:: Dr. Figueroa's Computer Tips ::

:: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 ::

Hello students,

Important Project and Test Info!!
Been awhile since I logged on, eh? Here is some important info about the Word project and Word test due tommorrow (don't worry, you will have time in class tomorrow for this). The cover letter part of the project will not be graded as part of the project, but instead as part of tomorrow's test. Those of you who read this before class tomorrow (Thurs Sept 26) will have a bit of a head start on the test. But you all will have plenty of time to execute this during class tomorrow.

For your cover letter mail merge, use this list. Your letter should have the folowing fields:\

> Title (Mr. or Ms.)
> Position (e.g., Left Fielder)
> First Name
> Last Name
> Company Name
> Company Address

An example:

(Title) (First Name) (Last Name)
(Position)
(Company)
(Company Address)

Dear (Title) (Last Name),

And the body of the letter here.

Got it?
:: Robert 9:21 PM [+] ::
...

Subject:
Student Word Project

Due:
By the beginning of class, Thursday, September 26

Assignment:
You are to put together a short newsletter aimed at demonstrating your research, marketing, computer, writing and/or other skills that might land you employment, get you published or otherwise recognized. The subject of the newsletter will be the phenomenon of web logs (blogs), which you will briefly define and describe. (To start your research, go to www.blogger.com, the inventors of the de-facto standard fro blog software. Also see the Newsweek article, www.msnbc.com/news/795471.asp?0bl=-0&cp1=1 .Your newsletter will be presented as the first issue of a newsletter describing blogs that are devoted to a field or area you are interested in, as a career, hobby, or whatever.

For example, if you are an artist, your newsletter would introduce/define/describe blogs in general in one article, and in other articles describe blogs by, about, or devoted to the art world, artists, art auctions, online art, computer art, whatever. If you are a baseball player, your newsletter might focus on blogs about, say, life in the minor leagues. If you are interested in accounting, business, law, your newsletter would focus on some aspect of these fields to which there are blogs devoted. For instance, there are many blogs devoted to corporate and professional work practices and issues. Or if you like music or are a musician, you would research and report on blogs in the music world.

You follow?

A cover letter is to accompany the newsletter. It will be addressed to at least 5 different people at 5 different organizations from which you want something: a job interview, an informational interview, publishing of your newsletter, advertising in your newsletter; acceptance into an educational program, or some other type of plausible consideration, feedback, or recognition. It is to include name, title, position title, organization title, address and phone number of the recipients of your form letter mailing.

To summarize, the newsletter must contain:
> An introductory article (as described above).
> At least 3 other articles focused on blogs and the blog phenomenon in your chosen area of interest.
> At least one significant advertisement that you create (similar to the computer doctor or ski resort, to include graphic, contact info, etc).

Here is a list of other required guidelines and elements.

Newsletter guidelines & elements should generally follow those in Project 6:
> An interesting and attractive word art nameplate
> Use either 11 or 12 point font for the main body of the newsletter (the article text)
> Publication info about the newsletter (volume 1, Issue 1, or date); state in the intro article that this is the first volume of the newsletter
> Link to your own personal blog and/or website (could be imaginary, but extra credit for actually creating your own blog or website)
> Contact info about you, the publisher (extra credit for including a personal photo)
> At least one table with numerical/statistical information (e.g., estimated number of existing blogs versus all personal web pages, as a number and as a percentage)
> Pull-quotes
> Drop caps
> Vertical rules
> Graphics around which the text wraps (these could be pictures of blog sites or other graphic materials you find in your research)
> Page border
> Page numbers
> Ruling lines
> Subheads

Make it look good, and have fun. The articles do not need to be long; the newsletter in its entirety should be about the length of Project 6. The idea is to put together a newsletter that looks professional and contains interesting but by no means extensive or exhaustive information. Feel free to use quotes, but make sure they are attributed (the person and source is duly listed).


:: Robert 11:19 AM [+] ::
...

I guess I fixed the time stamp. Goodnight all.
:: Robert 11:15 PM [+] ::
...

The time stamp thing's not working too well on this application. If you're wondering, it's provided free at www.blogger.com. If you want to get a head start on the Word Student Project, try to create a blog for yourself. Its free.
:: Robert 11:13 PM [+] ::
...

Hello Fall CSG 1100 students,

Welcome to my new blog (web log). You may already know about blogs, or you will soon, since articles about them are starting to show up in mass media like USA Today and Newsweek (Writer's Blog). Here's another site relevant to our heroic efforts to learn Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc): Office XP Author's Blog.

Tomorrow's (Thurs 9-12) class features the following Project 4 quiz: Do Project 4's 'In the Lab' #1 (WD 4.60). Do a good job. Must complete by end of class.

Bonus: Here is next Tuesday's Project 5 quiz: Using your resume cover letter as a template, create a form letter that will be addressed to five individuals listed in a data source table that you will create (use'In the Lab' #1, WD 5.58 as a general guide). The letter will be an inquiry to an employee or owner of a company at which you are interested in working, or a professional within a profession you are interested in getting into. The inquiry is to request an INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW in which you briefly describe yourself (e.g., a finance student, pre law, or someone interested in sports management) and ask the person to share some time to discuss their job, profession, and or the company. This would be a chance for you to learn about your chosen career, and/or the company you want to work for, as well as make a favorable impression on someone who might have considerable influence over whether you will be hired should you later interview.

Make sure to use appropriate personal titles (e.g., Mr. Ms.) and professional titles (e.g., Manager, Director). Do not make up the list of people. To pass the quiz you must use the list at the class website to put into the data source table.

See you Thursday. We will discuss the Student Word Project due on Sept 27, I think, which constitutes 10% of your grade. Hint: it will involve research into blogs, so start searching the web and experimenting.
:: Robert 10:15 PM [+] ::
...