Key Skills Level 2: Communication, Application of Number, Information and Communication Technology

Table of Contents:
Introduction What are Key Skills - A Student's Guide How to gain a Key Skills Qualification The Portfolio Chapter 1: Communication Writing and setting out memos A memorandum - plural memoranda Informal memo Taking messages Identifying the key facts Using images in communication Presenting numerical data in visual form Advertisements Line advertisements Display advertisements Column advertisements (in newspapers and magazines) Designing advertisements Writing and setting out business letters Introductory paragraph Middle paragraph(s) Closing paragraph Useful phrases for business letters Using the telephone and making telephone calls Before you place a call How to speak on the telephone Making telephone calls How to answer a ringing telephone Good manners on the telephone Writing and setting out personal letters Some points to remember about letter writing Examples of address, salutation and complimentary close A personal letter written to a company An informal personal letter to a friend Writing reports Points to consider before beginning your report Structuring a report Parts of a report The report's content Writing a bibliography Giving a talk or presentation The five main stages in preparing for a talk or presentation Delivering your presentation Images Never read it out!! Creating an opener What openers can you use? Closing with a flourish It's question time! - Handling questions Communication: Part A, Practice Tasks End Assessment Chapter 2: Application of Number Understanding numbers Whole numbers Recognising positive/negative numbers Rules for adding and subtracting Rules for multiplication and division Estimation Rounding off Accuracy Ratio Scale Proportion Fractions Decimals Percentages Fractions, decimals and percentages Using a calculator Units of measure The metric system The imperial system Time Temperature Shape and space Area Perimeter Volume Using formulae Data Tables Charts Pie charts Bar charts Diagrams Graphs Statistical measures Mean Mode Median Range Chapter 3: Information and Communication Technology A guide to using computers safely The hazards to your health Sitting correctly at the computer The hazards to the equipment Organising your documents Creating a new folder (directory) Finding files Using wildcards when searching for documents Using help systems Taking a screen shot (screen print) Using the Internet and exploring the World Wide Web What is the Internet? Using the World Wide Web Accessing a web page using its web address Useful web browser buttons Finding information - using the world wide library of information Having difficulty in finding what you want? Refine your search Printing text and images Copying text and images Saving images Words of caution Email Email addresses Setting up a web-based email account Sending and receiving emails with an attachment Word processing What is a word processor? Creating a new document in Word Entering text Saving your work Fonts Line spacing Find and Replace Deleting text Inserting text Moving text (Cut, Copy and Paste) Text alignment Indenting text Numbered and bullet lists Changing margin settings Printing Creating a table Inserting rows in a table Inserting columns in a table Merging cells in a table Sorting tables Adding and removing borders to cells Drop capitals Creating columns of text Page breaks and column breaks Working with images Inserting an image from Clip Art Inserting an image from a file Positioning and resizing the image in your document Copying images Headers and footers Mail Merge Spreadsheets What is a spreadsheet? Creating a new spreadsheet in Excel Saving your work Inserting and editing data Formatting text Formatting columns and rows Displaying numbers in integer format (no decimal places) Displaying numbers to two decimal places Displaying pounds and pence Displaying percentages Wrapping text Merging cells in a spreadsheet Rotating and aligning text Adding borders to cells Adding shading to cells Formulae Adding a range of cells Copying formulae (replicating cells) Percentage formula The Function Wizard Headers and footers Printing a spreadsheet Printing out formulae Sorting data Adding images from Clip Art Creating graphs and charts Moving a chart on a worksheet Data points and data series Chart types Changing a chart type Changing chart content Changing a chart's size Changing a chart's appearance Chart title Data labels Chart scale Chart colours What is the best type of graph to use? Databases What is a database? Parts of a database Database structure Database creation Browsing records Sorting records Creating queries Queries using multiple criteria Showing and hiding fields in a query Amending records Inserting and deleting records Reports Information and Communication Technology: Part A, Practice Tasks Sample End Assessment Index

About the Author :
Roslyn Whitley Willis is a Key Skills consultant and runs Key Skills practitioners' qualifications which educate Key Skills staff in how to deliver, assess and verify Key Skills as well as gain a Key Skills professional qualification up to, and including, Level 4 Key Skills. She has worked on a number of Key Skills-related projects for the Learning Skills and Development Agency, training agencies and also within higher education which enabled staff to embed all six Key Skills, up to Level 4, into degree, foundation degree, teaching and other professional qualifications. Roslyn has taught, assessed and been an Internal Verifier for each of the Wider Key Skills, together with the Mandatory Key Skills; Communication and Information and Communication Technology. Liam Gabrielle has a BA (hons) degree in Post Compulsory Education, Certificate in Education, Assessor and Verifiers qualification and Key Skills Practitioners' qualification. He has taught Key Skills for six years and specialises in Application of Number and has also taught Information and Communication Technology and Communication to Level 3. Liam has also worked and taught in Basic Skills for three years and is a qualified Level 4 Numeracy Subject Specialist in Basic Skills numeracy.