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| LBJ School of Public Affairs - Camp LBJ | |
| Entering Students' Home > Camp Home Page >Professional Development |
We live in the Information Age. The electronic media is essential to communication, research, and learning at the LBJ School. There is an expectation that entering students have basic facility with certain computer applications. Professors vary in their use of information technology and the requisite skills that they expect in their students Since entering LBJ students also vary in their computer background, we have decided that individual learning is the best way to make sure that everyone gets up to speed. We have a list of the “minimum skill set” below, along with example problems. We ask every member of the entering class to assess personal comfort level with the skills involved, and consult the tutorials listed below if there is a need for an introduction or refresher. Camp instructors are available to answer any questions. In particular, Travis Hale will hold office hours on Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 to address basic software questions. (Note: This is in no way a substitute for Computer Services orientation). |
| Tasks all entering students should feel comfortable with: | |||
| Sending and receiving e-mail | |||
| Example task: Find the contact information for your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and write them a note about whether their party candidates should be allowed to participate in the Presidential debates. Before you send your message make sure that it is spell checked. | |||
| Using an Internet browser to conduct research | |||
Example task: Find several government and non-governmental documents that address both sides of the debate over water-use in the Klamath Basin. Please note that you must cite internet resources in your research. (LBJ Publishing Guide & Writing Center Resources) |
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| Word processing documents (sometimes with fancy graphics or formatting) | |||
| Example task: Type out directions from your local address to the LBJ School. You should know how to include a map pasted into the body of the document, make bullet points, change fonts and sizes, add a table, and make part of the document multiple columns. You should also be familiar with the LBJ Template. | |||
| Entering data into a spreadsheet, performing statistical analyses, and displaying output with charts and graphs. | |||
| Example task: Go to the Bureau of Economic Analysis web site at http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/reis/. Pull up the data for personal income by the U.S., States, and regions for a five-year period. Get the data into Microsoft Excel by cutting and pasting from the web site and by downloading the source files. | |||
| Use some the of the more common Excel functions to explore the data. Common functions that you should be able to use include: SUM, POWER, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN, LARGE, SMALL, IF, COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK, COUNTIF, and others. | |||
| Create a table of personal income by region and year that is well formatted and can easily be imported into a Word document. Construct attractive Column, Line, Pie and XY Scatter graphs. You should also know how to sort and filter data and use the Solver to solve systems of equations. | |||
| Using software to create an electronic presentation | |||
| Example task: Prepare a PowerPoint slide show for a 5-minute presentation on the benefits of a public affairs graduate education. Import a picture of the LBJ School into the presentation. Know how to change the background, print slides as handouts, and use the drawing tools to make diagrams. | |||
| Helpful Resources | |||
| At the LBJ School, the Information Technology staff supports Microsoft software, so links to tutorials on Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint are below. Always remember, the HELP menu is your friend. | |||
| Microsoft Excel Tutorials: | |||
http://www.utexas.edu/its/training/handouts/UTOPIA_ExcelGS/ http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/excel/ |
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| Microsoft Word Tutorials: | |||
| Microsoft PowerPoint Tutorials: | |||
http://www.utexas.edu/its/training/handouts/UTOPIA_PowerpointGS/ |
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Last Updated June 4, 2004 |