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ICCS Syllabus - CPC 103 - PC Competence Introduction Today computer skills are increasingly important to people in all walks of life. The PC Competence module is intended for those who need to, or wish to, know how to use a personal computer. This is a very practical based module. General Objectives Upon successful completion of PC Competence candidates will be able to demonstrate a satisfactory practical performance and understanding in the following topic areas: A. Basic Concepts of Information Technology. B. File Management. C. Word Processing. D. Spreadsheets. E. Databases. F. Presentations. G. Network Services. Specific Objectives Objective A: Basic Concepts of Information Technology A1. Identify the component parts of a computer. A2. Understand the concepts and functions of operating systems and computer programs. A3. Understand the concept of storage and memory. A4. Understand the relationship between the basic units of stored data bits, bytes, fields, records and files. A5. Understand how systems are developed analysis, programming and implementation. A6. Understand what a Graphical User Interface is. A7. Understand the concepts of multimedia. A8. Recognise and understand the importance of using computers and the opportunities offered by their use. A9. Identify the types of systems used in business, industry and education. A10. Identify the types of systems used in the home for hobbies, household accounts, working at home. A11. Identify the types of systems encountered in everyday life e.g. in supermarkets, libraries, doctors surgeries and the use of smart cards. A12. Distinguish between systems and applications software. A13. Understand the impact of the increased use of computers. A14. Understand the concept of the Information Society. A15. Express an opinion on circumstances where the computer might be more appropriate than a person and vice versa. A16. Develop good habits in the use and care of the computer and equipment; know what to do if the computer breaks down. A17. Recognise and avoid potential dangers to health and safety e.g. power points are not overloaded. A18. Understand software copyright, copying and sharing/lending disks.

A19. Be cognisant of privacy responsibility in protecting data to which the holder has access, legitimate uses of such data. A20. Outline the main points of the Data Protection Act. A21. Security protecting the machine/data and passwords, taking back-ups of data. A22. Viruses and anti-virus measures understand how viruses can enter a computer system, what they do and how to avoid them. A23. Understand what happens within the computer if there is a power cut. A24. Know the difference between hardware and software. A25. Distinguish between various types of computer memory, e.g. RAM and ROM. A26. Understand the purpose of backing store describe this and understand storage capacity. A27. Understand the functions of input and output devices name some of these and their purposes. A28. Understand the different types of printer and where they are used in different situations. A29. Discuss what effects the speed and capacity of the computer, e.g. clock speed, memory, processor. A30. Understand the problems which can occur due to a bad working environment and know what to do about them. For example repetitive strain injury. A31. Understand the concepts of data communications and its role in modern information systems. A32. Email - why is it useful? How do you use it from your own PC/MAC? A33. What is needed on your machine to connect to a communications network. A34. What is the Internet how is it useful. A35. What is the function of the telephone system in computing? How would you connect to it? A36. Understand the technology of workgroup computing. A37. Understand LAN/WAN. Objective B: File Management B1. Create a directory and a sub-directory and understand the directory structure. B2. Move and copy files. B3. Delete files from one or more directories. B4. Create and save a file using an editor. B5. Rename files. B6. Examine a directory, understand the number of files in that directory, the size of the files and the date the files were created/updated. B7. Be able to format a diskette. B8. Take backup copies of data copy files onto another disk or onto another directory. B9. Save files onto floppy disks. Objective C: Word Processing C1. Open a document, Enter, Insert and Delete text. C2. Create a document, Enter, Insert and Delete text. C3. Save document onto disk. C4. Use the functions to Move text within a document, Copy within a document or to another document. Replace words with other words. C5. Change appearance of text: Italics, Embolden, Centre, Underline, Change fonts, Change line spacing, Control justification of text. C6. Use a spell check program and make changes where necessary. C7. Print documents or part of a document. C8. Create a header and a footer, use pagination.

C9. Use Help Functions. C10. Merge mailing lists with a document. C11. Import tables and graphics. C12. Make a table within a document. C13. Indent text. Use and set tabs. C14. Format documents to an appropriate business style. C15. Hyphenate when appropriate. C16. Append text from another document. C17. Use templates. C18. Use integrated software Objective D: Spreadsheets. D1. Open a spreadsheet file, make changes to it, add rows, calculate new values. D2. Insert rows and column. D3. Create a spreadsheet and enter data, Numbers, Text, Formulae. D4. Format cells e.g. size, decimal points, currency. D5. Format columns and rows. D6. Sort a spreadsheet. D7. Use basic functions of a spreadsheet, such as Totalling and Averaging. D8. Print and save a spreadsheet. D9. Create a header and a footer. D10. Use Help Functions. D11. Understand and use absolute and relative cell referencing in formulae. D12. Produce different types of charts and graphs from spreadsheet figures to analyse the data. D13. Retrieve graphs from disk. D14. Print graphs with titles and labels. D15. Move information between spreadsheets. D16. Work with more than one spreadsheet. D17. Use integrated software. Objective E: Databases E1. Design a simple database. E2. Create the structure of the record. E3. Enter data into the database. E4. Edit the data. E5. Add records. E6. Delete records. E7. Define keys. E8. Save the database to disk. E9. Load or log on to an existing database. E10. Search data, based on criteria given. E11. Select data, based on criteria given. E12. Present selected data in a particular sequence on screen and in reports. E13. Modify the database structure. E14. Use Help Functions. Objective F: Presentations. F1. Bullet points to highlight comments. F2. Clip-art to insert drawings or symbols. F3. Use and change fonts.

F4. Centre and emboldening text. F5. Organisation charts. F6. Use of slide shows. F7. Use of graphics tools. F8. Use mouse to draw by hand. F9. Draw boxes, circles, text and lines. F10. Retrieve pictures from a library and pull them into a drawing. F11. Use colours, shadings and borders. F12. Copy and resize drawn objects. F13. Use of help functions. Objective G: Network Services G1. Understand the uses and concepts of Email including how it works, where he/she might use it. G2. How to connect to email correctly via various methods. G3. Understand the value of email. G4. Understand the basics of networking. Assessing PC Competence There are two methods of assessment for this module. The first and our preferred method is by an Automated PC Test, which has been authorised by NCC Education these currently are: PC Driving Test (PCDT). European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). Singapore National Scheme. Malaysian National Scheme. Candidates who obtain a pass via an Automated PC Test will be deemed to have passed this module. The second is by coursework/written test. To pass the coursework/written test students must pass each of the 7 elements (one for each objective) and achieve the following: Objective A B C D E F G Mark 60% 60% 60% 60% 60% 60% 60%

Candidates who achieve the pass mark in all 7 sections of this test, as indicated above, will be awarded a pass in this module.