administrative and office technology occupations; (4) a total list of academic competencies in communications, mathematics, and science; and (5) a list of academic competencies from the total list that were identified by expert workers as most crucial to the entry-level success of employees in administrative and office technology occupations. (KC)

This guide, which combines business and marketing concepts with microcomputer applications, is intended to be used in designing a 2-semester course in business technology and to serve as the main component for articulation activities in the event that students completing the course decide to pursue additional training or education. The course incorporates reading, writing, composition, speaking, keyboarding, calculating, proofreading, and microcomputer skills into units of study on the following topics: accounting, business communications, business law, business math, career awareness, entrepreneurship, general business, human relations, job search skills, keyboarding, marketing, microcomputer applications, salesmanship, and abbreviated writing (notetaking). The course is designed to be contemporary and relevant and to provide basic information about careers, the economy and factors affecting it, educational opportunities, and training in industry. Included in each unit are some or all of the following: one or more tasks along with lists of related performance objectives, source materials, suggested activities, and enabling objectives; learning activities to accomplish each of the objectives; suggested evaluation methods; instructional text; suggested teaching strategies; unit suggestions; and a list of optional resource materials. (MN)

The PSI [Professional Secretaries International] Model Curriculum for Office Careers provides a framework for the curriculum revision process, making it easier for schools to update, change, expand, or revise their office programs. Through a series of suggested courses, this curriculum develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes office professionals need to secure good jobs and to succeed in the "new" re-engineered office of the 1990s. This guide is designed to walk educators through the curriculum, providing information and answering questions. An introduction contains an overview of the curriculum, explains how teachers and students benefit from using the curriculum, and provides a brief summary of the research base for the curriculum. A discussion of how to get started and questions frequently asked about the curriculum are designed to help educators consider how to adapt the curriculum to meet their needs. The course descriptions section contains an introduction to the 25 courses and an explanation of how the PSI Model Curriculum works in a tech-prep environment, a nonarticulated secondary environment, and a nonarticulated postsecondary environment. Individual course descriptions with objectives, competencies, and recommended learning materials follow. Course topics are as follows: accounting; administrative procedures and technologies; advanced word processing; applied computer technologies; business communication technologies; business English; business internship/cooperative education; business math; database; desktop publishing; introduction to telecommunications and networking; keyboarding; keyboarding, skill building, and document formatting; office resources management; operating systems; personal and professional development; records management and imaging technologies; spreadsheets; and word processing. Appendixes include information on Professional Secretaries International and a users' questionnaire. (YLB)

This guide is designed to offer interesting, authentic practice in reading college-level technical textbooks and periodical articles. The book contains actual reading assignments and strategies to help students improve comprehension and to develop metacognitive insight into their own reading processes. The guide is presented in three levels, each organized around a theme. The Level 1 materials, which provide the most support and direction for students, all relate to "A Future in Office Technology" (four publications). In Level 2, where there is slightly less support, the topic is "Office Technology Workers" (four publications). In Level 3, where the greatest independence is asked of students, the publications all relate to "Ergonomics in Office Technology" (two publications). The final assignment is an essay question requiring a comparison of the two Level 3 articles. Each selection includes before, during, and after reading exercises, followed by the publication, and an answer key. An annotated bibliography lists 10 publications and includes information about the ways in which articles and guides are related. (KC)

This curriculum guide was developed for a full-credit course for students who are pursuing business and office work immediately after graduation from high schools in Manitoba and for students planning postsecondary study in this field. The course builds on and reinforces the concepts, skills, and knowledge mastered in the business curriculum. In this course, students apply what they have learned in a simulated office setting. Students develop competency using computers in an electronic office environment, and they use electronic applications such as electronic communications, computerized information management, desktop publishing, reprographics, and machine transcription. The guide includes the following components: (1) an employability skills profile; (2) recommended program patterns for business education courses; (3) rationale for the program; (4) evaluation methods; (5) time allotments; (6) goals and objectives; and (7) seven units of study. The units cover these topics: introduction, electronic communications, information management, desktop publishing, reprographics and machine transcription, simulation or office practicum, and keypunch competency for job entry. Units consist of a goal, objectives, and teaching methods keyed to the objectives. A bibliography listing 5 texts and 28 resource materials and sources completes the guide. (KC)

Developed through a modified DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process involving business, industry, labor, and community agency representatives in Ohio, this document is a comprehensive and verified employer competency profile for business information systems occupations. The list contains units (with and without subunits), competencies, and competency builders that identify the skills needed to enter these occupations. The occupational, academic, and employability skills for this occupation or occupational area are included. Within the outline are three levels of items: core, advancing, and futuring. Core items identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for entry-level employment. These items are required to be taught and will be the basis for questions on the state vocational competency tests. Advancing items identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to advance in the occupation; futuring items identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to enter and remain in a given occupation 3 to 4 years from now. Titles of the 11 units are as follows: data input; microcomputer operations; computer operations; information systems; software applications; general business concepts; office functions; communications; professionalism; supervisory functions; and employability skills. (KC)

This report provides statistical information on computer use in the United States in 1989, including home, work, and school use, and use according to socioeconomic status, race, and sex. The data show that between 1984 and 1989 there was a substantial increase in the levels of computer ownership and use. Fifteen percent of all U.S. households reported they had a computer. Among children 3 to 17 years old, 46% used a computer either at home or at school. Of the more than 115 million employed adults, 36.8% said they used a computer at work, a significant increase from the 24.6% reported in 1984. Whites experienced higher levels of school use (48.2%) than either blacks (35.1%) or persons of other races (43.6%). Women were shown to have a higher rate of computer use at work; however, this is attributed in part to the type of jobs women hold. Ownership of a computer was most likely in households with yearly incomes of $75,000 or more; only 4.8% of households with income below $15,000 owned a computer. Households with school-age children were more than twice as likely as those without to have a computer. Survey data are presented in four tables in conjunction with the narrative report, and seven detailed tables. Appendices provide definitions and explanations of criteria, as well as the source and accuracy of estimates and selected questions from the survey instrument. (DB)

This comprehensive and verified employer competency list was developed from a modified DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process involving business, industry, labor, and community agency representatives from Ohio. This competency list contains eight units (with or without subunits), competencies, and competency builders that identify the occupational, academic, and employability skills needed to enter business administration and management. Within the outline are three levels of items: core (required, the basis for state vocational competency tests); advancing (needed to advance in an occupation); and futuring (needed to enter and remain in a given occupation 3 to 4 years from now). The units cover the following: (1) management and supervision; (2) economic and business principles; (3) accounting and financial functions; (4) office technology; (5) general office functions; (6) communications; (7) professionalism; and (8) employability skills. (KC)

This reports provides local governments with guidelines and suggestions for selecting a Records Management Officer to develop, organize, and direct a records management program. Such a program is described as an over-arching, continuing, administrative effort that manages recorded information from its initial creation to its final disposition. This includes disposing of obsolete records; setting up filing and indexing systems; using modern computer technology in information creation, manipulation, and storage; storing inactive records securely and cost effectively; microfilming selected paper records for security, ease of access, space consideration, and preservation of important information; overseeing the creation and use of forms, correspondence, and other records; and identifying, appraising, and preserving records of archival value. The benefits of appointing a Records Management Officer, the administrative relationships involved, and the responsibilities of the officer are discussed. (DB)

This business education curriculum model contains elementary, middle/junior high, and high school business education courses for Iowa students in the following areas: accounting, basic business, information processing, marketing, and general topics. A curriculum model provides specific courses for different educational levels. Each area contains units, and within each unit, the following may be included: introduction, course objectives, competencies, course content, teaching strategies, and references. Accounting units include recordkeeping, accounting I, and accounting II. Basic business units are as follows: introduction to business, consumer economics, business mathematics, and business law. Information processing includes five units: keyboarding, word origination, computer applications, business procedures, and business and office education. Marketing units include the following: principles of marketing, sales and promotion, entrepreneurship, marketing education, and a marketing education-related class. General topics are as follows: advisory councils, area education agencies, articulation, career education, certification, community colleges, continuing education, equity, Iowa Curriculum Assistance System, methods of instruction, multioccupations, prehigh school, professional organizations, program evaluation standards, public relations, small schools, special needs, student organizations, and training demands. (NLA)

This guide outlines an information systems curriculum that has been developed for postsecondary institutions in Texas. The curriculum, which is intended to help students acquire the competencies necessary to function in automated offices in business and industry, includes the following core courses: computer business applications I and II, database systems, telecommunications/networking, applied information systems, integrated information systems, information systems administration (the capstone course), communication for the automated office, and human behavior in organizations. Courses in the following subjects have been included as electives: principles of management, records management and/or forms management, principles of accounting/managerial accounting, programming languages, entrepreneurship, economics, and human relations. The course requirements for associate degree and certificate programs in information systems are outlined. The major portion of the guide is devoted to descriptions of the required courses. Each course description contains the following: course title, student level, duration, prerequisites, overview, objectives, and content. The guide concludes with a list of suggested careers in information systems. (MN)

This report develops a model of a personal computer network for office use from the standpoint of the end user. A network designed for personal computers is differentiated from personal computers which must be attached to an existing communications system. Three types of the latter networks are discussed: (1) networks which connect personal computers to personal computers, personal computers to computer centers, and personal computers to bulletin boards by means of public and private telephone systems; (2) networks which connect personal computers to computer centers by means of direct wire in the same manner that terminals are directly connected to computer centers; and (3) networks which connect personal computers to networks designed for large computers. Each personal computer network type is compared, according to level of service provided, to a model which embodies the needs and expectations of personal computer users. The generic types of service used for the comparison include file and print service; mail; messaging and conferencing; login; remote task execution; outside communication; and network configuration. A discussion of options available to those who have an immediate need for a personal computer network is also presented. The text is supplemented with 8 tables and 11 figures, and a list of 27 references is provided. (Author/EW)

This guide is intended for use in teaching a course in network applications for the automated environment. The modules cover disk operating system (DOS), NetWare, telecommunications, and printer applications. Both instructor and student materials have been included where appropriate. Also included is an outline of a workshop covering general networking concepts and specific NetWare features and procedures. The information included in the syllabus and instructor and student guides and materials included in this packet could also be used by current users of networks as an inservice activity to acquaint interested faculty with the pros and cons of networks or by colleges that are in the process of making decisions concerning possible networking of their microcomputer laboratories. (MN)

These 10 units provide supplementary materials for special needs students who are enrolled in regular secretarial and office technology courses in Missouri. The special needs units are designed to facilitate the mainstreaming of students with a wide variety of handicapping and disadvantaged conditions. The units are self-paced and contain simplified line drawings, controlled text, vocabulary development, and mathematics practice exercises. Each unit consists of the following: introduction, objectives, and student assessment; terms and equipment; steps of procedure; skill sheets; activity sheets; and a unit review and performance checklist. Instructor's information includes notes, resources, and answer keys. The units cover the following material: (1) job keeping; (2) proofreading; (3) typing letters; (4) typing tables; (5) basic telephone techniques; (6) using basic business mathematics; (7) banking; (8) incoming mail; (9) outgoing mail; and (10) decision making and organizing work. (KC)

This guide is intended to serve as a resource for business education instructors who are teaching a course in information processing for the automated office. The following topics are covered: program goals, student learning objectives for production applications, an introduction to production applications, a curriculum outline, student learning objectives and competencies for machine dictation and transcription, a curriculum outline for machine dictation and transcription, student learning objectives and competencies for word processing, definitions of key terms, a word processing curriculum outline, and evaluation criteria. Appendixes that comprise three-quarters of the document include an information processing glossary, dictation learning activities and a grading scale, office productivity standards, sample proposals, selected lists of publications and resource materials, and discussions of professional leadership/development, applying technology in office automation and telecommunication, and integrating office automation concepts into business education classes. (MN)

This document is designed to provide assistance to people in school districts who are responsible for making decisions regarding the purchase and use of microcomputers in business and office education programs. A section on planning considerations outlines considerations that need to be addressed, available resources, and maximizing the use of hardware and software. The following topics are considered in the section on teacher training considerations: necessary computer knowledge, where instructors can receive training, training that teacher training institutions and local districts should provide, and instructor responsibility for keeping current. The next section outlines these curriculum considerations: what students can learn to use, competencies students need, content that should be replaced by these competencies, and steps to ensure that the curriculum is not duplicated. The last two sections highlight hardware considerations (hardware selection, networks, computers in a lab setting, ergonomics, security, and maintenance) and software considerations (primary software applications, software selection, and copyright laws). A listing of 109 current references is also provided. Appendixes include sample forms, such as a planning packet for new vocational programs and hardware and software evaluation forms. A listing of suggested periodicals is appended. (YLB)