Computer Applications   

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Note that the "Starter Version" and "Web App" versions of Microsoft Excel will not work with the full version of Excel taught in this course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master advanced features and functions of Microsoft Excel 2016, including data analysis tools, data tables and databases, PivotTables, custom controls, importing external data, and conditional formatting.

1. Customizing Excel
2. Table Management
3. Data Validation
4. Custom Controls
5. Conditional Formatting
6. Consolidating and Outlining
7. Excel Functions and Nesting
8. Import External Data
9. Data Tables
10. What-If Analysis Tools
11. Advanced PivotTables
12. Analysis ToolPak, Advanced Filter, Array Formulas, and More!

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 11.0 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Recommended: Though they are not strictly required, you will get the most out of this course if you have Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Illustrator installed on your computer. These tools are not included with the course.

• Adobe Photoshop (not included in enrollment)
• Adobe Illustrator (not included in enrollment)

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the rules for working with color in UI design projects.

1. Terminology
   1. Color Wheel
   2. Explore a Live Color Wheel
   3. Saturation, Hues and Shades
   4. Exploring Shades and Tints Using Adobe Illustrator
   5. Value of the Hue
   6. Explore a Color Using Photoshop
   7. Color Scheme
2. Building an Efficient Color Theme
   1. Triadic Colors
   2. Complementary Colors
   3. Split Colors
   4. Analogous Colors
   5. Color Moods
   6. Work with Client Color Plans
   7. Medium Types
3. Color Theory Principles
   1. Complementary Colors
   2. Contrasting
   3. Vibrancy
   4. Monochromatic
   5. Work with Color Principles
4. Color Context
   1. Mode RGB/CMYK
   2. Print or Screen
   3. Audience Type
   4. Choose Colors for Different Audience Types
   5. Scope of Project
5. Implementing Color
   1. Create Color Palette
   2. Mechanics of a Color Scheme
   3. Whitespace
   4. Creating an Electronic Color Scheme

What you will learn

• About the traditional color wheel and explore color in Adobe Illustrator
• About relationships between colors and how to create a color "feel"
• Basic color theory principles
• About considerations for print and web
• To create a color palette for your project

How you will benefit

• Master the basics of color theory in a completely online environment
• Expand your web design skills to UI/UX
• Perfect your use of color in your design projects

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Any edition of Microsoft Office with desktop apps: Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access.(not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Confidently apply for jobs knowing that you possess the computer skills needed to perform on the job. This course includes a great introduction to Windows 10 and Office 365 to provide the fundamental computer competencies you need to prosper in a modern workplace.

Lesson 1: Overview: The Workplace Technology Solution

Whether you're looking for a new job or looking to improve your position at your current company, computer skills are essential to your success. In our first lesson, we'll examine how companies set up and use technology solutions. Then we'll take a close look at some of the components of those solutions. Just understanding how technology fits into the overall flow of work at your company will advance your position relative to your peers.

Lesson 2: Outlook: Email and Scheduling

Your computer has a software program installed on it that's referred to as an "operating system." Most often, this system is Microsoft Windows, but it could be others, such as macOS or Linux. In this lesson, you'll learn how this system controls many important parts of the computer and how you use those controls every day for tasks like managing where you keep important files, and printing hard copies of documents. We'll also talk about menus, taskbars, and shortcuts along the way.

Lesson 3: Word: Creating and Formatting Documents

Next to email, the word processor is probably the most frequently used application software in the workplace. Yet, if you've never taken the time to learn the basic features of most word processors, you're not performing nearly to your potential. In today's lesson, you'll learn and practice the important capabilities of word processors like Microsoft Word.

Lesson 4: Word: More Advanced Formatting

There are many excellent features in Microsoft Word that can enable you to create and edit very professional-looking documents. In this lesson, we are going to incorporate some of the more advanced Word functions to create documents that are sure to impress your peers and your supervisor. We'll focus on formatting and organizing your information using a wide range of Word processor tools.

Lesson 5: Excel: Spreadsheet Basics

During today's lesson, we'll go over some important fundamental concepts related to spreadsheets, including spreadsheet organization, formatting, basic formulas, and data sorting. Once you discover how to create a basic budget spreadsheet, you'll see how the skills and knowledge you gain from this lesson can have a powerful impact on your ability to contribute more in the workplace.

Lesson 6: Excel: Formatting, Charts, and Printing

In this lesson, we'll discuss more details about the spreadsheet, and how to provide easy-to-understand, accurate data. You'll learn how to build graphs that can graphically display numeric information so you can easily demonstrate trends, analyze past results, and predict future performance. You'll also find out how to use some advanced spreadsheet tools that can make your spreadsheets even more effective.

Lesson 7: Access: Database Basics

During this lesson, we'll examine the components of a database, focusing primarily on the user interface. In your job, you might use this interface to perform a lot of different functions, including data input, data output, and data maintenance. Clerks work with databases to input information. Other employees might work with databases to filter, sort, and read information. Database-management personnel interface with databases to keep them accurate, reliable, and secure.

Lesson 8: PowerPoint: Creating and Editing a Presentation

PowerPoint is an important tool for creating presentations suitable for the work environment. This powerful program has many features, but they must be used correctly or else your audience will be distracted or overloaded. In this lesson, we'll explore the best ways to create an effective presentation that incorporates the right mix of multimedia. You'll learn how to insert graphics and audio into your presentation in an effective and organized manner.

Lesson 9: Integrating Microsoft Office Programs

The suite of Microsoft Office products includes Excel and Access, which are both very powerful on their own. In this lesson, you are going to learn how to actually integrate information from one program to the other. You can create data lists with either program and easily transfer the information to the other. Considering all the work we do with lists on the computer, this is a very important skill in today's work environment. Plus, you'll find out how mail merge can save you time and effort by allowing you to customize letters, labels, and more!

Lesson 10: Using the Internet

In today's lesson, we're going to have fun working with the Internet. This is the greatest source of information you'll ever have access to—yet it can be confusing and overwhelming if you are not familiar with the basic Internet tools. You'll really enjoy seeing how easy it is to find information that specifically meets your needs and interests.

Lesson 11: Transferring and Protecting Data

Today, we'll go over various methods for transferring information from one computer to another. We'll explore different terms used to describe the volume of information—or size of a file—and then learn how to most effectively and efficiently move that data from place to place. You'll learn about bytes, megabytes, memory sticks, and external hard drives.

Lesson 12: Putting Your Skills to Work

In our final lesson, we will focus on putting all your new knowledge to work! We have three specific goals. The first is to identify ways to use your computer skills to find a new job. The second is to use those same computer skills to get a promotion within your current organization. Our third goal is to explore strategies for continued learning in order to support your ever-growing employment goals.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word Online
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

There are no instructional material requirements to take this course.

Getting into cybersecurity can be rewarding and lucrative! In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, information security analysts can make over $100,000 per year. This course will give you the knowledge to help you decide whether a career in cybersecurity is right for you.

The course will start by introducing the basics of cybersecurity. You will learn the types of threats companies face daily and how a cybersecurity specialist can help prepare for and prevent those threats. Finally, the course will cover cybersecurity learning paths and different types of cybersecurity jobs and salaries.

1. Introduction to Cybersecurity
2. Cybersecurity Roles and Industries
3. Problem Solving
4. Cybersecurity Basics
5. Types of Information Security
6. Common Concepts and Terminology
7. Types of Threats
8. Secure Coding
9. Protecting the Business
10. Developing a Security Awareness Program
11. Employment and the Future of Cybersecurity
12. Next Steps

What you will learn

• Explore cybersecurity as a career path
• Identify cybersecurity job roles and industries
• Describe the soft skills that cybersecurity professionals need
• Explain the threats that cyberattacks pose to modern businesses
• Explain the importance of securing information
• Define common cybersecurity terms and concepts
• Explain the role of secure coding in preventing cyberattacks
• Identify the ways that cybersecurity professionals protect a business
• Describe the key elements of a security awareness program
• Identify employment opportunities and career steps in the cybersecurity field

How you will benefit

• Learn if a career in cybersecurity is right for you
• Explore the basics of the cybersecurity industry
• Discover potential career paths in the cybersecurity field

Self-Study

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Note that the "Starter Version" and "Web App" versions of Microsoft Excel will not work with the full version of Excel taught in this course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Take your Microsoft Excel 2016 skills to the next level as you master charts, graphs, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, AutoFilter, macros, and other advanced Excel functions.

Excel Charts and Graphs

In your first lesson, you will discover why Excel 2016 is such a powerful charting tool. To you, a workbook's numbers might tell an interesting story; to others, that story may not be obvious. You will learn how to choose the right chart for your story and then how to create, format, and edit your chart.

More Excel Charts

This lesson continues exploring Excel's charting options—this time looking at the lesser-known options that are available to you. Even though they may not be well-known, these options can add tremendous value to your worksheets in the right situations.

AutoFilter and Sorting

Working with data in Excel can be quite easy when you know about the tools that are available in a table format. One of these great tools is the Auto Filter command. This lesson will teach you how to use Auto Filter to limit your table information to just the records you want.

Goal Seeking

If you know what formulas you want but don't know how to get there, Excel's Goal Seek is exactly what you need. In this lesson, you will learn how to utilize this tool to avoid the trial-and-error approach that most Excel users go through to get to the right answer.

PivotTables

This lesson will teach you how to use one of the best features of Excel: the PivotTable. There's no greater "what-if" analysis tool to summarize, reorganize, and report data.

Advanced PivotTables

Just like charting, Excel's PivotTables are too big a topic to fit into one lesson. This lesson takes a tour through some of Excel's more advanced techniques, like the PivotTable filtering tool Slicer. You will also learn how a PivotTable can serve as your source for the PivotChart.

Solver

Have you ever worked with a financial model in Excel and wondered how you could speculate different outcomes by changing different input amounts? The Excel Solver can do just that. In this lesson, you will learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on criteria and constraints.

Sparklines

There's nothing more exciting than learning how to master a new feature in Excel. This lesson focuses on creating three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each. By the end of the lesson, you will have the skills to create dashboard-style mini charts.

Macros

In this lesson, you will find out how to use macros to turn repetitive and often time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. You will also learn how to record a macro that performs time-consuming task in seconds with the click of a button.

Introduction to Functions

If you have used Excel for a while, you know there are hundreds of functions at your disposal. The last three lessons of this course will cover how and why you would use these functions. This lesson introduces creating various functions with the Text category.

Math/Trig Functions

Next to learning how to create macros, most students want to learn as much as they can about Excel functions. This lesson covers on more complex functions of the "Math & Trig" category, focusing on the SUMIF and COUNTIF functions in particular.

VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH Functions

Since functions are such an integral part of using Excel, your final lesson will cover advanced features. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH functions.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn how to use the more advanced features of Microsoft Word 2016 (now available through Office 365) including how to add graphics, use templates, and merge data.

1. Shortcuts and Time-Savers in Word 2016
2. Text and Paragraph Formatting Methods
3. Templates
4. Graphics: Part 1
5. Graphics: Part 2, and Columns
6. Sections and Notes
7. Tables
8. Envelopes and Odd-Size Pages
9. Desktop Publishing: Part 1
10. Desktop Publishing: Part 2
11. Merging Data with Documents
12. Final Touches

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word Online
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

This course gives you the option of following along with the instructor on a few video-based exercises, allowing you to pause and replay until you are confident in your skillset. Should you wish to follow along, it is recommended that you have the following: Windows 10 environment, Wireshark, an AWS account (free tier), and a Windows 2016 VM (available in the AWS free tier).

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

The need for skilled cybersecurity professionals continues to grow year over year, making it a great time to enter this in-demand industry.

In this video-based learning course, you will learn fundamentals of cybersecurity such as concepts, commands, and tools from an experienced professional through lectures and follow-along demonstrations. You will also learn about cloud computing, networking, cybersecurity policy, and frameworks, as well as risk management and security auditing in a 100% online, self-paced training format.

By the completion of your course, you will have a firm understanding of cybersecurity foundations, including key concepts and best practices.

1. Cybersecurity Foundations
2. Operating Systems
3. Windows Command Line Foundations
4. Network Fundamentals
5. Cloud Computing Fundamentals
6. Cybersecurity Policy, Framework, and Guidelines
7. Cybersecurity Audit Foundations
8. Risk Management
9. Penetration Testing - Demonstration

What you will learn

• Understand what cybersecurity entails
• Identify the three most common operating systems
• Execute simple commands
• Learn about cloud computing and networking
• Learn about cybersecurity policies, frameworks, audits, and risk management

How you will benefit

• Learn if a career in cybersecurity could be right for you
• Increase your baseline knowledge of foundational cybersecurity concepts
• Learn tips and tricks from a working cybersecurity professional
• Follow along with hands-on demonstrations to develop and practice your foundational skills
• Finish in three months or less

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• This course is written using the Windows version of the software. If you have Mac, you will need to make standard Windows/Mac keystroke conversions which are included in the course material.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 or higher (not included in enrollment). Instructions, screenshots, and examples are based on versions 11, 12, and 13, but later versions, including year-numbered versions like Photoshop Elements 2020, work well with only minor changes for the course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Make the most of your scrapbooking talents to show off your photos and memorabilia with digital scrapbooking. This course provides hands-on experience building scrapbook pages, using artistic journaling, and producing your own artwork with Photoshop Elements.

What Is Digital Scrapbooking?

Digital editing gives scrapbooking a new level of creativity! In the first lesson, you'll have an opportunity to become familiar with the online classroom, Photoshop Elements 11 (the digital editing software you'll be using in this course), and a number of ways to integrate digital options with traditional scrapbooking. You'll see how to keep your personal style intact while taking advantage of fun and easy techniques to enhance your scrapbooks.

Journaling

In this lesson, you'll have an opportunity to experiment with and explore the many options for enhancing text. You'll see how to add color, shape, and styles, along with more advanced techniques like warping text to fit on objects, making circles with words, and transforming images into text. Journaling is an important part of the storytelling process, so it's time to put the words to work!

Layering

Whether you're working with scissors and glue or digital images, one of the ways to embellish scrapbook pages is to layer artistic elements. In this, you'll explore Adobe's layers so you can master the ability to build pages with many different pieces to create the look that tells your story best! The lesson will discuss sizing, background images, frames, and piecing together pages with multiple images, text, and clip art.

Clip Art

Now that you're comfortable with backgrounds, cropping, text, and layers, it's time to add some pizzazz to your pages! In this lesson, you'll see how to create and use clip art to add personal touches and dimension to your scrapbook. You may be surprised at how many important details you have in your pictures, and with Photoshop Elements, you'll be able to pick those out and use them just where you want them. Creating clip art is fun and easy with the tools in Elements. You'll be a pro by the time you finish this lesson!

Themed Layouts

Continuity and strong story lines captivate readers—even in scrapbooks! This lesson focuses on defining themes, using repetitive elements, and sizing enlargements for excellent quality. You'll see how to build two-page layouts, create panoramic images, and use two different techniques for adding frames to your pages.

Beauty of Black and White

Bold and beautiful, black-and-white photography leads to a lesson on how to take a classic look and make it modern, timeless, or even old-fashioned. You'll see how to turn color photos into stunning black-and-white images, or how to keep just a portion in color. You'll also explore using gradients to create black-and-white backgrounds to set off color images.

Creative Illusions

In this lesson, you'll work a little magic as you learn to create special effects to enhance your backgrounds and pages. You'll even be able to create some of these from nothing! The illusion of texture and dimension is important when building a sophisticated scrapbook, and you'll look at ways to build pages that might just make you wonder if they're real. With the Effects panel, the Filter menu, and some new tricks with layers and layer styles, you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Bountiful Brushes

Much like finger painting lets you release your artistic side, Photoshop Elements brushes are full of possibilities for detailed strokes, colors, and patterns—some even paint pictures! You'll see how to use the standard brushes, create and customize your own, and build pages and backgrounds with a variety of styles and patterns.

Digital Nostalgia

In this lesson, you'll see how to turn back the hands of time to create pages using restored images and nostalgic pages. You'll also learn how to age a modern photo to match the look of older ones. With the pattern tools in Photoshop Elements, you'll create fabric-like backgrounds and even see how to add a bit of stitching. Digital editing merges the old and the new in surprising ways!

3D Imagery

Digital scrapbooking gives you lots of options for creating three-dimensional looks, and in this lesson, you'll see how to use new shortcuts to make this quick and easy. With Photoshop Elements Guided Edit and special filters, you'll be able to create reflections, spheres, and many more effects.

Digital Drawing

It's time to draw! You'll be surprised by how creative you can be with Photoshop Elements drawing tools, even if you don't think of yourself as artistic. With the Pencil tool, the Undo option, and the Eraser tool, changes and corrections are easy. You can even remove something and put it back. You'll see how to add line graphics with Wingdings and turn color images into coloring pages, as well as some other drawing techniques you can use to build backgrounds and art for your scrapbook pages.

Bringing It All Together

In the last lesson, you'll explore a couple of automatic options in Photoshop Elements to help you finish your scrapbooks quickly. You'll see how to build an automatic collage page from your images and how to upload them to book formats you can print at home or send out to have professionally printed. You'll finish this course with lots of great ideas to finish your scrapbooks and share them with your family and friends!

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn to use the basic features of Word 2016 (now available through Office 365) to type, edit, format, spell check, and print professional-looking documents, letters, and reports.

Getting Started

In this introductory lesson, you will learn how to use the different parts of Word 2016's user interface, how to look at your document from different types of views, how to zoom in and out to magnify or shrink your text, and how to change the margins of individual paragraphs.

Typing and Navigation

The whole purpose of Word is to let you create and edit text. This lesson introduces the basics of moving the insertion point and deleting text. By knowing the pros and cons of navigating through a document with the keyboard and mouse, you can use both to help you work faster in Word.

File Management

In this lesson, you will learn how to save the documents you create in Word. You will also learn how to rename, copy, and even delete any files you have created, so you will always be in complete control of all the files you create.

Editing Text

After you've typed some text in a Word document, you may need to edit that text. This lesson focuses on editing text. The easiest way to edit text is to delete it, but a more sophisticated way to edit text is to copy text and paste a duplicate of that text in another location.

Working With Multiple Documents

Most people use Word to view and edit a single document at a time, but Word actually lets you open and view two or more documents at the same time. This lesson will teach you how to open, switch between, and view multiple documents.

Text Formatting and Alignment

Once you know how to add, delete, copy, and move text, the next step to modifying your document is to change the physical appearance of your text. You can make text appear in different colors or background highlighting, change text size and alignment, and even modify fonts.

Printing

Most people use Word to print letters and reports. In this lesson, you will learn about the different ways you can print a document, such as portrait orientation or landscape orientation. With Word's ability to print on different types of paper sizes and orientation, you can create more than just typical documents.

Margins, Tabs, and Page Numbering

By knowing how to set and use margins, you can modify an entire document or just a single page. By using tabs, you can modify how individual paragraphs look on a page. Finally, you will also learn how to add page numbers to the top or bottom of a page to keep track of page order.

Paragraph Formatting

Word provides ways to change the appearance of a paragraph's first line, line spacing within a paragraph, and line spacing between paragraphs. In addition, Word lets you create bullet and number lists, so you can display short bits of information in a visual manner.

Language Tools

For important documents, you may even need to collaborate with others. To keep track of all the changes multiple authors may make to a single document, Word offers a Track Changes feature, so you can see exactly what and who changed the document.

Customizing Word

With Word, you can press different types of keystrokes or search and click the symbol you want to use. This lets you add practically any type of unusual character to your documents. Word lets you type practically anything you want, regardless of the limitation of the keys on your keyboard.

Making a Word Document Pretty and Organized

Finally, you can use outlines to organize your text and quickly move chunks of text within a document just by rearranging an outline heading. By learning these advanced features of Word, you can make each document display text in the most appealing way possible.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac. Chromebooks are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.10 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Setup instructions can be found here.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this online course you will learn how to connect MySQL to PHP. You will also learn how to create a MySQL database This MySQL course provides new PHP developers with the prerequisite knowledge necessary to learn to build database-driven websites with PHP and MySQL. This course does not cover PHP, but it prepares you for learning PHP to integrate with MySQL. Although most of the SQL learned in the course is applicable to all major databases, including SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, it focuses on MySQL.

1. Relational Database Basics
   1. Brief History of SQL
   2. Relational Databases
   3. Tables
      1. Rows
      2. Columns
      3. Relationships
      4. Datatypes
      5. Primary Keys
      6. Foreign Keys
      7. Relational Database Management System
   4. Popular Databases
      1. Commercial Databases
      2. Popular Open Source Databases
   5. SQL Statements
      1. Database Manipulation Language (DML)
      2. Database Definition Language (DDL)
      3. Database Control Language (DCL)
2. Simple SELECTs
   1. Introduction to the Northwind Database
   2. Some Basics
      1. Comments
      2. Whitespace and Semi-colons
      3. Case Sensitivity
   3. SELECTing All Columns in All Rows
   4. Exercise: Exploring the Tables
   5. SELECTing Specific Columns
   6. Exercise: SELECTing Specific Columns
   7. Sorting Records
      1. Sorting by a Single Column
      2. Sorting By Multiple Columns
   8. Ascending and Descending Sorts
   9. Exercise: Sorting Results
   10. The WHERE Clause and Logical Operator Symbols
       1. Checking for Equality
       2. Checking for Inequality
   11. Exercise: Using the WHERE Clause to Check for Equality or Inequality
   12. Checking for Greater or Less Than
   13. Exercise: Using the WHERE Clause to Check for Greater or Less Than
   14. Checking for NULL
   15. Exercise: Checking for NULL
   16. WHERE and ORDER BY
   17. Exercise: Using WHERE and ORDER BY Together
   18. Checking Multiple Conditions with Boolean Operators
       1. AND
       2. OR
       3. Order of Evaluation
   19. Exercise: Writing SELECTs with Multiple Conditions
   20. The WHERE Clause and Logical Operator Keywords
       1. The BETWEEN Operator
       2. The IN Operator
       3. The LIKE Operator
       4. The NOT Operator
   21. Exercise: More SELECTs with WHERE
3. Advanced SELECTs
   1. Calculated Fields
      1. Concatenation
      2. Mathematical Calculations
      3. Aliases
   2. Exercise: Calculating Fields
   3. Aggregate Functions and Grouping
      1. Aggregate Functions
      2. Grouping Data
   4. Exercise: Working with Aggregate Functions
   5. Selecting Distinct Records
   6. Built-in Data Manipulation Functions
      1. Common Math Functions
      2. Common String Functions
      3. Common Date Functions
   7. Exercise: Data Manipulation Functions
4. Subqueries, Joins and Unions
   1. Subqueries
   2. Exercise: Subqueries
   3. Joins
      1. Table Aliases
      2. Multi-table Joins
   4. Exercise: Using Joins
   5. Outer Joins
   6. Unions
      1. UNION ALL
      2. UNION Rules
   7. Exercise: Working with Unions
5. Inserting, Updating and Deleting Records (if time allows)
   1. Inserting Records
   2. Updating and Deleting Records

What you will learn

• Understand how MySQL works
• Learn to use SQL to output reports with MySQL
• Learn to modify MySQL data with SQL

How you will benefit

• Organizations store data in databases, and MySQL is the most popular open source database. Knowing how to query those databases opens up opportunities for you to build reports for such organizations
• Database-driven websites require knowledge of SQL, and MySQL is one of the most popular databases used to build these websites, especially those built with PHP. This course gives you the prerequisite knowledge to start learning a server-side language such as PHP to use with MySQL

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• When your course starts, you will be directed to access and utilize the free QuickBooks Online practice site to complete the lesson and assignment steps. You do not need to purchase a subscription or additional software to complete this course. However, please note that this course is suitable only for the QuickBooks Online version. The desktop versions of QuickBooks are not compatible with this course and should not be used. If you have the desktop version, you should consider registering for the course specifically designed for your version.
• Note: This course is based on the U.S. version of QuickBooks. Other locations are not supported.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Learn to use QuickBooks Online to record income and expenses; enter checks and credit card payments; track payables, inventory, and receivables; and much more.

1. Getting Started
2. Accounting Basics
3. The Chart of Accounts
4. Centers and Lists
5. Bank Accounts
6. Recording Expenses
7. Paying Bills
8. Credit Cards and Loans
9. Recording Income
10. Invoices and Estimates
11. Billable Expenses and Customer Credits
12. Sales Taxes and Reports

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.
• Dual monitors are helpful but are not required.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• Necessary rights (local administrative rights) to install programs on the computer.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

• SQL Server Express
• SQL Server Management Studio

Gain a solid working knowledge of the most powerful and widely used database programming language. This course will provide you the skills to write SQL queries to create tables, retrieve data from single or multiple tables, manipulate data in a database, and gather statistics from data stored in a database.

Introduction to Database Design and SQL

In this introductory lesson, you will examine database terms and concepts. Understanding the purpose of a database and collecting data is foundational to using SQL to write queries and retrieve data result-sets that are usable.

SQL Server

In this lesson, you will install SQL Server Express and the SQL Server Management Studio to use throughout the course in your learn-by-doing practices. You will use a SQL code script to create one of the tables for the practice database in SQL Server.

Retrieving Data Result-Sets

SQL queries are the statements used to retrieve data from the database. Queries are written in a specific, logical order. In this lesson, you will explore various ways to write SQL queries to retrieve data that meets a defined criteria.

Sorting Data

SQL queries are defined and written to retrieve data in a certain order. Queries are also written to limit columns and to filter data rows. In this lesson, you will explore and practice defining and writing queries to meet a defined criteria to retrieve the expected result-set.

Designing SQL Data Tables

This lesson is about designing SQL data tables for a database. You will explore the relationship concept and how it is used in a RDBMS. You will define tables that are structured according to RDBMS standards. You will also create the tables to add to your practice database.

Designing Data Rows

In this lesson, you will add data to your newly defined tables. You will explore several methods of adding data to a table, and you will also practice writing and executing these query statements. After adding several individual rows to the tables, you will use a SQL code script to populate your tables with enough data rows to use in the learn-by-doing practices in this course.

Getting Data From Two Tables

SQL JOIN statements are used to retrieve data from more than one table. In this lesson, you will practice writing JOIN query statements that are defined to retrieve data result-sets from tables that have a relationship between their PKs and FKs.

Retrieving Data From Multiple Tables

In this lesson, you will continue writing JOIN statement that retrieve data result-sets from more than one table. You will also examine how and when to use SQL subquery statements to retrieve data from multiple tables. You will practice defining and writing JOIN and subquery queries.

Keeping the Database Up to Date

The quality of the data in the database depends on its integrity, including the concepts of data accuracy and consistency. In this lesson, you will explore writing queries to maintain the database so that it is up to date with data that is accurate, consistent, and has integrity.

Aggregate Functions

In this lesson, you will examine the concept of aggregate functions and how they are used in query statements to examine multiple rows. Aggregate functions are a method of retrieving summarized data that is useful for analysis.

SQL Views

SQL views are an important concept in database design and in using databases. In this lesson, you will explore designing and writing queries to create views. You will also explore the reason they are valuable for database security and database access.

Maximize Database Integrity and Performance

Constraints are one way to maximize the integrity of the database and minimize the opportunity for user error. Indexes are used for increasing the performance of a data query. In this lesson, you will explore both these concepts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• When the class starts, you'll receive instructions for downloading and installing a working copy of Keyboarding Pro 5. Please do not purchase or download the software from another source.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn how to touch-type or improve your existing typing skills using Keyboarding Pro 5.

Getting Started with Key Pro 5

Your first lesson guides you step by step as you download, install, and set up Key Pro 5. You will also get acquainted with the program, learning about the home row keys and the reach to the "i" key on the QWERTY keyboard. Are you confused about what home row and QWERTY mean? Don't worry—this lesson explains all of that.

Lowercase Letters, Plus the Reaches to the "e" and the "n"

Now that you're getting comfortable with the home row on the QWERTY keyboard, it's time to introduce you to some new keys. This lesson focuses on proper techniques for lowercase letters. You will also use Key Pro 5 to practice the reaches to the e and the n. Is all this typing causing you aches and pains? You will find out how to reduce fatigue while typing.

The Left Shift, h, t, and Period Reaches

In this lesson, you will learn four new keystrokes: left SHIFT, h, t, and period (.). You will also provide some tips on improving speed and accuracy and introduce you to the Key Pro 5 word processor program.

Learn the r, Right SHIFT, c, and o Reaches

Continue to build your keyboarding vocabulary by learning four new key reaches in this lesson: r, right SHIFT, c, and o. You will also learn about "the Zen of typing," how touch-typing becomes an instinctive and unconscious action.

The w, Comma, b, and p Reaches

Your typing vocabulary continues to expand rapidly with the addition of the reaches to the w, comma, b, and p. Before you know it, you will be typing complete paragraphs. This lesson also covers what you need to know about carpal tunnel syndrome, a serious and painful condition that you can avoid.

The g, Question Mark, x, and u Reaches

Expand your typing vocabulary by mastering four more key reaches: the g, question mark (?), x, and u. Just a few more reaches, and you will know how to type the whole alphabet. In this lesson, you will also learn about the function (FN) key and the numbers lock (NUM LOCK) key, which are on most laptop keyboards.

The q, m, v, and Apostrophe Reaches

This lesson teaches you another four reaches for your typing vocabulary: q, m, v, and apostrophe ('). You will also learn how to save a document with a word processing program.

The z, y, Quotation Mark, and TAB Reaches

It's time to add another four reaches to your typing vocabulary: the z, y, quotation mark ("), and TAB keys. After this lesson, you will know the reaches to all the alphabetic keys. You will also find out how to open, edit, and resave word processing documents.

Alphabetic Key Review, the 1 and 8 Number Reaches, and Timed Writings

Are you ready to improve your skills and learn some new ones? After you review the z, y, x, q, v, quotation mark, and CAPS LOCK keys, you will learn the reaches to the numbers 1 and 8. Then you will take timed writings in the Key Pro 5 word processor.

Number Reaches, Deleting Text, and Alphabetic Key Review

What's the difference between the DELETE key, the BACKSPACE key, and the Cut command? By the end of this lesson, you will understand how and when to use these three editing tools. You will also continue to improve your skills with the alphabetic keys, plus you will learn more number reaches: 5, 0, 2, and 7.

Number and Symbol Reaches, Number Rules, and Key Review

When should you spell out numbers (like this: one, nine, five hundred), and when should you write them as figures (1, 9, 500)? You will also continue to improve your skills with the keys you have already learned, and you will finish the number reaches by mastering 4, 9, 3, and 6. Then you will learn two symbol reaches: the dollar sign ($) and the hyphen (-).

Symbol Reaches and Skill Building

You have already mastered some of the symbols and punctuation marks. In your last lesson together, you will meet the rest of the symbols. You will also work on your accuracy and speed with the Key Pro 5 Skill Building lessons. And you will find out how you can continue to hone your keyboarding skills long after you have finished this course.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Excel (not included in enrollment)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this VLOOKUP in Microsoft Excel self-paced course, you will learn how to use the VLOOKUP function to work with data more effectively.

1. Microsoft Excel LOOKUP Functions
2. Using the VLOOKUP Function
3. Things to Know when Using VLOOKUP
4. Excel Features that are Helpful when Using VLOOKUP
5. Exercise: Using an Absolute Reference
6. Named Ranges
7. Exercise: Using Named Ranges in Formulas
8. And Function
9. Exercise: Use VLOOKUP to Add a Product Description and Price
10. Exercise: Use Absolute References within VLOOKUP
11. Exercise: Use VLOOKUP to Obtain Letter Grades
12. Exercise: Use VLOOKUP to Add Employee Information
13. Exercise: Use VLOOKUP to Add Employee Phone Numbers
14. Exercise: Use a Commission Table
15. Exercise: Use Named Ranges to Merge Data

What you will learn

• How to effectively use the LOOKUP functions
• Understand Excel features that are helpful when using VLOOKUP

How you will benefit

• Gain more in-depth Excel skills
• Increase your employability and value within any company
• Gain confidence in your ability to used advanced Excel functions and features

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Note that the "Starter Version" and "Web App" versions of Microsoft Excel will not work with the full version of Excel taught in this course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Harness the power of Excel and become a master user of this powerful program. This hands-on course will provide skills using charts, graphs, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, AutoFilter, macros, and other advanced Microsoft Excel 2016 functions.

Excel Charts and Graphs

In your first lesson, you will discover why Excel 2016 is such a powerful charting tool. To you, a workbook's numbers might tell an interesting story; to others, that story may not be obvious. You will learn how to choose the right chart for your story and then how to create, format, and edit your chart.

More Excel Charts

This lesson continues exploring Excel's charting options—this time looking at the lesser-known options that are available to you. Even though they may not be well-known, these options can add tremendous value to your worksheets in the right situations.

AutoFilter and Sorting

Working with data in Excel can be quite easy when you know about the tools that are available in a table format. One of these great tools is the Auto Filter command. This lesson will teach you how to use Auto Filter to limit your table information to just the records you want.

Goal Seeking

Learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on the criteria and constraints that you provide it. You'll also explore in detail how to create all three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each and gain the skills to create dashboard-like mini charts sure to make you the envy of your office.

PivotTables

Find out how to use macros to turn boring, repetitive, time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. Then, receive a quick overview of all the categories of functions and the different methods you can use to create them.

Advanced PivotTables

Just like charting, Excel's PivotTables are too big a topic to fit into one lesson. This lesson takes a tour through some of Excel's more advanced techniques, like the PivotTable filtering tool Slicer. You will also learn how a PivotTable can serve as your source for the PivotChart.

Solver

Have you ever worked with a financial model in Excel and wondered how you could speculate different outcomes by changing different input amounts? The Excel Solver can do just that. In this lesson, you will learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on criteria and constraints.

Sparklines

There's nothing more exciting than learning how to master a new feature in Excel. This lesson focuses on creating three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each. By the end of the lesson, you will have the skills to create dashboard-style mini charts.

Macros

In this lesson, you will find out how to use macros to turn repetitive and often time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. You will also learn how to record a macro that performs a task in seconds with the click of a button.

Introduction to Functions

If you have used Excel for a while, you know there are hundreds of functions at your disposal. The last three lessons of this course will cover how and why you would use these functions. This lesson introduces creating various functions with the Text category.

Math/Trig Functions

Next to learning how to create macros, most students want to learn as much as they can about Excel functions. This lesson covers on more complex functions of the "Math & Trig" category, focusing on the SUMIF and COUNTIF functions in particular.

VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH Functions

Since functions are such an integral part of using Excel, your final lesson will cover advanced features. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH functions.

What you will learn

• Master charting, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, and other advanced features of Microsoft Excel 2016
• Learn to create useful and eye-catching charts
• Discover how to manipulate data with the push of a button
• Add the time-saving functions of advanced Excel users to your repertoire

How you will benefit

• Take your Excel 2016 skills to an expert level and become a more productive member of your organization
• Gain indispensable skills that will be useful in any organization that relies on numbers-based reporting
• Learn to fully harness the power of Microsoft Excel 2016 and use all of its capabilities to save time and money

Chad Wambolt

Chad Wambolt has spent his entire professional career in the finance field, working for both private and publicly-held companies with sales ranging from $500 million to $3 billion. He is a graduate of Boise State University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting. Through the course of his career, Wambolt became an expert user of Microsoft Excel. Since 1997, he has taught Excel to students of varying skill levels and helped organizations streamline internal processes.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the advanced features of Microsoft Word 2016 and create truly professional looking documents. This hands-on course will help you learn how to create an index, build a list of figures, design a table of contents, do desktop publishing, perform a mail merge, and use timesaving shortcuts.

Shortcuts and Time-Savers in Word 2016

Humanity has come a long way since the days of the typewriter. What used to take hours can now be done in seconds with Microsoft Word 2016. And the less time you spend typing, the more time you can spend being creative and having fun. In this lesson, you'll learn shortcuts in Word that can help you create documents faster and more accurately than ever before. Not only will these shortcuts save you time, but they'll help you create letters and reports more easily than you might have thought possible.

Text and Paragraph Formatting Methods

What you write is half of communication. The other half is getting people to read what you write. One way to make your writing more appealing is to make it look presentable with formatting. Of course, formatting text is easy, but applying different types of formatting over and over again can get tedious. That's why, in this lesson, you'll learn a fast and easy way to format chunks of text quickly and consistently using something called styles. You'll find out what a style is, how to apply it, and more important, how to create and save your own styles to use in any document. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to make any document look presentable with just the click of your mouse.

Templates

If you've ever baked cookies, or even just watched someone else do it, you know how difficult it can be to make all the cookies in a batch look exactly alike. Some turn out big, some small, some gooey, and some burned! However, if you use a cookie cutter, you can make identically shaped cookies every time. That's the same principle you'll learn in this lesson; instead of using a cookie cutter, though, you'll use something called a template. A template stores the formatting of a document so that you can apply it to another document. Templates let you format entire documents as easily as formatting a single word. Word offers lots of convenient templates stored right on your computer or available over the Internet, and you'll also find out how you can create your own.

Graphics: Part 1

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to spice up your documents than by adding pictures? In this lesson, you'll learn how to add your own digital photographs to a document so that you can show everyone your vacation pictures, family holidays, or just interesting sights you've captured with your own camera. In addition to adding your own photos, you can also add clip art from Word's massive library of free graphics. And you'll find out how to resize, rotate, and style your pictures, as well as wrap your document text around them. By the end of this lesson, you'll see why Word documents are about much more than words!

Graphics: Part 2, and Columns

Digital photographs and clip art are just the beginning of what you can do with graphics in Word. In this lesson, you'll discover how to add a variety of informational graphics, including charts, graphs, and WordArt, which allow you to display text as a graphic image. Not only will you learn how to add these graphics, but you'll also find out how to edit them when your data changes. You'll finish off the lesson by seeing how Word allows you to format documents with multiple columns—a handy skill for creating newsletters and publications!

Sections and Notes

Do you often create long documents? If so, you'll appreciate this lesson, which shows you how to divide a large document into parts called sections. Sections allow you to format part of a document a certain way without that formatting affecting the rest of your text. For example, you may want headers and footers to appear on some pages but not others. Sections make this easy! You'll also spend some time inserting footnotes and endnotes in a document. If you need to write research papers or other academic content, Word makes it a snap to add and format these previously pesky notes!

Tables

If you've ever seen a spreadsheet, you know how rows and columns let you organize numbers and text on the screen. Well, tables do the same thing in Word. In this lesson, you'll see how to create tables of all different sizes right in a Word document! The lesson will cover how to modify tables, too. And don't think Excel users get to have all the fun—you can even enter formulas to perform calculations in your tables, sort them, and style them for a customized look. Your data has never looked so appealing!

Envelopes and Odd-Size Pages

You probably print most of your documents on standard letter-size paper. While this is great for ordinary letters or business reports, sometimes you may want to get creative with your paper sizes. But then there's the trouble of printing. In this lesson, you'll see how you can define the dimensions of the paper you're using, so Word will print everything correctly. You'll also learn how to print names and addresses directly on envelopes of any size. After this lesson, you won't feel confined to boring 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper anymore!

Desktop Publishing: Part 1

As you've probably already figured out, Word can do more than write letters. It also functions as a simple desktop publishing program for creating greeting cards, calendars, or newsletters. In this lesson, you'll find out how text boxes are the key to simple desktop publishing and see how other elements come into play in customized documents. Along the way, you'll look at business cards and greeting cards to get a feel for how desktop publishing works. If you've always wanted to create a document that combines text and graphics in an artistic or visually appealing way, you'll find out how to do that and much more.

Desktop Publishing: Part 2

With the basics down, it's time to take your desktop publishing skills to the next level. In this lesson, you'll discover the magic of linked text boxes that give you the power to move your text anywhere you want on the page and keep it flowing. You'll see how to create, position, resize, and group text boxes so you have total control over your text.

Merging Data with Documents

Have you ever received one of those "personalized" letters from a company in the mail? You can be sure that nobody typed the entire sales letter from scratch. Instead, the company used a form letter and something called mail merging. In this lesson, you'll learn how to store long lists of names and addresses that you can use over and over again in a form letter. Just create a document once, leave blanks for inserting information such as names and addresses, and let Word personalize each letter for you. Now you, too, can create personalized letters for business or personal use, such as sending out holiday greetings to family members and friends.

Final Touches

Look in most books, and you'll find the table of contents at the beginning and an index in the back. Often, these are the last components added to a document, since they need to have accurate titles and page numbers. But Word takes a lot of the tedious work out of creating these components. In this final lesson, you'll see how you can use Styles to make creating the table of contents a snap, and then explore how to tag index terms so Word knows what page they're on, even if they move later. Word can also help you keep track of any figures, such as charts, illustrations, or graphs, in your document. By letting Word worry about the details, you can create an accurate table of contents, index, or list of figures with very little extra effort on your part. These finishing touches will make your most important documents shine!

What you will learn

• Learn how shortcut keys, macros, and the AutoCorrect feature can save you time
• Discover fast ways to format text in a document
• Find out how to insert graphic images, including clip art and photos, into your documents
• Add charts, SmartArt, and WordArt to a document, and divide any document into columns
• Practice dividing a long document into sections and using footnotes and endnotes
• Get acquainted with some of Word's desktop publishing features, such as using text boxes, layering, and aligning objects
• Learn how to link text boxes, and position them in a document to create brochures and newsletters
• Use mail merging to quickly and easily personalize form documents

How you will benefit

• Master the more advanced features of Microsoft Word
• Learn how to use Word more effectively and take advantage of all its many features so you can get your work done more quickly and more easily

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Microsoft Word is used in nearly every modern workplace. In this course, you will master all the basics of this powerful word-processing program, including how to type and edit text, and how to format, spell check, and print documents. You will also learn dozens of different ways to modify the appearance and content of your documents and how to catch errors with Word's spell and grammar checker. After completing the course, you will be able to use Word confidently at home or on the job.

Getting Started

In this introductory lesson, you will learn how to use the different parts of Word 2016's user interface, how to look at your document from different types of views, how to zoom in and out to magnify or shrink your text, and how to change the margins of individual paragraphs.

Typing and Navigation

The whole purpose of Word is to let you create and edit text. This lesson introduces the basics of moving the insertion point and deleting text. By knowing the pros and cons of navigating through a document with the keyboard and mouse, you can use both to help you work faster in Word.

File Management

In this lesson, you will learn how to save the documents you create in Word. You will also learn how to rename, copy, and even delete any files you have created, so you will always be in complete control of all the files you create.

Editing Text

After you've typed some text in a Word document, you may need to edit that text. This lesson focuses on editing text. The easiest way to edit text is to delete it, but a more sophisticated way to edit text is to copy text and paste a duplicate of that text in another location.

Working With Multiple Documents

Most people use Word to view and edit a single document at a time, but Word actually lets you open and view two or more documents at the same time. This lesson will teach you how to open, switch between, and view multiple documents.

Text Formatting and Alignment

Once you know how to add, delete, copy, and move text, the next step to modifying your document is to change the physical appearance of your text. You can make text appear in different colors or background highlighting, change text size and alignment, and even modify fonts.

Printing

Most people use Word to print letters and reports. In this lesson, you will learn about the different ways you can print a document, such as portrait orientation or landscape orientation. With Word's ability to print on different types of paper sizes and orientation, you can create more than just typical documents.

Margins, Tabs, and Page Numbering

By knowing how to set and use margins, you can modify an entire document or just a single page. By using tabs, you can modify how individual paragraphs look on a page. Finally, you will also learn how to add page numbers to the top or bottom of a page to keep track of page order.

Paragraph Formatting

Word provides ways to change the appearance of a paragraph's first line, line spacing within a paragraph, and line spacing between paragraphs. In addition, Word lets you create bullet and number lists, so you can display short bits of information in a visual manner.

Language Tools

For important documents, you may even need to collaborate with others. To keep track of all the changes multiple authors may make to a single document, Word offers a Track Changes feature, so you can see exactly what and who changed the document.

Customizing Word

With Word, you can press different types of keystrokes or search and click the symbol you want to use. This lets you add practically any type of unusual character to your documents. Word lets you type practically anything you want, regardless of the limitation of the keys on your keyboard.

Making a Word Document Pretty and Organized

Finally, you can use outlines to organize your text and quickly move chunks of text within a document just by rearranging an outline heading. By learning these advanced features of Word, you can make each document display text in the most appealing way possible.

What you will learn

• Learn the fundamentals of one of the most crucial software applications in the modern workplace
• Acquire the skills and learn the tools you will need to adjust margins, spacing, layout, and design of any Word document
• Learn how to work on multiple projects at once and become faster and more efficient in a variety of Microsoft Word tasks
• Explore the many ways to modify the appearance of your documents in order to suit your individual needs

How you will benefit

• Gain the confidence you need to make the most of this indispensable software application
• Learn how to make the perfect layout for useful documents of any occasion - resumes, invitations, letters, articles, training materials, and much more
• Save time and avoid frustration by familiarizing yourself with the wide variety of tools at your disposal in Word 2016
• Become more proficient and efficient at one of the most widely used software programs in history

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Creative Cloud, or any version of Adobe Creative Suite CC that includes the Adobe Photoshop CC or Photoshop only (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Whether you are a photographer, digital illustrator, graphic designer, or someone who wants to alter old family photos, you need to learn Adobe Photoshop. The Introduction to Photoshop Creative Cloud course is filled with easy-to-follow, detailed step-by-step instructions that teach you how to edit and manipulate images and create basic compositions using Photoshop in the Creative Cloud. Discover how to improve photographs by editing out flaws, correcting poor exposure, or creating a composite image using the newest techniques Photoshop has to offer. You will even learn how much fun you can have digitally painting and exploring filters and effects to create unique images. And, best of all, you need no prior artistic ability or Photoshop experience to take this course.

Getting to Know Adobe Photoshop

Whether you're an aspiring graphic artist or a weekend photographer, Photoshop can play many roles in image creation. Even if you've never touched Photoshop before, you'll become familiar with Photoshop's interface and be able to open, edit, and save files before this lesson ends. You'll also find out how to download images, and you'll learn how to crop an image to its desired image area.

Understanding Resolution and Layers

In this lesson, you'll learn and apply the basics in setting image resolution by resizing and resampling graphics for both screen and print purposes. Then, explore the wonders of working with layers. Move and transform objects within a scene to recreate a new composition. You will learn how to add, delete, hide, merge, and group layers as well as to change the blending mode of a layer to reveal new visual effects.

Working with Objects

What makes a good image composite? Find out in this lesson where you will discover the principles of image compositing and apply these by combining images to create your first image composites. Find out how linked layers work and see what Smart Objects can do. You will learn how to use guides to assist in placing and aligning objects. Then, you will use multiple images to create a realistic still-life image. Learn how to transform objects by scaling, rotating, distorting, and warping them.

Image Adjustments

Do you have an old image that has faded over the years? Are your vacation photos over-exposed or too dark? Use image adjustments to correct contrast and color! In this lesson, you will find out how to correct an image's contrast and make the colors pop using image adjustments. You can even remove color to make a black and white or toned image. Then, apply several image adjustments along with blending modes to create a surreal image! Finish this lesson by exploring the filters gallery to apply various artistic filters to a collage.

Image Retouch and Restoration

Need to clear up a few blemishes on a headshot? Or remove unwanted telephone wires from a landscape? This lesson introduces you to the tools used in photo retouching and restoration. This lesson also covers sharpening an image, blurring areas of an image to create a depth of field, and adding a vignette to an image. You will learn how to easily clear up blemishes in portraits and restore old, damaged photographs. You will also learn how to remove or duplicate objects in a scene.

Colorizing Images

Learn how to combine colors and create color themes using Adobe Color. Sample colors from an existing image to create a new color scheme. Then, apply color to black and white photos using several techniques to color areas. Color a single object in a black and white image to create emphasis, or color the entire image, as if filling in a "digital" coloring book. This lesson also covers how to save and load swatches of color to use on other projects.

Working with Brushes

Adobe Photoshop is one of the leading applications for digital painting. This lesson introduces you to brushes and teaches you to paint using different brush types to simulate real artists' materials, such as charcoal, pastels, oil paint, and watercolor. You do not have to have strong drawing skills to complete this lesson. You will sample color from existing images and use these as templates for your digital painting.

Working with Selections

One of the most basic skills you need in Photoshop is the ability to select areas of an image. Often, you'll want to make adjustments to or fine tune areas of a photograph. The act of editing an image, no matter the desired outcome, is based heavily on your ability to make good pixel selections. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the various selection tools and to use them to create convincing shadows to objects in a composition.

Working with Masks

Masks can hide or reveal parts of a layer. Learn to use masks with images and adjustment layers to advance your image manipulation skills. Learn to use and modify masks to create complex selections around objects with thin strands of hair and clipping masks to add textures to objects.

Working with Vectors

Photoshop is able to create vector shapes and paths, which are used across many Adobe products, so learning these tools can put you ahead of the game when you are learning software such as Adobe Illustrator. This lesson is designed to guide you through the technical tools in a way that is easy to grasp.

Type and Layer Effects

Want to create an invitation or promote an event? This lesson shows you how to apply typography with images to create effective design by utilizing Adobe Fonts, manipulating text using warping, typing on a path, or typing as a mask to place an image within the letterforms. Then, polish the look of your text with layer effects. This lesson will introduce you to a world of limitless type effects.

Preparing Files for Output

Understanding what file formats to use and when can be confusing. This final lesson covers file types and when to use them. Learn how to prepare files for both print and web output. You will also learn how to create a Behance portfolio page to showcase and promote your work!

What you will learn

• Master the fundamentals of Photoshop's interface and tools
• Understand the essentials of digital imaging including file formats, color modes, image size, and resolution.
• Comprehend and apply digital color theory and practice colorization and digital painting
• Identify and apply the methods of photo retouch and restoration
• Use the functionality of Photoshop's layers, selections, and masking features

How you will benefit

• Discover everything you need to confidently use the tools in Photoshop to restore, retouch, and rearrange images
• Develop the skills you need to begin a new hobby or entry-level career using Photoshop
• Learn to effectively retouch photos and develop professional quality images for your home or business
• Harness the power of Photoshop to create stunning images by enhancing photographs and developing works of art

Beverly Richards Schulz

Beverly Richards Schulz is an award-winning photographer and graduate of the New York Institute of Photography. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley and a master's degree in Adult and Continuing Education. For the past 10 years, Schulz has taught at the University of San Francisco. With more than 15 years teaching experience, she has written over 30 digital photography and digital editing courses. She co-authored the book "Photoshop Elements 14—What's New?"

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• When your course starts, you will be directed to access and utilize the free QuickBooks Online practice site to complete the lesson and assignment steps. You do not need to purchase a subscription or additional software to complete this course. However, please note that this course is suitable only for the QuickBooks Online version. The desktop versions of QuickBooks are not compatible with this course and should not be used. If you have the desktop version, you should consider registering for the course specifically designed for your version.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Manage the financial aspects of your small business quickly and efficiently using QuickBooks Online. This course will give you hands-on experience recording income and expenses; entering checks and credit card payments; tracking your payables, inventory, and receivables; and much more.

Getting Started

Your first lesson will introduce the QuickBooks Online interface and the pros and cons of working with your accounting information online. You will learn about the various subscription packages and practice using some of the interactive navigation features within the program.

Accounting Basics

To truly unlock the power of QuickBooks Online, it's helpful to have some basic accounting knowledge under your belt. In this lesson, you'll learn some introductory accounting terminology. In addition, you'll learn the basics of double entry accounting principles as well as the components of the Financial Statement.

The Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts is the heart and soul of QuickBooks. In this lesson, you will learn how to take full advantage of this powerful tool to add, edit, and access accounts that you can use to track the value of your business or monitor your income and expenses.

Centers and Lists

This lesson introduces best practices for using centers and lists in QuickBooks to gather and organize information needed to properly conduct business. You will also learn how to process Form 1099 to give to your vendors at the end of the year.

Bank Accounts

In this lesson, you will learn how to work with bank accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will learn how to create a new bank account, connect it online, and download, match, and add transactions. Then you will learn how to reconcile your checking account with your monthly bank statement to make sure that neither you nor the bank made any errors.

Recording Expenses

Keeping track of the checks and other expense transactions your business incurs is one of the most critical aspects of your daily operations. In this lesson, you will learn how to utilize QuickBooks' built-in features to enter check transactions and bank transfers like a pro.

Paying Bills

Without an organized system for managing all the bills your business receives, they can really start to stack up. When bills pile up, it becomes easy to start missing payment deadlines, which can result in late fees and credit difficulties. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use QuickBooks to make sure you're paying all of your bills right on time—not too early, and not too late.

Credit Cards and Loans

In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively manage Credit Card accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will also learn how to enter a full or partial payment of the credit card balance when it comes time for payment. Finally, you will get the chance to create and enter a new loan balance resulting from the purchase of a long-term asset such as a vehicle or piece of equipment.

Recording Income

You will find this lesson useful if your business ever sells a product or service and collects payment on the sale immediately. Then you will learn how to create multiple Sales Receipts and make the necessary deposit to your bank.

Invoices and Estimates

In order to evaluate just how well your company is performing, you will need to learn how to enter estimates, invoices, and customer payments. You will do just that in this lesson. You will also learn how to group multiple customer payments and record those deposits to the bank.

Billable Expenses and Customer Credits

This lesson focuses on billing customers for an expense incurred on a project or job. You will even see how you can add a markup percentage to the amount you include on the customer invoice. Also, you will examine the steps needed to enter credit memos, delayed credits, and refunds.

Sales Taxes and Reports

In your final lesson, you will learn how to work with the sales tax features in the program to collect and remit taxes you collect from customers. You will also find out how to create, use, and customize a wide variety of useful reports.

What you will learn

• Learn everything you need to know about running QuickBooks in a small to mid-sized business
• Discover how to set up a chart of accounts, reconcile your checking account, and create estimates
• Learn to create and print invoices, receipts and statements
• Understand how to track payables, inventory, and receivables
• Gain the knowledge you need to generate reports

How you will benefit

• Get access to Intuit's Test Drive Sample Company practice site of QuickBooks Online Plus
• Get hands-on experience as you master the tools you will need to successfully use QuickBooks online
• Gain the confidence to take control of the financial accounting for your business

Scott Paxton

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully implement and troubleshoot QuickBooks.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.
• Dual monitors are helpful but are not required.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Student will install the required software in the course.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• Necessary rights (local administrative rights) to install programs on the computer.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

• SQL Server Express
• SQL Server Management Studio

Gain a solid working knowledge of the most powerful and widely used database programming language. This course will provide you the skills to write SQL queries to create tables, retrieve data from single or multiple tables, manipulate data in a database, and gather statistics from data stored in a database.

Introduction to Database Design and SQL

In this introductory lesson, you will examine database terms and concepts. Understanding the purpose of a database is foundational to writing efficient SQL queries that retrieve the right data.

SQL Server

In this lesson, you will install SQL Server Express and the SQL Server Management Studio to use throughout the course in your learn-by-doing practices. You will use SQL code to create one of the tables for the practice database in SQL Server.

Retrieving Data Result-Sets

SQL queries are the statements used to retrieve data from the database. Queries are written in a specific, logical order. In this lesson, you will explore various ways to write SQL queries to retrieve data that meet defined criteria.

Sorting Data

SQL queries are defined and written to retrieve data in a certain order. Queries are also written to limit columns and to filter data rows. In this lesson, you will practice writing queries that meet defined criteria and retrieve the expected result-sets.

Designing SQL Data Tables

This lesson is about designing SQL data tables for a database. You will explore the relationship concept and how it is used in an RDBMS. You will define tables that are structured according to RDBMS standards. You will also create the tables to add to your practice database.

Designing Data Rows

In this lesson, you will add data to your newly defined tables. You will explore several methods of adding data to a table and practice writing and executing these query statements. After adding several individual rows to the tables, you will use a SQL query to populate your tables with enough data rows to use in the learn-by-doing practices in this course.

Getting Data From Two Tables

SQL JOIN statements are used to retrieve data from more than one table. In this lesson, you will practice writing JOIN statements that retrieve data from tables that have a relationship between their PKs and FKs.

Retrieving Data From Multiple Tables

In this lesson, you will continue writing JOIN statements that retrieve data result-sets from more than one table. You will also examine how and when to use SQL subquery statements to retrieve data from multiple tables. You will practice defining and writing JOIN and subquery queries.

Keeping the Database Up to Date

The quality of the data in the database depends on its integrity, including the concepts of data accuracy and consistency. In this lesson, you will explore writing queries to maintain the database so that it is up to date with data that is accurate, consistent, and has integrity.

Aggregate Functions

In this lesson, you will examine the concept of aggregate functions and how they are used in query statements to examine multiple rows. Aggregate functions are a method of retrieving summarized data that is useful for analysis.

SQL Views

SQL views are an important concept in database design and in using databases. In this lesson, you will explore designing and writing queries to create views. You will also explore the reason they are valuable for database security and database access.

Maximize Database Integrity and Performance

Constraints are one way to maximize the integrity of the database and minimize the opportunity for user error. Indexes are used for increasing the performance of a data query. In this lesson, you will explore both these concepts.

What you will learn

• Use SQL to develop a relational database
• Design table and row structures that fulfill your requirements
• Write efficient SQL queries to find and organize data
• Write SQL queries to retrieve data from multiple tables
• Create updates for a secure, high-performance database

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your SQL ability, the standard database query language
• Open the door to opportunities as you list basic SQL programming as a skill on your resume
• Develop a new skill and learn whether or not you would like a career in IT

Mava Wilson

Mava Wilson, Ph.D., is a professor with more than 28 years of teaching experience. While she specializes in Information Systems (IS), she has taught several computer science topics, including basic computer literacy, programming, database design, and SQL. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in computing technology from Nova Southeastern University, as well as a bachelor's in administrative systems from Radford University.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC or Chromebook. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word Online
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the basic skills you need for Windows 11, the new operating system from Microsoft, which offers a more robust, more powerful, and unique computing experience. In this course, you will gain the foundation you need to start using Windows 11.

Welcome to Windows 11

Learning to use your PC well starts with learning to use Windows. In this first lesson, we'll start with the basics that every computer user must know in order to use a computer with minimal frustration. If you've been working in "frustration and aggravation" mode for a while, this lesson will take care of that. We'll start by talking about what Windows 11 is and why you want to learn it. Then, we'll get right into the most important skills and terminology that allow you to control what you see on your screen at all times. And that's important, because the first step to using anything that's in your computer is getting it on the screen where you can see it!

Use the Start Menu and Apps

In this lesson, we'll explore the revised Start Menu and Apps in Windows 11. You'll see how to use and customize the Start Menu, and we'll explore the Windows Store. You'll also see how to use the new widgets feature of Windows 11, which gives you access to quick and easy information, such as weather, traffic, sports, and news.

Personalizing Your Windows Desktop

In today's lesson, you'll have fun personalizing your computer by choosing your own desktop pictures, themes, and sound scheme. Along the way, you'll learn about the important Control Panel window in Windows 11 and tips for using dialog boxes and those occasional mysterious dimmed options that do nothing when you click them. The skills you learn in this lesson will go a long way to helping you gain complete control of your computer.

Working With Text and Files

No matter how you intend to use your computer, there'll be times when there's some typing involved. It might be for writing email messages, memos, or letters, or it might be for taking notes in a course, or for chatting with others in a website. Whatever the reason, today's lesson will teach you all the tricks for making typing (and editing) quick and easy. And you'll also discover how to save your work in files and folders, so it'll always be there when you need it!

Exploring Your System

Everything that's in your computer is stored on its hard drive. The hard drive is like a filing cabinet containing files organized into folders. Finding things you've saved in the past is a matter of opening the filing cabinet, so to speak, and then locating the correct folder. You'll use the File Explorer program to accomplish this. And in this lesson, you'll learn how it all works, so you can start gaining complete mastery of your own files and folders.

Using OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft To Do

In this lesson, you'll explore three Windows 11 features: OneDrive, Teams, and To Do. OneDrive is a cloud storage solution that lets you store files and folders both on your PC as well as the Microsoft cloud. Using OneDrive, you can save your data to Microsoft servers and access that data across multiple devices. Teams is communication software that is built into Windows 11. Using Teams, you can chat with friends, family, and co-workers and even host video and audio calls. Finally, you'll take a look at Microsoft To Do—an app that helps you keep track of to do tasks and lists. All of these features are designed to make your life easier!

Manage and Edit Your Photos

In this lesson, we'll have some fun with photos. Today, you'll learn how to organize your photos and view them using Windows 11's Photos App. You'll also see how to view individual photos, draw and rotate, and auto-enhance your shots. And, you'll learn about the Photos App editing tools for adjusting brightness and contrast, straightening crooked pictures, correcting red eye, and cropping.

Using Edge

The Internet is home to popular websites like Facebook, Amazon, Google, ed2go, and many others. Many of you have seen references to .com sites in ads and elsewhere. If you don't have a lot of computer experience, you might find it difficult to get to the many things you hear about on the web. But not after this lesson! In this lesson, you'll learn how to use Edge, the program that provides access to all of those popular websites.

Managing Files and Folders

Managing files and folders is one of those computer skills that every computer user needs to know. In many work and school environments, people just assume you know how to manage files, and they rarely provide any details on how to accomplish things like copying, moving, or renaming files and folders. Today's lesson will explain how to do those very things that others assume you already know how to do.

More Fun With File Management

In this lesson, you'll expand your file management skills by learning how to delete and recover files. You'll learn how to select multiple files to work with, so you don't always have to manage your files one at a time. And we'll discuss how to copy files to and from removable media like flash drives, CDs, and DVDs.

Protect Your Valuable Files!

Your computer is an investment of money, and the pictures and other files you store on your computer are an investment of time. You might even have some photos or other files that are so precious the thought of losing them causes you anxiety. What you need to do is protect those files. And that's just what this chapter is all about—how to use the tools and techniques that are built right into Windows to help you protect your valuable time and files!

Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

In our final lesson, you'll learn some more techniques for protecting your computer, including using resources for free protection from viruses and spyware. You'll learn how to remove programs you no longer want or need. You'll learn how to copy and paste text and create screenshots. And you'll discover some great timesaving tips and shortcuts, as well as resources for helping yourself so that you don't have to be so dependent on others.

What you will learn

• Find your way around Windows 11 with the desktop, Start menu, and system settings
• Understand how to customize features and personalize your desktop
• Discover how File Explorer can help you manage files and learn to create basic text documents using WordPad
• Comprehend how to protect your files and update Windows 11

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your use of the Windows 11 operating system for personal and business use
• Learn how to use your PC effectively, starting with Windows
• Experience reduced frustration and setbacks by learning to operate your computer properly
• Become a more independent computer user

Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons, B.A., M.Ed, is a best-selling author, trainer, and multi-media expert. He holds degrees in English and communication studies and has more than 10 years of experience teaching English and writing in the classroom. Additionally, Simmons has authored numerous books on a wide variety of technology topics and has been a technical editor for numerous other titles.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Mac, Chromebooks, Surface, and all other tablets are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• When the class starts, you'll receive instructions for downloading and installing a working copy of Keyboarding Pro 5. Please do not purchase or download the software from another source.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Become faster and more confident at the keyboard. This course will help you learn how to touch-type the alphabetic, numeric, and symbol keys; create, save, and edit word processing documents; and successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview.

Getting Started With Key Pro 5

Your first lesson guides you step by step as you download, install, and set up Key Pro 5. You will also get acquainted with the program, learning about the home row keys and the reach to the "i" key on the QWERTY keyboard. Are you confused about what home row and QWERTY mean? Don't worry—this lesson explains all of that.

Lowercase Letters, Plus the Reaches to the "e" and the "n"

Now that you're getting comfortable with the home row on the QWERTY keyboard, it's time to introduce you to some new keys. This lesson will focus on lowercase letters. You will also use Key Pro 5 to practice the reaches to the e and the n. Is all this typing causing you aches and pains? You will find out how to reduce fatigue while typing.

The Left Shift, h, t, and Period Reaches

In this lesson, you will learn four new keystrokes: left SHIFT, h, t, and period (.). You will also provide some tips on improving speed and accuracy and introduce you to the Key Pro 5 word processor program.

Learn the r, Right SHIFT, c, and o Reaches

Continue to build your keyboarding vocabulary by learning four new key reaches in this lesson: r, right SHIFT, c, and o. You will also learn about "the Zen of typing", which is how touch-typing becomes an instinctive and unconscious action.

The w, Comma, b, and p Reaches

Your typing vocabulary continues to expand rapidly with the addition of the reaches to the w, comma, b, and p. Before you know it, you will be typing complete paragraphs. This lesson also covers what you need to know about carpal tunnel syndrome, a serious and painful condition that you can avoid.

The g, Question Mark, x, and u Reaches

Expand your typing vocabulary by mastering four more key reaches: the g, question mark (?), x, and u. Just a few more reaches, and you will know how to type the whole alphabet. In this lesson, you will also learn about the function (FN) key and the numbers lock (NUM LOCK) key, which are on most laptop keyboards.

The q, m, v, and Apostrophe Reaches

This lesson teaches you another four reaches for your typing vocabulary: q, m, v, and apostrophe ('). You will also learn how to save a document with a word processing program.

The z, y, Quotation Mark, and Tab Reaches

It's time to add another four reaches to your typing vocabulary: the z, y, quotation mark ("), and tab keys. After this lesson, you will know the reaches to all the alphabetic keys. You will also find out how to open, edit, and resave word processing documents.

Alphabetic Key Review, the 1 and 8 Number Reaches, and Timed Writings

Are you ready to improve your skills and learn some new ones? After you review the z, y, x, q, v, quotation mark, and CAPS LOCK keys, you will learn the reaches to the numbers 1 and 8. Then you will take timed writings in the Key Pro 5 word processor.

Number Reaches, Deleting Text, and Alphabetic Key Review

What's the difference between the DELETE key, the BACKSPACE key, and the Cut command? By the end of this lesson, you will understand how and when to use these three editing tools. You will also continue to improve your skills with the alphabetic keys, plus you will learn more number reaches: 5, 0, 2, and 7.

Number and Symbol Reaches, Number Rules, and Key Review

When should you spell out numbers (like this: one, nine, five hundred), and when should you write them as figures (1, 9, 500)? You will also continue to improve your skills with the keys you have already learned, and you will finish the number reaches by mastering 4, 9, 3, and 6. Then you will learn two symbol reaches: the dollar sign ($) and the hyphen (-).

Symbol Reaches and Skill Building

You have already mastered some of the symbols and punctuation marks. In your last lesson together, you will meet the rest of the symbols. You will also work on your accuracy and speed with the Key Pro 5 Skill Building lessons. And you will find out how you can continue to hone your keyboarding skills long after you have finished this course.

What you will learn

• Learn how to create, edit, and save word processing documents
• Improve your typing speed and accuracy
• Learn posture tips to minimize fatigue and help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome

How you will benefit

• Successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview
• Become more confident in your ability to type quickly and accurately

Kathy Van Pelt

Kathy Van Pelt has taught computer courses at a community college for the past 25 years. She specializes in Microsoft Office applications, Google Drive and Google Applications, the Windows and Mac operating systems, and keyboarding. She spent seven years teaching word processing and business classes at a private business college and loves being in the ever-evolving educational field.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Note that the "Starter Version" and "Web App" versions of Microsoft Excel will not work with the full version of Excel taught in this course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Harness the power of Excel and become a master user of this powerful program. This hands-on course will provide skills using charts, graphs, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, AutoFilter, macros, and other advanced Microsoft Excel 2016 functions.

Excel Charts and Graphs

In your first lesson, you will discover why Excel 2016 is such a powerful charting tool. To you, a workbook's numbers might tell an interesting story; to others, that story may not be obvious. You will learn how to choose the right chart for your story and then how to create, format, and edit your chart.

More Excel Charts

This lesson continues exploring Excel's charting options—this time looking at the lesser-known options that are available to you. Even though they may not be well-known, these options can add tremendous value to your worksheets in the right situations.

AutoFilter and Sorting

Working with data in Excel can be quite easy when you know about the tools that are available in a table format. One of these great tools is the Auto Filter command. This lesson will teach you how to use Auto Filter to limit your table information to just the records you want.

Goal Seeking

Learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on the criteria and constraints that you provide it. You'll also explore in detail how to create all three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each and gain the skills to create dashboard-like mini charts sure to make you the envy of your office.

PivotTables

Find out how to use macros to turn boring, repetitive, time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. Then, receive a quick overview of all the categories of functions and the different methods you can use to create them.

Advanced PivotTables

Just like charting, Excel's PivotTables are too big a topic to fit into one lesson. This lesson takes a tour through some of Excel's more advanced techniques, like the PivotTable filtering tool Slicer. You will also learn how a PivotTable can serve as your source for the PivotChart.

Solver

Have you ever worked with a financial model in Excel and wondered how you could speculate different outcomes by changing different input amounts? The Excel Solver can do just that. In this lesson, you will learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on criteria and constraints.

Sparklines

There's nothing more exciting than learning how to master a new feature in Excel. This lesson focuses on creating three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each. By the end of the lesson, you will have the skills to create dashboard-style mini charts.

Macros

In this lesson, you will find out how to use macros to turn repetitive and often time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. You will also learn how to record a macro that performs a task in seconds with the click of a button.

Introduction to Functions

If you have used Excel for a while, you know there are hundreds of functions at your disposal. The last three lessons of this course will cover how and why you would use these functions. This lesson introduces creating various functions with the Text category.

Math/Trig Functions

Next to learning how to create macros, most students want to learn as much as they can about Excel functions. This lesson covers on more complex functions of the "Math & Trig" category, focusing on the SUMIF and COUNTIF functions in particular.

VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH Functions

Since functions are such an integral part of using Excel, your final lesson will cover advanced features. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH functions.

What you will learn

• Master charting, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, and other advanced features of Microsoft Excel 2016
• Learn to create useful and eye-catching charts
• Discover how to manipulate data with the push of a button
• Add the time-saving functions of advanced Excel users to your repertoire

How you will benefit

• Take your Excel 2016 skills to an expert level and become a more productive member of your organization
• Gain indispensable skills that will be useful in any organization that relies on numbers-based reporting
• Learn to fully harness the power of Microsoft Excel 2016 and use all of its capabilities to save time and money

Chad Wambolt

Chad Wambolt has spent his entire professional career in the finance field, working for both private and publicly-held companies with sales ranging from $500 million to $3 billion. He is a graduate of Boise State University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting. Through the course of his career, Wambolt became an expert user of Microsoft Excel. Since 1997, he has taught Excel to students of varying skill levels and helped organizations streamline internal processes.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the advanced features of Microsoft Word 2016 and create truly professional looking documents. This hands-on course will help you learn how to create an index, build a list of figures, design a table of contents, do desktop publishing, perform a mail merge, and use timesaving shortcuts.

Shortcuts and Time-Savers in Word 2016

Humanity has come a long way since the days of the typewriter. What used to take hours can now be done in seconds with Microsoft Word 2016. And the less time you spend typing, the more time you can spend being creative and having fun. In this lesson, you'll learn shortcuts in Word that can help you create documents faster and more accurately than ever before. Not only will these shortcuts save you time, but they'll help you create letters and reports more easily than you might have thought possible.

Text and Paragraph Formatting Methods

What you write is half of communication. The other half is getting people to read what you write. One way to make your writing more appealing is to make it look presentable with formatting. Of course, formatting text is easy, but applying different types of formatting over and over again can get tedious. That's why, in this lesson, you'll learn a fast and easy way to format chunks of text quickly and consistently using something called styles. You'll find out what a style is, how to apply it, and more important, how to create and save your own styles to use in any document. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to make any document look presentable with just the click of your mouse.

Templates

If you've ever baked cookies, or even just watched someone else do it, you know how difficult it can be to make all the cookies in a batch look exactly alike. Some turn out big, some small, some gooey, and some burned! However, if you use a cookie cutter, you can make identically shaped cookies every time. That's the same principle you'll learn in this lesson; instead of using a cookie cutter, though, you'll use something called a template. A template stores the formatting of a document so that you can apply it to another document. Templates let you format entire documents as easily as formatting a single word. Word offers lots of convenient templates stored right on your computer or available over the Internet, and you'll also find out how you can create your own.

Graphics: Part 1

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to spice up your documents than by adding pictures? In this lesson, you'll learn how to add your own digital photographs to a document so that you can show everyone your vacation pictures, family holidays, or just interesting sights you've captured with your own camera. In addition to adding your own photos, you can also add clip art from Word's massive library of free graphics. And you'll find out how to resize, rotate, and style your pictures, as well as wrap your document text around them. By the end of this lesson, you'll see why Word documents are about much more than words!

Graphics: Part 2, and Columns

Digital photographs and clip art are just the beginning of what you can do with graphics in Word. In this lesson, you'll discover how to add a variety of informational graphics, including charts, graphs, and WordArt, which allow you to display text as a graphic image. Not only will you learn how to add these graphics, but you'll also find out how to edit them when your data changes. You'll finish off the lesson by seeing how Word allows you to format documents with multiple columns—a handy skill for creating newsletters and publications!

Sections and Notes

Do you often create long documents? If so, you'll appreciate this lesson, which shows you how to divide a large document into parts called sections. Sections allow you to format part of a document a certain way without that formatting affecting the rest of your text. For example, you may want headers and footers to appear on some pages but not others. Sections make this easy! You'll also spend some time inserting footnotes and endnotes in a document. If you need to write research papers or other academic content, Word makes it a snap to add and format these previously pesky notes!

Tables

If you've ever seen a spreadsheet, you know how rows and columns let you organize numbers and text on the screen. Well, tables do the same thing in Word. In this lesson, you'll see how to create tables of all different sizes right in a Word document! The lesson will cover how to modify tables, too. And don't think Excel users get to have all the fun—you can even enter formulas to perform calculations in your tables, sort them, and style them for a customized look. Your data has never looked so appealing!

Envelopes and Odd-Size Pages

You probably print most of your documents on standard letter-size paper. While this is great for ordinary letters or business reports, sometimes you may want to get creative with your paper sizes. But then there's the trouble of printing. In this lesson, you'll see how you can define the dimensions of the paper you're using, so Word will print everything correctly. You'll also learn how to print names and addresses directly on envelopes of any size. After this lesson, you won't feel confined to boring 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper anymore!

Desktop Publishing: Part 1

As you've probably already figured out, Word can do more than write letters. It also functions as a simple desktop publishing program for creating greeting cards, calendars, or newsletters. In this lesson, you'll find out how text boxes are the key to simple desktop publishing and see how other elements come into play in customized documents. Along the way, you'll look at business cards and greeting cards to get a feel for how desktop publishing works. If you've always wanted to create a document that combines text and graphics in an artistic or visually appealing way, you'll find out how to do that and much more.

Desktop Publishing: Part 2

With the basics down, it's time to take your desktop publishing skills to the next level. In this lesson, you'll discover the magic of linked text boxes that give you the power to move your text anywhere you want on the page and keep it flowing. You'll see how to create, position, resize, and group text boxes so you have total control over your text.

Merging Data with Documents

Have you ever received one of those "personalized" letters from a company in the mail? You can be sure that nobody typed the entire sales letter from scratch. Instead, the company used a form letter and something called mail merging. In this lesson, you'll learn how to store long lists of names and addresses that you can use over and over again in a form letter. Just create a document once, leave blanks for inserting information such as names and addresses, and let Word personalize each letter for you. Now you, too, can create personalized letters for business or personal use, such as sending out holiday greetings to family members and friends.

Final Touches

Look in most books, and you'll find the table of contents at the beginning and an index in the back. Often, these are the last components added to a document, since they need to have accurate titles and page numbers. But Word takes a lot of the tedious work out of creating these components. In this final lesson, you'll see how you can use Styles to make creating the table of contents a snap, and then explore how to tag index terms so Word knows what page they're on, even if they move later. Word can also help you keep track of any figures, such as charts, illustrations, or graphs, in your document. By letting Word worry about the details, you can create an accurate table of contents, index, or list of figures with very little extra effort on your part. These finishing touches will make your most important documents shine!

What you will learn

• Learn how shortcut keys, macros, and the AutoCorrect feature can save you time
• Discover fast ways to format text in a document
• Find out how to insert graphic images, including clip art and photos, into your documents
• Add charts, SmartArt, and WordArt to a document, and divide any document into columns
• Practice dividing a long document into sections and using footnotes and endnotes
• Get acquainted with some of Word's desktop publishing features, such as using text boxes, layering, and aligning objects
• Learn how to link text boxes, and position them in a document to create brochures and newsletters
• Use mail merging to quickly and easily personalize form documents

How you will benefit

• Master the more advanced features of Microsoft Word
• Learn how to use Word more effectively and take advantage of all its many features so you can get your work done more quickly and more easily

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Microsoft Word is used in nearly every modern workplace. In this course, you will master all the basics of this powerful word-processing program, including how to type and edit text, and how to format, spell check, and print documents. You will also learn dozens of different ways to modify the appearance and content of your documents and how to catch errors with Word's spell and grammar checker. After completing the course, you will be able to use Word confidently at home or on the job.

Getting Started

In this introductory lesson, you will learn how to use the different parts of Word 2016's user interface, how to look at your document from different types of views, how to zoom in and out to magnify or shrink your text, and how to change the margins of individual paragraphs.

Typing and Navigation

The whole purpose of Word is to let you create and edit text. This lesson introduces the basics of moving the insertion point and deleting text. By knowing the pros and cons of navigating through a document with the keyboard and mouse, you can use both to help you work faster in Word.

File Management

In this lesson, you will learn how to save the documents you create in Word. You will also learn how to rename, copy, and even delete any files you have created, so you will always be in complete control of all the files you create.

Editing Text

After you've typed some text in a Word document, you may need to edit that text. This lesson focuses on editing text. The easiest way to edit text is to delete it, but a more sophisticated way to edit text is to copy text and paste a duplicate of that text in another location.

Working With Multiple Documents

Most people use Word to view and edit a single document at a time, but Word actually lets you open and view two or more documents at the same time. This lesson will teach you how to open, switch between, and view multiple documents.

Text Formatting and Alignment

Once you know how to add, delete, copy, and move text, the next step to modifying your document is to change the physical appearance of your text. You can make text appear in different colors or background highlighting, change text size and alignment, and even modify fonts.

Printing

Most people use Word to print letters and reports. In this lesson, you will learn about the different ways you can print a document, such as portrait orientation or landscape orientation. With Word's ability to print on different types of paper sizes and orientation, you can create more than just typical documents.

Margins, Tabs, and Page Numbering

By knowing how to set and use margins, you can modify an entire document or just a single page. By using tabs, you can modify how individual paragraphs look on a page. Finally, you will also learn how to add page numbers to the top or bottom of a page to keep track of page order.

Paragraph Formatting

Word provides ways to change the appearance of a paragraph's first line, line spacing within a paragraph, and line spacing between paragraphs. In addition, Word lets you create bullet and number lists, so you can display short bits of information in a visual manner.

Language Tools

For important documents, you may even need to collaborate with others. To keep track of all the changes multiple authors may make to a single document, Word offers a Track Changes feature, so you can see exactly what and who changed the document.

Customizing Word

With Word, you can press different types of keystrokes or search and click the symbol you want to use. This lets you add practically any type of unusual character to your documents. Word lets you type practically anything you want, regardless of the limitation of the keys on your keyboard.

Making a Word Document Pretty and Organized

Finally, you can use outlines to organize your text and quickly move chunks of text within a document just by rearranging an outline heading. By learning these advanced features of Word, you can make each document display text in the most appealing way possible.

What you will learn

• Learn the fundamentals of one of the most crucial software applications in the modern workplace
• Acquire the skills and learn the tools you will need to adjust margins, spacing, layout, and design of any Word document
• Learn how to work on multiple projects at once and become faster and more efficient in a variety of Microsoft Word tasks
• Explore the many ways to modify the appearance of your documents in order to suit your individual needs

How you will benefit

• Gain the confidence you need to make the most of this indispensable software application
• Learn how to make the perfect layout for useful documents of any occasion - resumes, invitations, letters, articles, training materials, and much more
• Save time and avoid frustration by familiarizing yourself with the wide variety of tools at your disposal in Word 2016
• Become more proficient and efficient at one of the most widely used software programs in history

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Creative Cloud, or any version of Adobe Creative Suite CC that includes the Adobe Photoshop CC or Photoshop only (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Whether you are a photographer, digital illustrator, graphic designer, or someone who wants to alter old family photos, you need to learn Adobe Photoshop. The Introduction to Photoshop Creative Cloud course is filled with easy-to-follow, detailed step-by-step instructions that teach you how to edit and manipulate images and create basic compositions using Photoshop in the Creative Cloud. Discover how to improve photographs by editing out flaws, correcting poor exposure, or creating a composite image using the newest techniques Photoshop has to offer. You will even learn how much fun you can have digitally painting and exploring filters and effects to create unique images. And, best of all, you need no prior artistic ability or Photoshop experience to take this course.

Getting to Know Adobe Photoshop

Whether you're an aspiring graphic artist or a weekend photographer, Photoshop can play many roles in image creation. Even if you've never touched Photoshop before, you'll become familiar with Photoshop's interface and be able to open, edit, and save files before this lesson ends. You'll also find out how to download images, and you'll learn how to crop an image to its desired image area.

Understanding Resolution and Layers

In this lesson, you'll learn and apply the basics in setting image resolution by resizing and resampling graphics for both screen and print purposes. Then, explore the wonders of working with layers. Move and transform objects within a scene to recreate a new composition. You will learn how to add, delete, hide, merge, and group layers as well as to change the blending mode of a layer to reveal new visual effects.

Working with Objects

What makes a good image composite? Find out in this lesson where you will discover the principles of image compositing and apply these by combining images to create your first image composites. Find out how linked layers work and see what Smart Objects can do. You will learn how to use guides to assist in placing and aligning objects. Then, you will use multiple images to create a realistic still-life image. Learn how to transform objects by scaling, rotating, distorting, and warping them.

Image Adjustments

Do you have an old image that has faded over the years? Are your vacation photos over-exposed or too dark? Use image adjustments to correct contrast and color! In this lesson, you will find out how to correct an image's contrast and make the colors pop using image adjustments. You can even remove color to make a black and white or toned image. Then, apply several image adjustments along with blending modes to create a surreal image! Finish this lesson by exploring the filters gallery to apply various artistic filters to a collage.

Image Retouch and Restoration

Need to clear up a few blemishes on a headshot? Or remove unwanted telephone wires from a landscape? This lesson introduces you to the tools used in photo retouching and restoration. This lesson also covers sharpening an image, blurring areas of an image to create a depth of field, and adding a vignette to an image. You will learn how to easily clear up blemishes in portraits and restore old, damaged photographs. You will also learn how to remove or duplicate objects in a scene.

Colorizing Images

Learn how to combine colors and create color themes using Adobe Color. Sample colors from an existing image to create a new color scheme. Then, apply color to black and white photos using several techniques to color areas. Color a single object in a black and white image to create emphasis, or color the entire image, as if filling in a "digital" coloring book. This lesson also covers how to save and load swatches of color to use on other projects.

Working with Brushes

Adobe Photoshop is one of the leading applications for digital painting. This lesson introduces you to brushes and teaches you to paint using different brush types to simulate real artists' materials, such as charcoal, pastels, oil paint, and watercolor. You do not have to have strong drawing skills to complete this lesson. You will sample color from existing images and use these as templates for your digital painting.

Working with Selections

One of the most basic skills you need in Photoshop is the ability to select areas of an image. Often, you'll want to make adjustments to or fine tune areas of a photograph. The act of editing an image, no matter the desired outcome, is based heavily on your ability to make good pixel selections. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the various selection tools and to use them to create convincing shadows to objects in a composition.

Working with Masks

Masks can hide or reveal parts of a layer. Learn to use masks with images and adjustment layers to advance your image manipulation skills. Learn to use and modify masks to create complex selections around objects with thin strands of hair and clipping masks to add textures to objects.

Working with Vectors

Photoshop is able to create vector shapes and paths, which are used across many Adobe products, so learning these tools can put you ahead of the game when you are learning software such as Adobe Illustrator. This lesson is designed to guide you through the technical tools in a way that is easy to grasp.

Type and Layer Effects

Want to create an invitation or promote an event? This lesson shows you how to apply typography with images to create effective design by utilizing Adobe Fonts, manipulating text using warping, typing on a path, or typing as a mask to place an image within the letterforms. Then, polish the look of your text with layer effects. This lesson will introduce you to a world of limitless type effects.

Preparing Files for Output

Understanding what file formats to use and when can be confusing. This final lesson covers file types and when to use them. Learn how to prepare files for both print and web output. You will also learn how to create a Behance portfolio page to showcase and promote your work!

What you will learn

• Master the fundamentals of Photoshop's interface and tools
• Understand the essentials of digital imaging including file formats, color modes, image size, and resolution.
• Comprehend and apply digital color theory and practice colorization and digital painting
• Identify and apply the methods of photo retouch and restoration
• Use the functionality of Photoshop's layers, selections, and masking features

How you will benefit

• Discover everything you need to confidently use the tools in Photoshop to restore, retouch, and rearrange images
• Develop the skills you need to begin a new hobby or entry-level career using Photoshop
• Learn to effectively retouch photos and develop professional quality images for your home or business
• Harness the power of Photoshop to create stunning images by enhancing photographs and developing works of art

Beverly Richards Schulz

Beverly Richards Schulz is an award-winning photographer and graduate of the New York Institute of Photography. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley and a master's degree in Adult and Continuing Education. For the past 10 years, Schulz has taught at the University of San Francisco. With more than 15 years teaching experience, she has written over 30 digital photography and digital editing courses. She co-authored the book "Photoshop Elements 14—What's New?"

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• When your course starts, you will be directed to access and utilize the free QuickBooks Online practice site to complete the lesson and assignment steps. You do not need to purchase a subscription or additional software to complete this course. However, please note that this course is suitable only for the QuickBooks Online version. The desktop versions of QuickBooks are not compatible with this course and should not be used. If you have the desktop version, you should consider registering for the course specifically designed for your version.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Manage the financial aspects of your small business quickly and efficiently using QuickBooks Online. This course will give you hands-on experience recording income and expenses; entering checks and credit card payments; tracking your payables, inventory, and receivables; and much more.

Getting Started

Your first lesson will introduce the QuickBooks Online interface and the pros and cons of working with your accounting information online. You will learn about the various subscription packages and practice using some of the interactive navigation features within the program.

Accounting Basics

To truly unlock the power of QuickBooks Online, it's helpful to have some basic accounting knowledge under your belt. In this lesson, you'll learn some introductory accounting terminology. In addition, you'll learn the basics of double entry accounting principles as well as the components of the Financial Statement.

The Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts is the heart and soul of QuickBooks. In this lesson, you will learn how to take full advantage of this powerful tool to add, edit, and access accounts that you can use to track the value of your business or monitor your income and expenses.

Centers and Lists

This lesson introduces best practices for using centers and lists in QuickBooks to gather and organize information needed to properly conduct business. You will also learn how to process Form 1099 to give to your vendors at the end of the year.

Bank Accounts

In this lesson, you will learn how to work with bank accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will learn how to create a new bank account, connect it online, and download, match, and add transactions. Then you will learn how to reconcile your checking account with your monthly bank statement to make sure that neither you nor the bank made any errors.

Recording Expenses

Keeping track of the checks and other expense transactions your business incurs is one of the most critical aspects of your daily operations. In this lesson, you will learn how to utilize QuickBooks' built-in features to enter check transactions and bank transfers like a pro.

Paying Bills

Without an organized system for managing all the bills your business receives, they can really start to stack up. When bills pile up, it becomes easy to start missing payment deadlines, which can result in late fees and credit difficulties. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use QuickBooks to make sure you're paying all of your bills right on time—not too early, and not too late.

Credit Cards and Loans

In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively manage Credit Card accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will also learn how to enter a full or partial payment of the credit card balance when it comes time for payment. Finally, you will get the chance to create and enter a new loan balance resulting from the purchase of a long-term asset such as a vehicle or piece of equipment.

Recording Income

You will find this lesson useful if your business ever sells a product or service and collects payment on the sale immediately. Then you will learn how to create multiple Sales Receipts and make the necessary deposit to your bank.

Invoices and Estimates

In order to evaluate just how well your company is performing, you will need to learn how to enter estimates, invoices, and customer payments. You will do just that in this lesson. You will also learn how to group multiple customer payments and record those deposits to the bank.

Billable Expenses and Customer Credits

This lesson focuses on billing customers for an expense incurred on a project or job. You will even see how you can add a markup percentage to the amount you include on the customer invoice. Also, you will examine the steps needed to enter credit memos, delayed credits, and refunds.

Sales Taxes and Reports

In your final lesson, you will learn how to work with the sales tax features in the program to collect and remit taxes you collect from customers. You will also find out how to create, use, and customize a wide variety of useful reports.

What you will learn

• Learn everything you need to know about running QuickBooks in a small to mid-sized business
• Discover how to set up a chart of accounts, reconcile your checking account, and create estimates
• Learn to create and print invoices, receipts and statements
• Understand how to track payables, inventory, and receivables
• Gain the knowledge you need to generate reports

How you will benefit

• Get access to Intuit's Test Drive Sample Company practice site of QuickBooks Online Plus
• Get hands-on experience as you master the tools you will need to successfully use QuickBooks online
• Gain the confidence to take control of the financial accounting for your business

Scott Paxton

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully implement and troubleshoot QuickBooks.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.
• Dual monitors are helpful but are not required.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Student will install the required software in the course.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• Necessary rights (local administrative rights) to install programs on the computer.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

• SQL Server Express
• SQL Server Management Studio

Gain a solid working knowledge of the most powerful and widely used database programming language. This course will provide you the skills to write SQL queries to create tables, retrieve data from single or multiple tables, manipulate data in a database, and gather statistics from data stored in a database.

Introduction to Database Design and SQL

In this introductory lesson, you will examine database terms and concepts. Understanding the purpose of a database is foundational to writing efficient SQL queries that retrieve the right data.

SQL Server

In this lesson, you will install SQL Server Express and the SQL Server Management Studio to use throughout the course in your learn-by-doing practices. You will use SQL code to create one of the tables for the practice database in SQL Server.

Retrieving Data Result-Sets

SQL queries are the statements used to retrieve data from the database. Queries are written in a specific, logical order. In this lesson, you will explore various ways to write SQL queries to retrieve data that meet defined criteria.

Sorting Data

SQL queries are defined and written to retrieve data in a certain order. Queries are also written to limit columns and to filter data rows. In this lesson, you will practice writing queries that meet defined criteria and retrieve the expected result-sets.

Designing SQL Data Tables

This lesson is about designing SQL data tables for a database. You will explore the relationship concept and how it is used in an RDBMS. You will define tables that are structured according to RDBMS standards. You will also create the tables to add to your practice database.

Designing Data Rows

In this lesson, you will add data to your newly defined tables. You will explore several methods of adding data to a table and practice writing and executing these query statements. After adding several individual rows to the tables, you will use a SQL query to populate your tables with enough data rows to use in the learn-by-doing practices in this course.

Getting Data From Two Tables

SQL JOIN statements are used to retrieve data from more than one table. In this lesson, you will practice writing JOIN statements that retrieve data from tables that have a relationship between their PKs and FKs.

Retrieving Data From Multiple Tables

In this lesson, you will continue writing JOIN statements that retrieve data result-sets from more than one table. You will also examine how and when to use SQL subquery statements to retrieve data from multiple tables. You will practice defining and writing JOIN and subquery queries.

Keeping the Database Up to Date

The quality of the data in the database depends on its integrity, including the concepts of data accuracy and consistency. In this lesson, you will explore writing queries to maintain the database so that it is up to date with data that is accurate, consistent, and has integrity.

Aggregate Functions

In this lesson, you will examine the concept of aggregate functions and how they are used in query statements to examine multiple rows. Aggregate functions are a method of retrieving summarized data that is useful for analysis.

SQL Views

SQL views are an important concept in database design and in using databases. In this lesson, you will explore designing and writing queries to create views. You will also explore the reason they are valuable for database security and database access.

Maximize Database Integrity and Performance

Constraints are one way to maximize the integrity of the database and minimize the opportunity for user error. Indexes are used for increasing the performance of a data query. In this lesson, you will explore both these concepts.

What you will learn

• Use SQL to develop a relational database
• Design table and row structures that fulfill your requirements
• Write efficient SQL queries to find and organize data
• Write SQL queries to retrieve data from multiple tables
• Create updates for a secure, high-performance database

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your SQL ability, the standard database query language
• Open the door to opportunities as you list basic SQL programming as a skill on your resume
• Develop a new skill and learn whether or not you would like a career in IT

Mava Wilson

Mava Wilson, Ph.D., is a professor with more than 28 years of teaching experience. While she specializes in Information Systems (IS), she has taught several computer science topics, including basic computer literacy, programming, database design, and SQL. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in computing technology from Nova Southeastern University, as well as a bachelor's in administrative systems from Radford University.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC or Chromebook. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word Online
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the basic skills you need for Windows 11, the new operating system from Microsoft, which offers a more robust, more powerful, and unique computing experience. In this course, you will gain the foundation you need to start using Windows 11.

Welcome to Windows 11

Learning to use your PC well starts with learning to use Windows. In this first lesson, we'll start with the basics that every computer user must know in order to use a computer with minimal frustration. If you've been working in "frustration and aggravation" mode for a while, this lesson will take care of that. We'll start by talking about what Windows 11 is and why you want to learn it. Then, we'll get right into the most important skills and terminology that allow you to control what you see on your screen at all times. And that's important, because the first step to using anything that's in your computer is getting it on the screen where you can see it!

Use the Start Menu and Apps

In this lesson, we'll explore the revised Start Menu and Apps in Windows 11. You'll see how to use and customize the Start Menu, and we'll explore the Windows Store. You'll also see how to use the new widgets feature of Windows 11, which gives you access to quick and easy information, such as weather, traffic, sports, and news.

Personalizing Your Windows Desktop

In today's lesson, you'll have fun personalizing your computer by choosing your own desktop pictures, themes, and sound scheme. Along the way, you'll learn about the important Control Panel window in Windows 11 and tips for using dialog boxes and those occasional mysterious dimmed options that do nothing when you click them. The skills you learn in this lesson will go a long way to helping you gain complete control of your computer.

Working With Text and Files

No matter how you intend to use your computer, there'll be times when there's some typing involved. It might be for writing email messages, memos, or letters, or it might be for taking notes in a course, or for chatting with others in a website. Whatever the reason, today's lesson will teach you all the tricks for making typing (and editing) quick and easy. And you'll also discover how to save your work in files and folders, so it'll always be there when you need it!

Exploring Your System

Everything that's in your computer is stored on its hard drive. The hard drive is like a filing cabinet containing files organized into folders. Finding things you've saved in the past is a matter of opening the filing cabinet, so to speak, and then locating the correct folder. You'll use the File Explorer program to accomplish this. And in this lesson, you'll learn how it all works, so you can start gaining complete mastery of your own files and folders.

Using OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft To Do

In this lesson, you'll explore three Windows 11 features: OneDrive, Teams, and To Do. OneDrive is a cloud storage solution that lets you store files and folders both on your PC as well as the Microsoft cloud. Using OneDrive, you can save your data to Microsoft servers and access that data across multiple devices. Teams is communication software that is built into Windows 11. Using Teams, you can chat with friends, family, and co-workers and even host video and audio calls. Finally, you'll take a look at Microsoft To Do—an app that helps you keep track of to do tasks and lists. All of these features are designed to make your life easier!

Manage and Edit Your Photos

In this lesson, we'll have some fun with photos. Today, you'll learn how to organize your photos and view them using Windows 11's Photos App. You'll also see how to view individual photos, draw and rotate, and auto-enhance your shots. And, you'll learn about the Photos App editing tools for adjusting brightness and contrast, straightening crooked pictures, correcting red eye, and cropping.

Using Edge

The Internet is home to popular websites like Facebook, Amazon, Google, ed2go, and many others. Many of you have seen references to .com sites in ads and elsewhere. If you don't have a lot of computer experience, you might find it difficult to get to the many things you hear about on the web. But not after this lesson! In this lesson, you'll learn how to use Edge, the program that provides access to all of those popular websites.

Managing Files and Folders

Managing files and folders is one of those computer skills that every computer user needs to know. In many work and school environments, people just assume you know how to manage files, and they rarely provide any details on how to accomplish things like copying, moving, or renaming files and folders. Today's lesson will explain how to do those very things that others assume you already know how to do.

More Fun With File Management

In this lesson, you'll expand your file management skills by learning how to delete and recover files. You'll learn how to select multiple files to work with, so you don't always have to manage your files one at a time. And we'll discuss how to copy files to and from removable media like flash drives, CDs, and DVDs.

Protect Your Valuable Files!

Your computer is an investment of money, and the pictures and other files you store on your computer are an investment of time. You might even have some photos or other files that are so precious the thought of losing them causes you anxiety. What you need to do is protect those files. And that's just what this chapter is all about—how to use the tools and techniques that are built right into Windows to help you protect your valuable time and files!

Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

In our final lesson, you'll learn some more techniques for protecting your computer, including using resources for free protection from viruses and spyware. You'll learn how to remove programs you no longer want or need. You'll learn how to copy and paste text and create screenshots. And you'll discover some great timesaving tips and shortcuts, as well as resources for helping yourself so that you don't have to be so dependent on others.

What you will learn

• Find your way around Windows 11 with the desktop, Start menu, and system settings
• Understand how to customize features and personalize your desktop
• Discover how File Explorer can help you manage files and learn to create basic text documents using WordPad
• Comprehend how to protect your files and update Windows 11

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your use of the Windows 11 operating system for personal and business use
• Learn how to use your PC effectively, starting with Windows
• Experience reduced frustration and setbacks by learning to operate your computer properly
• Become a more independent computer user

Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons, B.A., M.Ed, is a best-selling author, trainer, and multi-media expert. He holds degrees in English and communication studies and has more than 10 years of experience teaching English and writing in the classroom. Additionally, Simmons has authored numerous books on a wide variety of technology topics and has been a technical editor for numerous other titles.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Mac, Chromebooks, Surface, and all other tablets are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• When the class starts, you'll receive instructions for downloading and installing a working copy of Keyboarding Pro 5. Please do not purchase or download the software from another source.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Become faster and more confident at the keyboard. This course will help you learn how to touch-type the alphabetic, numeric, and symbol keys; create, save, and edit word processing documents; and successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview.

Getting Started With Key Pro 5

Your first lesson guides you step by step as you download, install, and set up Key Pro 5. You will also get acquainted with the program, learning about the home row keys and the reach to the "i" key on the QWERTY keyboard. Are you confused about what home row and QWERTY mean? Don't worry—this lesson explains all of that.

Lowercase Letters, Plus the Reaches to the "e" and the "n"

Now that you're getting comfortable with the home row on the QWERTY keyboard, it's time to introduce you to some new keys. This lesson will focus on lowercase letters. You will also use Key Pro 5 to practice the reaches to the e and the n. Is all this typing causing you aches and pains? You will find out how to reduce fatigue while typing.

The Left Shift, h, t, and Period Reaches

In this lesson, you will learn four new keystrokes: left SHIFT, h, t, and period (.). You will also provide some tips on improving speed and accuracy and introduce you to the Key Pro 5 word processor program.

Learn the r, Right SHIFT, c, and o Reaches

Continue to build your keyboarding vocabulary by learning four new key reaches in this lesson: r, right SHIFT, c, and o. You will also learn about "the Zen of typing", which is how touch-typing becomes an instinctive and unconscious action.

The w, Comma, b, and p Reaches

Your typing vocabulary continues to expand rapidly with the addition of the reaches to the w, comma, b, and p. Before you know it, you will be typing complete paragraphs. This lesson also covers what you need to know about carpal tunnel syndrome, a serious and painful condition that you can avoid.

The g, Question Mark, x, and u Reaches

Expand your typing vocabulary by mastering four more key reaches: the g, question mark (?), x, and u. Just a few more reaches, and you will know how to type the whole alphabet. In this lesson, you will also learn about the function (FN) key and the numbers lock (NUM LOCK) key, which are on most laptop keyboards.

The q, m, v, and Apostrophe Reaches

This lesson teaches you another four reaches for your typing vocabulary: q, m, v, and apostrophe ('). You will also learn how to save a document with a word processing program.

The z, y, Quotation Mark, and Tab Reaches

It's time to add another four reaches to your typing vocabulary: the z, y, quotation mark ("), and tab keys. After this lesson, you will know the reaches to all the alphabetic keys. You will also find out how to open, edit, and resave word processing documents.

Alphabetic Key Review, the 1 and 8 Number Reaches, and Timed Writings

Are you ready to improve your skills and learn some new ones? After you review the z, y, x, q, v, quotation mark, and CAPS LOCK keys, you will learn the reaches to the numbers 1 and 8. Then you will take timed writings in the Key Pro 5 word processor.

Number Reaches, Deleting Text, and Alphabetic Key Review

What's the difference between the DELETE key, the BACKSPACE key, and the Cut command? By the end of this lesson, you will understand how and when to use these three editing tools. You will also continue to improve your skills with the alphabetic keys, plus you will learn more number reaches: 5, 0, 2, and 7.

Number and Symbol Reaches, Number Rules, and Key Review

When should you spell out numbers (like this: one, nine, five hundred), and when should you write them as figures (1, 9, 500)? You will also continue to improve your skills with the keys you have already learned, and you will finish the number reaches by mastering 4, 9, 3, and 6. Then you will learn two symbol reaches: the dollar sign ($) and the hyphen (-).

Symbol Reaches and Skill Building

You have already mastered some of the symbols and punctuation marks. In your last lesson together, you will meet the rest of the symbols. You will also work on your accuracy and speed with the Key Pro 5 Skill Building lessons. And you will find out how you can continue to hone your keyboarding skills long after you have finished this course.

What you will learn

• Learn how to create, edit, and save word processing documents
• Improve your typing speed and accuracy
• Learn posture tips to minimize fatigue and help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome

How you will benefit

• Successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview
• Become more confident in your ability to type quickly and accurately

Kathy Van Pelt

Kathy Van Pelt has taught computer courses at a community college for the past 25 years. She specializes in Microsoft Office applications, Google Drive and Google Applications, the Windows and Mac operating systems, and keyboarding. She spent seven years teaching word processing and business classes at a private business college and loves being in the ever-evolving educational field.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Note that the "Starter Version" and "Web App" versions of Microsoft Excel will not work with the full version of Excel taught in this course.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Harness the power of Excel and become a master user of this powerful program. This hands-on course will provide skills using charts, graphs, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, AutoFilter, macros, and other advanced Microsoft Excel 2016 functions.

Excel Charts and Graphs

In your first lesson, you will discover why Excel 2016 is such a powerful charting tool. To you, a workbook's numbers might tell an interesting story; to others, that story may not be obvious. You will learn how to choose the right chart for your story and then how to create, format, and edit your chart.

More Excel Charts

This lesson continues exploring Excel's charting options—this time looking at the lesser-known options that are available to you. Even though they may not be well-known, these options can add tremendous value to your worksheets in the right situations.

AutoFilter and Sorting

Working with data in Excel can be quite easy when you know about the tools that are available in a table format. One of these great tools is the Auto Filter command. This lesson will teach you how to use Auto Filter to limit your table information to just the records you want.

Goal Seeking

Learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on the criteria and constraints that you provide it. You'll also explore in detail how to create all three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each and gain the skills to create dashboard-like mini charts sure to make you the envy of your office.

PivotTables

Find out how to use macros to turn boring, repetitive, time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. Then, receive a quick overview of all the categories of functions and the different methods you can use to create them.

Advanced PivotTables

Just like charting, Excel's PivotTables are too big a topic to fit into one lesson. This lesson takes a tour through some of Excel's more advanced techniques, like the PivotTable filtering tool Slicer. You will also learn how a PivotTable can serve as your source for the PivotChart.

Solver

Have you ever worked with a financial model in Excel and wondered how you could speculate different outcomes by changing different input amounts? The Excel Solver can do just that. In this lesson, you will learn how to use Solver to solve a complex problem based on criteria and constraints.

Sparklines

There's nothing more exciting than learning how to master a new feature in Excel. This lesson focuses on creating three types of Sparklines, as well as formatting options for each. By the end of the lesson, you will have the skills to create dashboard-style mini charts.

Macros

In this lesson, you will find out how to use macros to turn repetitive and often time-consuming tasks into automated Excel functions. You will also learn how to record a macro that performs a task in seconds with the click of a button.

Introduction to Functions

If you have used Excel for a while, you know there are hundreds of functions at your disposal. The last three lessons of this course will cover how and why you would use these functions. This lesson introduces creating various functions with the Text category.

Math/Trig Functions

Next to learning how to create macros, most students want to learn as much as they can about Excel functions. This lesson covers on more complex functions of the "Math & Trig" category, focusing on the SUMIF and COUNTIF functions in particular.

VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH Functions

Since functions are such an integral part of using Excel, your final lesson will cover advanced features. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the VLOOKUP, INDEX, and MATCH functions.

What you will learn

• Master charting, PivotTables, Slicers, Sparklines, and other advanced features of Microsoft Excel 2016
• Learn to create useful and eye-catching charts
• Discover how to manipulate data with the push of a button
• Add the time-saving functions of advanced Excel users to your repertoire

How you will benefit

• Take your Excel 2016 skills to an expert level and become a more productive member of your organization
• Gain indispensable skills that will be useful in any organization that relies on numbers-based reporting
• Learn to fully harness the power of Microsoft Excel 2016 and use all of its capabilities to save time and money

Chad Wambolt

Chad Wambolt has spent his entire professional career in the finance field, working for both private and publicly-held companies with sales ranging from $500 million to $3 billion. He is a graduate of Boise State University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting. Through the course of his career, Wambolt became an expert user of Microsoft Excel. Since 1997, he has taught Excel to students of varying skill levels and helped organizations streamline internal processes.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the advanced features of Microsoft Word 2016 and create truly professional looking documents. This hands-on course will help you learn how to create an index, build a list of figures, design a table of contents, do desktop publishing, perform a mail merge, and use timesaving shortcuts.

Shortcuts and Time-Savers in Word 2016

Humanity has come a long way since the days of the typewriter. What used to take hours can now be done in seconds with Microsoft Word 2016. And the less time you spend typing, the more time you can spend being creative and having fun. In this lesson, you'll learn shortcuts in Word that can help you create documents faster and more accurately than ever before. Not only will these shortcuts save you time, but they'll help you create letters and reports more easily than you might have thought possible.

Text and Paragraph Formatting Methods

What you write is half of communication. The other half is getting people to read what you write. One way to make your writing more appealing is to make it look presentable with formatting. Of course, formatting text is easy, but applying different types of formatting over and over again can get tedious. That's why, in this lesson, you'll learn a fast and easy way to format chunks of text quickly and consistently using something called styles. You'll find out what a style is, how to apply it, and more important, how to create and save your own styles to use in any document. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to make any document look presentable with just the click of your mouse.

Templates

If you've ever baked cookies, or even just watched someone else do it, you know how difficult it can be to make all the cookies in a batch look exactly alike. Some turn out big, some small, some gooey, and some burned! However, if you use a cookie cutter, you can make identically shaped cookies every time. That's the same principle you'll learn in this lesson; instead of using a cookie cutter, though, you'll use something called a template. A template stores the formatting of a document so that you can apply it to another document. Templates let you format entire documents as easily as formatting a single word. Word offers lots of convenient templates stored right on your computer or available over the Internet, and you'll also find out how you can create your own.

Graphics: Part 1

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to spice up your documents than by adding pictures? In this lesson, you'll learn how to add your own digital photographs to a document so that you can show everyone your vacation pictures, family holidays, or just interesting sights you've captured with your own camera. In addition to adding your own photos, you can also add clip art from Word's massive library of free graphics. And you'll find out how to resize, rotate, and style your pictures, as well as wrap your document text around them. By the end of this lesson, you'll see why Word documents are about much more than words!

Graphics: Part 2, and Columns

Digital photographs and clip art are just the beginning of what you can do with graphics in Word. In this lesson, you'll discover how to add a variety of informational graphics, including charts, graphs, and WordArt, which allow you to display text as a graphic image. Not only will you learn how to add these graphics, but you'll also find out how to edit them when your data changes. You'll finish off the lesson by seeing how Word allows you to format documents with multiple columns—a handy skill for creating newsletters and publications!

Sections and Notes

Do you often create long documents? If so, you'll appreciate this lesson, which shows you how to divide a large document into parts called sections. Sections allow you to format part of a document a certain way without that formatting affecting the rest of your text. For example, you may want headers and footers to appear on some pages but not others. Sections make this easy! You'll also spend some time inserting footnotes and endnotes in a document. If you need to write research papers or other academic content, Word makes it a snap to add and format these previously pesky notes!

Tables

If you've ever seen a spreadsheet, you know how rows and columns let you organize numbers and text on the screen. Well, tables do the same thing in Word. In this lesson, you'll see how to create tables of all different sizes right in a Word document! The lesson will cover how to modify tables, too. And don't think Excel users get to have all the fun—you can even enter formulas to perform calculations in your tables, sort them, and style them for a customized look. Your data has never looked so appealing!

Envelopes and Odd-Size Pages

You probably print most of your documents on standard letter-size paper. While this is great for ordinary letters or business reports, sometimes you may want to get creative with your paper sizes. But then there's the trouble of printing. In this lesson, you'll see how you can define the dimensions of the paper you're using, so Word will print everything correctly. You'll also learn how to print names and addresses directly on envelopes of any size. After this lesson, you won't feel confined to boring 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper anymore!

Desktop Publishing: Part 1

As you've probably already figured out, Word can do more than write letters. It also functions as a simple desktop publishing program for creating greeting cards, calendars, or newsletters. In this lesson, you'll find out how text boxes are the key to simple desktop publishing and see how other elements come into play in customized documents. Along the way, you'll look at business cards and greeting cards to get a feel for how desktop publishing works. If you've always wanted to create a document that combines text and graphics in an artistic or visually appealing way, you'll find out how to do that and much more.

Desktop Publishing: Part 2

With the basics down, it's time to take your desktop publishing skills to the next level. In this lesson, you'll discover the magic of linked text boxes that give you the power to move your text anywhere you want on the page and keep it flowing. You'll see how to create, position, resize, and group text boxes so you have total control over your text.

Merging Data with Documents

Have you ever received one of those "personalized" letters from a company in the mail? You can be sure that nobody typed the entire sales letter from scratch. Instead, the company used a form letter and something called mail merging. In this lesson, you'll learn how to store long lists of names and addresses that you can use over and over again in a form letter. Just create a document once, leave blanks for inserting information such as names and addresses, and let Word personalize each letter for you. Now you, too, can create personalized letters for business or personal use, such as sending out holiday greetings to family members and friends.

Final Touches

Look in most books, and you'll find the table of contents at the beginning and an index in the back. Often, these are the last components added to a document, since they need to have accurate titles and page numbers. But Word takes a lot of the tedious work out of creating these components. In this final lesson, you'll see how you can use Styles to make creating the table of contents a snap, and then explore how to tag index terms so Word knows what page they're on, even if they move later. Word can also help you keep track of any figures, such as charts, illustrations, or graphs, in your document. By letting Word worry about the details, you can create an accurate table of contents, index, or list of figures with very little extra effort on your part. These finishing touches will make your most important documents shine!

What you will learn

• Learn how shortcut keys, macros, and the AutoCorrect feature can save you time
• Discover fast ways to format text in a document
• Find out how to insert graphic images, including clip art and photos, into your documents
• Add charts, SmartArt, and WordArt to a document, and divide any document into columns
• Practice dividing a long document into sections and using footnotes and endnotes
• Get acquainted with some of Word's desktop publishing features, such as using text boxes, layering, and aligning objects
• Learn how to link text boxes, and position them in a document to create brochures and newsletters
• Use mail merging to quickly and easily personalize form documents

How you will benefit

• Master the more advanced features of Microsoft Word
• Learn how to use Word more effectively and take advantage of all its many features so you can get your work done more quickly and more easily

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. It is not suitable for Macs.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• Microsoft Word 2016 (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Microsoft Word is used in nearly every modern workplace. In this course, you will master all the basics of this powerful word-processing program, including how to type and edit text, and how to format, spell check, and print documents. You will also learn dozens of different ways to modify the appearance and content of your documents and how to catch errors with Word's spell and grammar checker. After completing the course, you will be able to use Word confidently at home or on the job.

Getting Started

In this introductory lesson, you will learn how to use the different parts of Word 2016's user interface, how to look at your document from different types of views, how to zoom in and out to magnify or shrink your text, and how to change the margins of individual paragraphs.

Typing and Navigation

The whole purpose of Word is to let you create and edit text. This lesson introduces the basics of moving the insertion point and deleting text. By knowing the pros and cons of navigating through a document with the keyboard and mouse, you can use both to help you work faster in Word.

File Management

In this lesson, you will learn how to save the documents you create in Word. You will also learn how to rename, copy, and even delete any files you have created, so you will always be in complete control of all the files you create.

Editing Text

After you've typed some text in a Word document, you may need to edit that text. This lesson focuses on editing text. The easiest way to edit text is to delete it, but a more sophisticated way to edit text is to copy text and paste a duplicate of that text in another location.

Working With Multiple Documents

Most people use Word to view and edit a single document at a time, but Word actually lets you open and view two or more documents at the same time. This lesson will teach you how to open, switch between, and view multiple documents.

Text Formatting and Alignment

Once you know how to add, delete, copy, and move text, the next step to modifying your document is to change the physical appearance of your text. You can make text appear in different colors or background highlighting, change text size and alignment, and even modify fonts.

Printing

Most people use Word to print letters and reports. In this lesson, you will learn about the different ways you can print a document, such as portrait orientation or landscape orientation. With Word's ability to print on different types of paper sizes and orientation, you can create more than just typical documents.

Margins, Tabs, and Page Numbering

By knowing how to set and use margins, you can modify an entire document or just a single page. By using tabs, you can modify how individual paragraphs look on a page. Finally, you will also learn how to add page numbers to the top or bottom of a page to keep track of page order.

Paragraph Formatting

Word provides ways to change the appearance of a paragraph's first line, line spacing within a paragraph, and line spacing between paragraphs. In addition, Word lets you create bullet and number lists, so you can display short bits of information in a visual manner.

Language Tools

For important documents, you may even need to collaborate with others. To keep track of all the changes multiple authors may make to a single document, Word offers a Track Changes feature, so you can see exactly what and who changed the document.

Customizing Word

With Word, you can press different types of keystrokes or search and click the symbol you want to use. This lets you add practically any type of unusual character to your documents. Word lets you type practically anything you want, regardless of the limitation of the keys on your keyboard.

Making a Word Document Pretty and Organized

Finally, you can use outlines to organize your text and quickly move chunks of text within a document just by rearranging an outline heading. By learning these advanced features of Word, you can make each document display text in the most appealing way possible.

What you will learn

• Learn the fundamentals of one of the most crucial software applications in the modern workplace
• Acquire the skills and learn the tools you will need to adjust margins, spacing, layout, and design of any Word document
• Learn how to work on multiple projects at once and become faster and more efficient in a variety of Microsoft Word tasks
• Explore the many ways to modify the appearance of your documents in order to suit your individual needs

How you will benefit

• Gain the confidence you need to make the most of this indispensable software application
• Learn how to make the perfect layout for useful documents of any occasion - resumes, invitations, letters, articles, training materials, and much more
• Save time and avoid frustration by familiarizing yourself with the wide variety of tools at your disposal in Word 2016
• Become more proficient and efficient at one of the most widely used software programs in history

Wallace Wang

Wallace Wang is the author of over 40 computer books including "Microsoft Office 2019 For Dummies." In addition to writing computer books, he has also co-authored "Breaking Into Acting for Dummies" and ghost written several books about investing in real estate, day trading stocks, and becoming an entrepreneur. Some of his past jobs have included teaching computer science courses at the University of Zimbabwe, performing stand-up comedy, and appearing on a weekly radio show.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Creative Cloud, or any version of Adobe Creative Suite CC that includes the Adobe Photoshop CC or Photoshop only (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Whether you are a photographer, digital illustrator, graphic designer, or someone who wants to alter old family photos, you need to learn Adobe Photoshop. The Introduction to Photoshop Creative Cloud course is filled with easy-to-follow, detailed step-by-step instructions that teach you how to edit and manipulate images and create basic compositions using Photoshop in the Creative Cloud. Discover how to improve photographs by editing out flaws, correcting poor exposure, or creating a composite image using the newest techniques Photoshop has to offer. You will even learn how much fun you can have digitally painting and exploring filters and effects to create unique images. And, best of all, you need no prior artistic ability or Photoshop experience to take this course.

Getting to Know Adobe Photoshop

Whether you're an aspiring graphic artist or a weekend photographer, Photoshop can play many roles in image creation. Even if you've never touched Photoshop before, you'll become familiar with Photoshop's interface and be able to open, edit, and save files before this lesson ends. You'll also find out how to download images, and you'll learn how to crop an image to its desired image area.

Understanding Resolution and Layers

In this lesson, you'll learn and apply the basics in setting image resolution by resizing and resampling graphics for both screen and print purposes. Then, explore the wonders of working with layers. Move and transform objects within a scene to recreate a new composition. You will learn how to add, delete, hide, merge, and group layers as well as to change the blending mode of a layer to reveal new visual effects.

Working with Objects

What makes a good image composite? Find out in this lesson where you will discover the principles of image compositing and apply these by combining images to create your first image composites. Find out how linked layers work and see what Smart Objects can do. You will learn how to use guides to assist in placing and aligning objects. Then, you will use multiple images to create a realistic still-life image. Learn how to transform objects by scaling, rotating, distorting, and warping them.

Image Adjustments

Do you have an old image that has faded over the years? Are your vacation photos over-exposed or too dark? Use image adjustments to correct contrast and color! In this lesson, you will find out how to correct an image's contrast and make the colors pop using image adjustments. You can even remove color to make a black and white or toned image. Then, apply several image adjustments along with blending modes to create a surreal image! Finish this lesson by exploring the filters gallery to apply various artistic filters to a collage.

Image Retouch and Restoration

Need to clear up a few blemishes on a headshot? Or remove unwanted telephone wires from a landscape? This lesson introduces you to the tools used in photo retouching and restoration. This lesson also covers sharpening an image, blurring areas of an image to create a depth of field, and adding a vignette to an image. You will learn how to easily clear up blemishes in portraits and restore old, damaged photographs. You will also learn how to remove or duplicate objects in a scene.

Colorizing Images

Learn how to combine colors and create color themes using Adobe Color. Sample colors from an existing image to create a new color scheme. Then, apply color to black and white photos using several techniques to color areas. Color a single object in a black and white image to create emphasis, or color the entire image, as if filling in a "digital" coloring book. This lesson also covers how to save and load swatches of color to use on other projects.

Working with Brushes

Adobe Photoshop is one of the leading applications for digital painting. This lesson introduces you to brushes and teaches you to paint using different brush types to simulate real artists' materials, such as charcoal, pastels, oil paint, and watercolor. You do not have to have strong drawing skills to complete this lesson. You will sample color from existing images and use these as templates for your digital painting.

Working with Selections

One of the most basic skills you need in Photoshop is the ability to select areas of an image. Often, you'll want to make adjustments to or fine tune areas of a photograph. The act of editing an image, no matter the desired outcome, is based heavily on your ability to make good pixel selections. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the various selection tools and to use them to create convincing shadows to objects in a composition.

Working with Masks

Masks can hide or reveal parts of a layer. Learn to use masks with images and adjustment layers to advance your image manipulation skills. Learn to use and modify masks to create complex selections around objects with thin strands of hair and clipping masks to add textures to objects.

Working with Vectors

Photoshop is able to create vector shapes and paths, which are used across many Adobe products, so learning these tools can put you ahead of the game when you are learning software such as Adobe Illustrator. This lesson is designed to guide you through the technical tools in a way that is easy to grasp.

Type and Layer Effects

Want to create an invitation or promote an event? This lesson shows you how to apply typography with images to create effective design by utilizing Adobe Fonts, manipulating text using warping, typing on a path, or typing as a mask to place an image within the letterforms. Then, polish the look of your text with layer effects. This lesson will introduce you to a world of limitless type effects.

Preparing Files for Output

Understanding what file formats to use and when can be confusing. This final lesson covers file types and when to use them. Learn how to prepare files for both print and web output. You will also learn how to create a Behance portfolio page to showcase and promote your work!

What you will learn

• Master the fundamentals of Photoshop's interface and tools
• Understand the essentials of digital imaging including file formats, color modes, image size, and resolution.
• Comprehend and apply digital color theory and practice colorization and digital painting
• Identify and apply the methods of photo retouch and restoration
• Use the functionality of Photoshop's layers, selections, and masking features

How you will benefit

• Discover everything you need to confidently use the tools in Photoshop to restore, retouch, and rearrange images
• Develop the skills you need to begin a new hobby or entry-level career using Photoshop
• Learn to effectively retouch photos and develop professional quality images for your home or business
• Harness the power of Photoshop to create stunning images by enhancing photographs and developing works of art

Beverly Richards Schulz

Beverly Richards Schulz is an award-winning photographer and graduate of the New York Institute of Photography. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley and a master's degree in Adult and Continuing Education. For the past 10 years, Schulz has taught at the University of San Francisco. With more than 15 years teaching experience, she has written over 30 digital photography and digital editing courses. She co-authored the book "Photoshop Elements 14—What's New?"

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• When your course starts, you will be directed to access and utilize the free QuickBooks Online practice site to complete the lesson and assignment steps. You do not need to purchase a subscription or additional software to complete this course. However, please note that this course is suitable only for the QuickBooks Online version. The desktop versions of QuickBooks are not compatible with this course and should not be used. If you have the desktop version, you should consider registering for the course specifically designed for your version.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Manage the financial aspects of your small business quickly and efficiently using QuickBooks Online. This course will give you hands-on experience recording income and expenses; entering checks and credit card payments; tracking your payables, inventory, and receivables; and much more.

Getting Started

Your first lesson will introduce the QuickBooks Online interface and the pros and cons of working with your accounting information online. You will learn about the various subscription packages and practice using some of the interactive navigation features within the program.

Accounting Basics

To truly unlock the power of QuickBooks Online, it's helpful to have some basic accounting knowledge under your belt. In this lesson, you'll learn some introductory accounting terminology. In addition, you'll learn the basics of double entry accounting principles as well as the components of the Financial Statement.

The Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts is the heart and soul of QuickBooks. In this lesson, you will learn how to take full advantage of this powerful tool to add, edit, and access accounts that you can use to track the value of your business or monitor your income and expenses.

Centers and Lists

This lesson introduces best practices for using centers and lists in QuickBooks to gather and organize information needed to properly conduct business. You will also learn how to process Form 1099 to give to your vendors at the end of the year.

Bank Accounts

In this lesson, you will learn how to work with bank accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will learn how to create a new bank account, connect it online, and download, match, and add transactions. Then you will learn how to reconcile your checking account with your monthly bank statement to make sure that neither you nor the bank made any errors.

Recording Expenses

Keeping track of the checks and other expense transactions your business incurs is one of the most critical aspects of your daily operations. In this lesson, you will learn how to utilize QuickBooks' built-in features to enter check transactions and bank transfers like a pro.

Paying Bills

Without an organized system for managing all the bills your business receives, they can really start to stack up. When bills pile up, it becomes easy to start missing payment deadlines, which can result in late fees and credit difficulties. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use QuickBooks to make sure you're paying all of your bills right on time—not too early, and not too late.

Credit Cards and Loans

In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively manage Credit Card accounts in QuickBooks Online. You will also learn how to enter a full or partial payment of the credit card balance when it comes time for payment. Finally, you will get the chance to create and enter a new loan balance resulting from the purchase of a long-term asset such as a vehicle or piece of equipment.

Recording Income

You will find this lesson useful if your business ever sells a product or service and collects payment on the sale immediately. Then you will learn how to create multiple Sales Receipts and make the necessary deposit to your bank.

Invoices and Estimates

In order to evaluate just how well your company is performing, you will need to learn how to enter estimates, invoices, and customer payments. You will do just that in this lesson. You will also learn how to group multiple customer payments and record those deposits to the bank.

Billable Expenses and Customer Credits

This lesson focuses on billing customers for an expense incurred on a project or job. You will even see how you can add a markup percentage to the amount you include on the customer invoice. Also, you will examine the steps needed to enter credit memos, delayed credits, and refunds.

Sales Taxes and Reports

In your final lesson, you will learn how to work with the sales tax features in the program to collect and remit taxes you collect from customers. You will also find out how to create, use, and customize a wide variety of useful reports.

What you will learn

• Learn everything you need to know about running QuickBooks in a small to mid-sized business
• Discover how to set up a chart of accounts, reconcile your checking account, and create estimates
• Learn to create and print invoices, receipts and statements
• Understand how to track payables, inventory, and receivables
• Gain the knowledge you need to generate reports

How you will benefit

• Get access to Intuit's Test Drive Sample Company practice site of QuickBooks Online Plus
• Get hands-on experience as you master the tools you will need to successfully use QuickBooks online
• Gain the confidence to take control of the financial accounting for your business

Scott Paxton

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully implement and troubleshoot QuickBooks.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Macs are not compatible.
• Dual monitors are helpful but are not required.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Student will install the required software in the course.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• Necessary rights (local administrative rights) to install programs on the computer.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

• SQL Server Express
• SQL Server Management Studio

Gain a solid working knowledge of the most powerful and widely used database programming language. This course will provide you the skills to write SQL queries to create tables, retrieve data from single or multiple tables, manipulate data in a database, and gather statistics from data stored in a database.

Introduction to Database Design and SQL

In this introductory lesson, you will examine database terms and concepts. Understanding the purpose of a database is foundational to writing efficient SQL queries that retrieve the right data.

SQL Server

In this lesson, you will install SQL Server Express and the SQL Server Management Studio to use throughout the course in your learn-by-doing practices. You will use SQL code to create one of the tables for the practice database in SQL Server.

Retrieving Data Result-Sets

SQL queries are the statements used to retrieve data from the database. Queries are written in a specific, logical order. In this lesson, you will explore various ways to write SQL queries to retrieve data that meet defined criteria.

Sorting Data

SQL queries are defined and written to retrieve data in a certain order. Queries are also written to limit columns and to filter data rows. In this lesson, you will practice writing queries that meet defined criteria and retrieve the expected result-sets.

Designing SQL Data Tables

This lesson is about designing SQL data tables for a database. You will explore the relationship concept and how it is used in an RDBMS. You will define tables that are structured according to RDBMS standards. You will also create the tables to add to your practice database.

Designing Data Rows

In this lesson, you will add data to your newly defined tables. You will explore several methods of adding data to a table and practice writing and executing these query statements. After adding several individual rows to the tables, you will use a SQL query to populate your tables with enough data rows to use in the learn-by-doing practices in this course.

Getting Data From Two Tables

SQL JOIN statements are used to retrieve data from more than one table. In this lesson, you will practice writing JOIN statements that retrieve data from tables that have a relationship between their PKs and FKs.

Retrieving Data From Multiple Tables

In this lesson, you will continue writing JOIN statements that retrieve data result-sets from more than one table. You will also examine how and when to use SQL subquery statements to retrieve data from multiple tables. You will practice defining and writing JOIN and subquery queries.

Keeping the Database Up to Date

The quality of the data in the database depends on its integrity, including the concepts of data accuracy and consistency. In this lesson, you will explore writing queries to maintain the database so that it is up to date with data that is accurate, consistent, and has integrity.

Aggregate Functions

In this lesson, you will examine the concept of aggregate functions and how they are used in query statements to examine multiple rows. Aggregate functions are a method of retrieving summarized data that is useful for analysis.

SQL Views

SQL views are an important concept in database design and in using databases. In this lesson, you will explore designing and writing queries to create views. You will also explore the reason they are valuable for database security and database access.

Maximize Database Integrity and Performance

Constraints are one way to maximize the integrity of the database and minimize the opportunity for user error. Indexes are used for increasing the performance of a data query. In this lesson, you will explore both these concepts.

What you will learn

• Use SQL to develop a relational database
• Design table and row structures that fulfill your requirements
• Write efficient SQL queries to find and organize data
• Write SQL queries to retrieve data from multiple tables
• Create updates for a secure, high-performance database

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your SQL ability, the standard database query language
• Open the door to opportunities as you list basic SQL programming as a skill on your resume
• Develop a new skill and learn whether or not you would like a career in IT

Mava Wilson

Mava Wilson, Ph.D., is a professor with more than 28 years of teaching experience. While she specializes in Information Systems (IS), she has taught several computer science topics, including basic computer literacy, programming, database design, and SQL. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in computing technology from Nova Southeastern University, as well as a bachelor's in administrative systems from Radford University.

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC or Chromebook. Macs are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 11 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word Online
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Master the basic skills you need for Windows 11, the new operating system from Microsoft, which offers a more robust, more powerful, and unique computing experience. In this course, you will gain the foundation you need to start using Windows 11.

Welcome to Windows 11

Learning to use your PC well starts with learning to use Windows. In this first lesson, we'll start with the basics that every computer user must know in order to use a computer with minimal frustration. If you've been working in "frustration and aggravation" mode for a while, this lesson will take care of that. We'll start by talking about what Windows 11 is and why you want to learn it. Then, we'll get right into the most important skills and terminology that allow you to control what you see on your screen at all times. And that's important, because the first step to using anything that's in your computer is getting it on the screen where you can see it!

Use the Start Menu and Apps

In this lesson, we'll explore the revised Start Menu and Apps in Windows 11. You'll see how to use and customize the Start Menu, and we'll explore the Windows Store. You'll also see how to use the new widgets feature of Windows 11, which gives you access to quick and easy information, such as weather, traffic, sports, and news.

Personalizing Your Windows Desktop

In today's lesson, you'll have fun personalizing your computer by choosing your own desktop pictures, themes, and sound scheme. Along the way, you'll learn about the important Control Panel window in Windows 11 and tips for using dialog boxes and those occasional mysterious dimmed options that do nothing when you click them. The skills you learn in this lesson will go a long way to helping you gain complete control of your computer.

Working With Text and Files

No matter how you intend to use your computer, there'll be times when there's some typing involved. It might be for writing email messages, memos, or letters, or it might be for taking notes in a course, or for chatting with others in a website. Whatever the reason, today's lesson will teach you all the tricks for making typing (and editing) quick and easy. And you'll also discover how to save your work in files and folders, so it'll always be there when you need it!

Exploring Your System

Everything that's in your computer is stored on its hard drive. The hard drive is like a filing cabinet containing files organized into folders. Finding things you've saved in the past is a matter of opening the filing cabinet, so to speak, and then locating the correct folder. You'll use the File Explorer program to accomplish this. And in this lesson, you'll learn how it all works, so you can start gaining complete mastery of your own files and folders.

Using OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft To Do

In this lesson, you'll explore three Windows 11 features: OneDrive, Teams, and To Do. OneDrive is a cloud storage solution that lets you store files and folders both on your PC as well as the Microsoft cloud. Using OneDrive, you can save your data to Microsoft servers and access that data across multiple devices. Teams is communication software that is built into Windows 11. Using Teams, you can chat with friends, family, and co-workers and even host video and audio calls. Finally, you'll take a look at Microsoft To Do—an app that helps you keep track of to do tasks and lists. All of these features are designed to make your life easier!

Manage and Edit Your Photos

In this lesson, we'll have some fun with photos. Today, you'll learn how to organize your photos and view them using Windows 11's Photos App. You'll also see how to view individual photos, draw and rotate, and auto-enhance your shots. And, you'll learn about the Photos App editing tools for adjusting brightness and contrast, straightening crooked pictures, correcting red eye, and cropping.

Using Edge

The Internet is home to popular websites like Facebook, Amazon, Google, ed2go, and many others. Many of you have seen references to .com sites in ads and elsewhere. If you don't have a lot of computer experience, you might find it difficult to get to the many things you hear about on the web. But not after this lesson! In this lesson, you'll learn how to use Edge, the program that provides access to all of those popular websites.

Managing Files and Folders

Managing files and folders is one of those computer skills that every computer user needs to know. In many work and school environments, people just assume you know how to manage files, and they rarely provide any details on how to accomplish things like copying, moving, or renaming files and folders. Today's lesson will explain how to do those very things that others assume you already know how to do.

More Fun With File Management

In this lesson, you'll expand your file management skills by learning how to delete and recover files. You'll learn how to select multiple files to work with, so you don't always have to manage your files one at a time. And we'll discuss how to copy files to and from removable media like flash drives, CDs, and DVDs.

Protect Your Valuable Files!

Your computer is an investment of money, and the pictures and other files you store on your computer are an investment of time. You might even have some photos or other files that are so precious the thought of losing them causes you anxiety. What you need to do is protect those files. And that's just what this chapter is all about—how to use the tools and techniques that are built right into Windows to help you protect your valuable time and files!

Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

In our final lesson, you'll learn some more techniques for protecting your computer, including using resources for free protection from viruses and spyware. You'll learn how to remove programs you no longer want or need. You'll learn how to copy and paste text and create screenshots. And you'll discover some great timesaving tips and shortcuts, as well as resources for helping yourself so that you don't have to be so dependent on others.

What you will learn

• Find your way around Windows 11 with the desktop, Start menu, and system settings
• Understand how to customize features and personalize your desktop
• Discover how File Explorer can help you manage files and learn to create basic text documents using WordPad
• Comprehend how to protect your files and update Windows 11

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your use of the Windows 11 operating system for personal and business use
• Learn how to use your PC effectively, starting with Windows
• Experience reduced frustration and setbacks by learning to operate your computer properly
• Become a more independent computer user

Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons, B.A., M.Ed, is a best-selling author, trainer, and multi-media expert. He holds degrees in English and communication studies and has more than 10 years of experience teaching English and writing in the classroom. Additionally, Simmons has authored numerous books on a wide variety of technology topics and has been a technical editor for numerous other titles.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course must be taken on a PC. Mac, Chromebooks, Surface, and all other tablets are not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible.
• When the class starts, you'll receive instructions for downloading and installing a working copy of Keyboarding Pro 5. Please do not purchase or download the software from another source.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Become faster and more confident at the keyboard. This course will help you learn how to touch-type the alphabetic, numeric, and symbol keys; create, save, and edit word processing documents; and successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview.

Getting Started With Key Pro 5

Your first lesson guides you step by step as you download, install, and set up Key Pro 5. You will also get acquainted with the program, learning about the home row keys and the reach to the "i" key on the QWERTY keyboard. Are you confused about what home row and QWERTY mean? Don't worry—this lesson explains all of that.

Lowercase Letters, Plus the Reaches to the "e" and the "n"

Now that you're getting comfortable with the home row on the QWERTY keyboard, it's time to introduce you to some new keys. This lesson will focus on lowercase letters. You will also use Key Pro 5 to practice the reaches to the e and the n. Is all this typing causing you aches and pains? You will find out how to reduce fatigue while typing.

The Left Shift, h, t, and Period Reaches

In this lesson, you will learn four new keystrokes: left SHIFT, h, t, and period (.). You will also provide some tips on improving speed and accuracy and introduce you to the Key Pro 5 word processor program.

Learn the r, Right SHIFT, c, and o Reaches

Continue to build your keyboarding vocabulary by learning four new key reaches in this lesson: r, right SHIFT, c, and o. You will also learn about "the Zen of typing", which is how touch-typing becomes an instinctive and unconscious action.

The w, Comma, b, and p Reaches

Your typing vocabulary continues to expand rapidly with the addition of the reaches to the w, comma, b, and p. Before you know it, you will be typing complete paragraphs. This lesson also covers what you need to know about carpal tunnel syndrome, a serious and painful condition that you can avoid.

The g, Question Mark, x, and u Reaches

Expand your typing vocabulary by mastering four more key reaches: the g, question mark (?), x, and u. Just a few more reaches, and you will know how to type the whole alphabet. In this lesson, you will also learn about the function (FN) key and the numbers lock (NUM LOCK) key, which are on most laptop keyboards.

The q, m, v, and Apostrophe Reaches

This lesson teaches you another four reaches for your typing vocabulary: q, m, v, and apostrophe ('). You will also learn how to save a document with a word processing program.

The z, y, Quotation Mark, and Tab Reaches

It's time to add another four reaches to your typing vocabulary: the z, y, quotation mark ("), and tab keys. After this lesson, you will know the reaches to all the alphabetic keys. You will also find out how to open, edit, and resave word processing documents.

Alphabetic Key Review, the 1 and 8 Number Reaches, and Timed Writings

Are you ready to improve your skills and learn some new ones? After you review the z, y, x, q, v, quotation mark, and CAPS LOCK keys, you will learn the reaches to the numbers 1 and 8. Then you will take timed writings in the Key Pro 5 word processor.

Number Reaches, Deleting Text, and Alphabetic Key Review

What's the difference between the DELETE key, the BACKSPACE key, and the Cut command? By the end of this lesson, you will understand how and when to use these three editing tools. You will also continue to improve your skills with the alphabetic keys, plus you will learn more number reaches: 5, 0, 2, and 7.

Number and Symbol Reaches, Number Rules, and Key Review

When should you spell out numbers (like this: one, nine, five hundred), and when should you write them as figures (1, 9, 500)? You will also continue to improve your skills with the keys you have already learned, and you will finish the number reaches by mastering 4, 9, 3, and 6. Then you will learn two symbol reaches: the dollar sign ($) and the hyphen (-).

Symbol Reaches and Skill Building

You have already mastered some of the symbols and punctuation marks. In your last lesson together, you will meet the rest of the symbols. You will also work on your accuracy and speed with the Key Pro 5 Skill Building lessons. And you will find out how you can continue to hone your keyboarding skills long after you have finished this course.

What you will learn

• Learn how to create, edit, and save word processing documents
• Improve your typing speed and accuracy
• Learn posture tips to minimize fatigue and help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome

How you will benefit

• Successfully take a timed writing test during a job interview
• Become more confident in your ability to type quickly and accurately

Kathy Van Pelt

Kathy Van Pelt has taught computer courses at a community college for the past 25 years. She specializes in Microsoft Office applications, Google Drive and Google Applications, the Windows and Mac operating systems, and keyboarding. She spent seven years teaching word processing and business classes at a private business college and loves being in the ever-evolving educational field.