POFT 1329:
Online—students are expected to spend at least 6 hours per week reading, reviewing, and participating in assigned activities for successful completion of this course.
In the event of an emergency or announced campus closure due to a natural disaster or pandemic, it may be necessary for Panola College to move to altered operations. During this time, Panola College may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include, but are not limited to: online learning management system (CANVAS), online conferencing, email messaging, and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor Panola College's website (www.panola.edu) for instructions about continuing courses remotely, CANVAS for each class for course-specific communication, and Panola College email for important general information.
Unexpected circumstances may arise, but Panola College offers various resources to support students. If you need mental health services or are facing challenges with transportation, affording class materials and supplies, or accessing food regularly—issues that may impact your class performance—please visit panola.edu/resources.
Regular and punctual attendance of classes and laboratories is required of all students. When a student has been ill or absent from class for approved extracurricular activities, he or she should be allowed, as far as possible, to make up for the missed work. If a student has not actively participated by the census date, they will be dropped by the instructor for non-attendance. This policy applies to courses that are in-person, online, hybrid, and hyflex.
Attendance in online courses is determined by submission of an assignment or participation in an activity. According to federal guidelines, simply logging into a distance learning course without participating in an academic assignment does not constitute attendance. Distance learning is defined as when a majority (more than 50%) of instruction occurs when the instructor and students are in separate physical locations. Students must engage in an academic activity prior to the course census date.
When an instructor feels that a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, the instructor may recommend to the Vice President of Instruction that the student be withdrawn from the course. Instructors may seek to withdraw students for non-attendance after they have accumulated the following number of absences:
Fall or spring semesters:
3 or more class meeting times per week - 5 absences
2 class meeting times per week - 3 absences
1 class meeting per week - 2 absences
The student is responsible for seeing that he or she has been officially withdrawn from a class. A student who stops attendance in a class without officially withdrawing from that class will be given a failing grade; consequently, the student must follow official withdrawal procedures in the Admissions/Records Office.
Please note: Health Science and Cosmetology courses may require more stringent attendance policies based on their accreditation agencies. Please see the addendum and/or program handbook for further information concerning attendance.
Panola College welcomes pregnant and parenting students as a part of the student body. This institution is committed to providing support and adaptations for a successful educational experience for pregnant and parenting students. Students experiencing a need for accommodations related to pregnancy or parenting will find a Pregnancy and Parenting Accommodations Request form in the Student Handbook or may request the form from the course instructor.
No use of Generative AI permitted.
This option assumes that all work submitted by students will be generated by the students themselves, whether they are working individually or in groups. Students should not have another person or entity do the writing of any portion of an assignment, which includes hiring a person or a company to write assignments and/or using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT. Use of any AI-generated content in this course qualifies as academic dishonesty and violates Panola College’s standards of academic integrity.
The purpose of this course is to teach students the touch method of alphabetic and numeric data entry and how to create, proofread, and edit basic business documents.
- Demonstrate proper body position at the keyboard.
- List and describe the major parts of a computer system.
- Demonstrate the touch method of keyboarding.
- Develop accuracy and speed in keyboarding.
- Produce business documents.
- Develop communications skills.
After studying the material presented in the text and online, the student should be able to complete all behavioral/learning objectives listed below with a minimum competency of 70% on assignments and exams.
- Demonstrate proper body position at the keyboard. (1a-i, 1b-iii, 1b-iv, 1b-v, 2c-i, 2c-iii)
- Develop correct posture.
- Adjust seating to proper height.
- Adjust computer monitor to reduce glare.
- List techniques for positioning textbook or other copy.
- Position hands correctly on the keyboard.
- Memorize the spatial arrangement of the keyboard.
- Keep eyes on copy.
- Demonstrate correct keystroking techniques using the touch method.
- Discuss the types of damage that can occur from using improper technique.
- List and describe the major parts of a computer system. (1a-i, 1a-iv, 1b-iii, 1b-v, 1b-vi, 2c-i, 2c-ii, 2c-iii)
- Use external storage media.
- Distinguish between saving to the hard drive and saving to an external source.
- Identify the CPU, external drive, mouse, monitor, keyboard, and printer.
- Use the various segments of the computer keyboard.
- Demonstrate the touch method of keyboarding. (1a-i, 1a-iv, 1b-iv, 1b-v, 1b-vi, 2c-i, 2c-iii)
- Key the home row using the touch method.
- Key all alphabetic keys using the touch method.
- Key all number keys using the touch method.
- Key all symbol keys using the touch method.
- Use correct spacing with punctuation.
- Develop accuracy and speed in keyboarding. (1a-i, 1b-iii, 1b-v, 1b-vi, 1c-i, 1c-iv)
- Complete skill building exercises.
- Control the pace when typing for accuracy.
- Complete two-minute, three-minute, and five-minute timed writings.
- Push for higher speed goals.
- Sustain speed on longer timed writings.
- Set speed goals and demonstrate improved speed on two-minute, three-minute, and five-minute straight-copy timed writings.
- Reduce the number of errors on two-minute, three-minute, and five-minute straight-copy timed writings.
- Produce business documents. (1a-i, 1a-iv, 1 b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-iv, 1b-v, 1b-vi, 1c-i, 1c-iv, 2a-i, 2c-i, 2c-iii)
- Use word processing commands to create and/or enhance a document.
- Develop proofreading skills and correctly use proofreaders’ marks in a document.
- Plan and complete work.
- Type from rough draft and handwritten copy.
- Compose and format email.
- Type and format block-style business letters.
- Create envelopes and mailing labels.
- Type and format memos.
- Type and format a business report.
- Type and format an academic report.
- Type multipage reports.
- Create documents that include boxed, open, and ruled tables.
- Type personal business letters.
- Type a modified-block style letter.
- Type a left-bound report in MLA or APA style including a title page, table of contents, footnotes, and bibliography.
- Type a letter of application and a follow-up letter.
- Produce usable copy under timed situations.
- Develop communications skills. (1a-i, 1b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-iv, 2c-i, 2c-iii)
- Use capitals, numbers, and punctuation correctly.
- Demonstrate composing and spelling skills.
- Practice correcting errors.
- Use grammar correctly.
A general description of lecture/discussion topics included in this course are listed in the Learning Outcomes/Specific Course Objectives sections of this syllabus.
Students in all sections of Beginning Keyboarding will be required to do the following:
- Students will submit keyboarding lessons throughout the semester by uploading work to the Gregg Document Processing (GDP) Web site.
- Students will complete hands-on, production exams in which they will be tested on creating business documents. A grading scale for each document will be provided (based on length and difficulty of the document).
- Students will complete two objective exams testing their knowledge of keyboarding principles and formatting.
- Students will submit 2- and 3-minute timed writings completed during the lessons and during testing.
Students in both the traditional class and in the Internet class will have access to this course via Canvas. Students in the traditional class will meet regularly for lecture over the material. Students in the Internet class will only be required to meet with the instructor for testing; however, Internet students are always welcome to attend the traditional class (especially for exam reviews).
All lessons will be completed and submitted through the GDP Web site which is separate from Canvas. After an assignment has been graded, the student will be able to view the document including the instructor’s comments by returning to the GDP Web site and accessing the submitted lessons. Traditional students will have production documents returned and discussed in class. Students will be able to view their grades in Canvas.
Students will take one objective (true/false, multiple choice) exam during the semester using Canvas. Students will be able to view the solutions to online objective tests. Students will also take productions exams during the semester creating documents and submitting them through the GDP Web site. Generally, work will be graded and posted within the week following an exam or production.
Students in both the traditional and Internet classes should use the People feature within Canvas to communicate with the instructor. Using Canvas email gives the student access to the instructor and other classmates without having to remember or type email addresses—just select a name from the list. If you are not able to contact your instructor using email in Canvas, you may use his or her Panola College email address. Panola College instructors attempt to respond to all email within 24 hours. Please always include a subject line and your name in your email.
The grading scale for this course is as follows:
- Keyboarding lessons – 25%
- Timed writings – 30%
- Production tests – 30%
- Exams – 15%
All student grades including a mid-semester and final grade will be posted to Grades in Canvas.
Cheating is defined as unauthorized help on an examination or assigned course material. A student must not submit another student’s work as his or her own. A student must not receive from any other student or give to any other student any information, answers, or help during an exam. A student must not "steal" the answers from an unsuspecting student during an exam. A student must not use any sources for answers during an exam (including but not limited to notes, books, or electronic devices) without prior authorization from the professor. A student must not obtain exam questions illegally, tamper with the exam questions, nor change the results of an exam after it has been graded. All cheating infractions will result in a grade of “0” for the assignment. A student will fail the class upon his or her second cheating offense. These policies shall be adhered to unless mitigating circumstances should prove a lesser penalty should apply. Students shall have the right to contest a cheating claim; the appeals process is specifically defined in the student handbook.
Major Assignments/Assessments
Assignments
The following items will be assigned and assessed during the semester and used to calculate the student’s final grade:
- Keyboarding Lessons
- Each week’s assignment will require the completion of selected lessons. Always check Canvas to determine specific requirements (we will not complete every lesson or every exercise in each lesson). You will submit your work by uploading work to the GDP Web site (instructions for uploading work will be provided in Canvas) and each lesson will be reviewed, and comments will be posted to the GDP site. Each lesson submitted from the assignment will be reviewed and graded as to its percent of completeness. Submission of someone else’s work will receive a zero. There will be approximately 6 assignments.
- Timed Writings
- Students will earn grades on 2- and 3-minute timings throughout the semester, from both daily work and tests (4 grades total). Students will receive two grades for their best 2- and 3-minute timed writings submitted in the keyboarding lessons during the semester. These grades will be entered as the semester progresses and will be updated when the student submits a better timing. Only the student’s best timing grades will be calculated in the final grade at the end of the semester. Timed writing exams do not need to be taken at a testing center. See the table below for the timed writings grading scale. Find your words per minute (WPM); then look to the right to see the corresponding score. For example, if you keyed 35 WPM on a 3-minute timing with no more than 4 errors, your score on that timing would be 80. Remember: The timing must be BOTH at the WPM indicated and within the error limitation shown at the bottom of the scale.
Error Limits on Timed Writings
- 2-minute timed writing – 3 errors maximum
- 3-minute timed writing – 4 errors maximum
| WPM | Grade |
|---|---|
| 55 | 100 |
| 54 | 99 |
| 53 | 98 |
| 52 | 97 |
| 51 | 96 |
| 50 | 95 |
| 49 | 94 |
| 48 | 93 |
| 47 | 92 |
| 46 | 91 |
| 45 | 90 |
| 44 | 89 |
| 43 | 88 |
| 42 | 87 |
| 41 | 86 |
| 40 | 85 |
| 39 | 84 |
| 38 | 83 |
| 37 | 82 |
| 36 | 81 |
| 35 | 80 |
| 34 | 79 |
| 33 | 78 |
| 32 | 77 |
| 31 | 76 |
| 30 | 75 |
| 29 | 74 |
| 28 | 73 |
| 27 | 72 |
| 26 | 71 |
| 25 | 70 |
| 24 | 69 |
| 23 | 68 |
| 22 | 67 |
| 21 | 66 |
| 20 | 65 |
| 19 | 64 |
| 18 | 63 |
| 17 | 62 |
| 16 | 61 |
| 15 | 60 |
- Production Test
Production tests measure speed and accuracy in applying keyboarding skills in production of letters, memos, reports, and tables. Production exams will be given throughout the semester. Students will type five documents and will receive a separate grade for each document (5 grades total). Students will be provided a grading scale on each production that shows how words per minute (wpm) and errors correlate to a numeric score prior to beginning the exam. The production exam does not need to be taken in the testing center.
- Exams
Exams consist of objective questions testing keyboarding principles and document formatting. The Syllabus link in Canvas will list the times testing will be available. Tests will be administered online in Canvas using Proctorio which provides a video/audio recording of your testing experience for the instructor. You will take the exams at home using the webcam on your computer; if you do not have a webcam, you may take the exams at one of the Panola College testing centers in Carthage, Center, or Marshall. The final exam will count 15% of the student’s final grade.
- Gregg College Keyboarding & Document Processing (GDP), Microsoft Word 2019, Kit 1, Lessons 1-60, 11th edition, Ober, Johnson, Zimmerly, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2019, ISBN: 9780077956431. This kit contains an access code and a textbook.
- Access to a computer and the Internet.
- Access to Office 365 or Microsoft Word 2019.
- Hard drive or flash drive used to store completed documents.
- Chapters 1-9, 11-14, 16-19, 21-29, 31-39, 41-46, 49, 50, 52, and 54 in Gregg College Keyboarding & Document Processing, 11th edition and the Microsoft Office Word Manual.
None
- Courses conducted via video conferencing may be recorded and shared for instructional purposes by the instructor.
- For current texts and materials, use the following link to access bookstore listings: https://www.panolacollegestore.com.
- For testing services, use the following link: https://www.panola.edu/student-services/studentsupport/academic-testing-center.
- If any student in this class has special classroom or testing needs because of a physical learning or emotional condition, please contact the ADA Student Coordinator in Support Services located in the Charles C. Matthews Student Center or go to https://www.panola.edu/studentservices/student-support/disability-support-services for more information.
- Withdrawing from a course is the student’s responsibility. Students who do not attend class and who do not withdraw will receive the grade earned for the course.
- Student Handbook: https://www.panola.edu/ (located on at the bottom under student)
- Foundation skills are defined in three areas: basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities.
- Basic Skills: A worker must read, write, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, listen, and speak effectively. These skills include:
- Reading: locate, understand, and interpret written information in prose and in documents such as manuals, graphs, and schedules.
- Writing: communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing, and create documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts.
- Arithmetic and Mathematical Operations: perform basic computations and approach practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical techniques.
- Listening: receive, attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues.
- Speaking: Organize ideas and communicate orally.
- Thinking Skills: A worker must think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, know how to learn, and reason effectively. These skills include:
- Creative Thinking: generate new ideas.
- Decision Making: specify goals and constraints, generate alternatives, consider risks, and evaluate and choose the best alternative.
- Problem Solving: recognize problems and devise and implement plan of action.
- Visualize ("Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye"): organize and process symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other information.
- Knowing How to Learn: use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills.
- Reasoning: discover a rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply it when solving a problem.
- Personal Qualities: A worker must display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self management, integrity, and honesty.
- Responsibility: exert a high level of effort and persevere toward goal attainment.
- Self-Esteem: believe in one's own self-worth and maintain a positive view of oneself.
- Sociability: demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group settings.
- Self-Management: assess oneself accurately, set personal goals, monitor progress, and exhibit self-control.
- Integrity and Honesty: choose ethical courses of action.
- Basic Skills: A worker must read, write, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, listen, and speak effectively. These skills include:
- Workplace competencies are defined in five areas: resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems, and technology.
- Resources: A worker must identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources effectively.
- Time: select goal-relevant activities, rank them, allocate time, and prepare and follow schedules.
- Money: Use or prepare budgets, make forecasts, keep records, and make adjustments to meet objectives.
- Material and Facilities: Acquire, store, allocate, and use materials or space efficiently. Examples: construct a decision timeline chart; use computer software to plan a project; prepare a budget; conduct a cost/benefits analysis; design an RFP process; write a job description; develop a staffing plan.
- Interpersonal Skills: A worker must work with others effectively.
- Participate as a Member of a Team: contribute to group effort.
- Teach Others New Skills.
- Serve Clients/Customers: work to satisfy customer's expectations.
- Exercise Leadership: communicate ideas to justify position, persuade and convince others, responsibly challenge existing procedures and policies.
- Negotiate: work toward agreements involving exchange of resources, resolve divergent interests.
- Work with Diversity: work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds. Examples: collaborate with a group member to solve a problem; work through a group conflict situation, train a colleague; deal with a dissatisfied customer in person; select and use appropriate leadership styles; use effective delegation techniques; conduct an individual or team negotiation; demonstrate an understanding of how people from different cultural backgrounds might behave in various situations.
- Information: A worker must be able to acquire and use information.
- Acquire and Evaluate Information.
- Organize and Maintain Information.
- Interpret and Communicate Information.
- Use Computers to Process Information. Examples: research and collect data from various sources; develop a form to collect data; develop an inventory record-keeping system; produce a report using graphics; make an oral presentation using various media; use on-line computer databases to research a report; use a computer spreadsheet to develop a budget.
- Systems: A worker must understand complex interrelationships.
- Understand Systems: know how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operate effectively with them.
- Monitor and Correct Performance: distinguish trends, predict impacts on system operations, diagnose deviations in systems' performance and correct malfunctions.
- Improve or Design Systems: suggest modifications to existing systems and develop new or alternative systems to improve performance. Examples: draw and interpret an organizational chart; develop a monitoring process; choose a situation needing improvement, break it down, examine it, propose an improvement, and implement it.
- Technology: A worker must be able to work with a variety of technologies.
- Select Technology: choose procedures, tools or equipment including computers and related technologies.
- Apply Technologies to Task: understand overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.
- Maintain and Troubleshoot Equipment: Prevent, identify, or solve problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies. Examples: read equipment descriptions and technical specifications to select equipment to meet needs; set up and assemble appropriate equipment from instructions; read and follow directions for troubleshooting and repairing equipment.
- Resources: A worker must identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources effectively.