Northwest ISD Navigator Magazine Winter 2017-18 | Page 11

programs , such as using pivot charts and tables in Excel . With pivot charts and tables , Excel users can link to external data sources and analyze vast amounts of information . While a regular user wouldn ’ t use these features , many businesses use them to monitor company data , such as sales patterns , managed in different software .
If a student earns enough experience in four of the suite ’ s programs ( Excel , PowerPoint and Word , then either Access or Outlook ), he or she receives the title of “ Microsoft Master .” Beginning this year , that designation – as well as other Microsoft Office certification designations – will show up on a Northwest ISD student ’ s high school transcript .
Current students in Ms . Hayes ’ classes said the option of earning a Microsoft Office certification gives them practical experience with computers in ways that mirror the work done in a job .
“ I took this course to help me in my future career field ,” said Bergan Conner , a Steele junior . “ Because no matter what route I ’ m going , whether it ’ s something directly about technology or not , I ’ m going to need to be able to work my way around computers . When we started this course , I thought it ’ d be easy since I ’ ve been using programs like PowerPoint almost my whole life , but I learned there were so many things I didn ’ t know how to do .”
Adia Compton , a senior at Steele , said the class has practical purposes that will assist her as an author .

No matter what route I ’ m going , whether it ’ s something directly about technology or not , I ’ m going to need to be able to work my way around computers .” – Bergan Conner , Steele junior

“ I want to be an author when I grow up , so I ’ m obviously going to need to type out all my books , so now I know how to properly format them before sending to publishers so they ’ ll be more readable ,” she said . “ I didn ’ t realize headings would help me out so much by automatically creating my table of contents when I use them , for instance . So instead of searching for a chapter , I can just click it in the table of contents and immediately be there .”
A student who wants to be a museum curator said learning Outlook features was extremely beneficial , as it helped her schedule her day and see when conflicts may arise . She also noted that she could send out a poll directly through Outlook to survey coworkers on options , a feature she didn ’ t even know existed before taking the class .
An added benefit of earning certification , students agreed , is that they also receive badges they can place on their online portfolios . Northwest ISD students across the district create online portfolios in various classes , providing them with a starting point for their career endeavors .
Ms . Hayes said that ’ s the ultimate goal of the class : To focus on what the students need to be prepared for whatever path they take after high school .
“ The way I look at it is that , credit-wise , a lot of students don ’ t need to take this class , so it ’ s more about getting a competitive advantage when they graduate ,” Ms . Hayes said . “ It ’ s less about the grades and more about learning the particular applications and being able to put that on their résumés .” n
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