Unit 1 - ICT Tools and Applications

In this unit students learn about a variety of ICT tools and applications and are assessed via a practical external examination.

This part of the course is written using, and to teach, Microsoft Office XP. If you are using earlier versions of MS Office there are few differences with the exception of the Mail Merge which changed dramatically with this version. If you are not using MS Office you will find these materials of limited use although the business documents templates will and exam revision sections should still be worthwhile.

For the spreadsheet and database sections there are instructions on how to build a system containing all the elements that are likely to appear in the exam. Particular attention should be paid to printing documents as this often loses marks for candidates. The presentation and Word Processing sections assume students already have a good knowledge of this software and give tasks to help them use and build their skills. It is worth showing pupils how to use a master slide in PowerPoint as this has featured in one exam.

In the exam revision section I have tried to cover all of the areas which are asked for repeatedly on the exam papers and point out all of the information which has been problematic to previous candidates. I have examined for this paper and seen hundreds of pupils making the same mistakes, which I have tried to address here.

Business documents are contained within the Word Processing section and have again received criticism from in the examiners report. In the June 2005 exam pupils struggled to produce a good business letter and understand a VAT calculation on an invoice.