Developing ICT Content for Specific Purposes

Applied Productivity Tools with Advanced Application Techniques including:

Productivity Tools

 Mail merge and label generation

 Custom animations and timing
 Hyperlinking in presentations
 Integrating images and external material in word processors
 Embedded files and data
 Advanced and complex formulas and computations

E-mail and Resume Writing

What is an email?

Email is short for 'electronic mail'. Similar to a letter, it is sent via the internet to a recipient. An email address is required to receive
email, and that address is unique to the user. Some people use internet-based applications and some use programs on their computer to
access and store emails.

Key benefits and features of using email

 It's quick – your recipient receives your email as soon as they go online and collect their mail.
 It's secure.
 It's low cost.
 Photos, documents and other files can be attached to an email, so that more information can be shared.
 One email can be sent to more than one recipient at a time.

Accessing Gmail

1. Go to https://www.google.com/

2. Click the link to Gmail.

3. Wait fo the loadin screen to complete.

4. And then,,you are now inside your very own Gmail! Yey!

How to send an email

Email is a great way of communicating with friends and family at the touch of a button, no matter where in the world you are.

The following steps show you how to send an email using a Gmail account. However, many email accounts or applications follow a
similar process for creating and sending a new message.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to send an email

Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account so that you are on the dashboard (main page) of your mail account.

Step 2: Click Compose.

How to send an email

Step 2: Click Compose.

How to send an email

Step 3: A new blank email window will open up. In the ‘To’ box, type in the email address of the recipient.

How to send an email

Step 4: You might want to include someone else in your email to ‘keep them in the loop’. You can do this by clicking Cc or Bcc,
which will open another field. ‘Cc’ means ‘carbon copy’ and ‘Bcc’ means ‘blind carbon copy’. Adding an email address to the ‘Cc’
field means that that person will receive a copy of the email and all the other recipients will see their email address. If an email address
is put into the 'Bcc’ field, the person will get a copy of the email but no other recipient will see that address.

If you are sending the same email to lots of different people, it’s a good idea to put all the email addresses in the ‘Bcc’ field to keep
your ‘mailing list’ confidential. That way, there’s no chance that it could fall into the hands of a spammer or hacker.

How to send an email

Step 5: The subject field allows you to give the recipient an idea of the topic of your email, like a heading. You don’t have to put
anything in the subject box, but it can help when viewing and sorting email.
Step 6: Email text can be formatted in a similar way to text in a word document. You can change the font style, colour and size using
the formatting icons. You can also create bullet points and check the spelling of your email. Choose your formatting from the menu
shown.

Step 7: Type your message in the main body field of your email. You can format your email using the options that are available on the
toolbar. To add a link in the body of your email click on the insert link icon, then add the 'Text to display' and then a web or email
address, finally click OK.

Step 8: When you’re happy with your email, click the blue Send button at the bottom of the compose window.

Step 9: The email you’ve sent will now be stored in the ‘Sent Mail’ folder on your Gmail dashboard. You may have to run your mouse
pointer over the Inbox folder link to see the other folders.

Step 10: You may start an email but then decide to come back to it later rather then sending it straightaway. Gmail saves your drafts
automatically. So you can simply close the email and the unfinished email will be saved to your ‘Drafts’ folder. When you decide that
you’re ready to send it, you can retrieve it from the ‘Drafts’ folder by clicking Drafts and then clicking the correct item in the ‘Drafts’
folder list. Finish the email and click Send as normal.

Gmail

Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service developed by Google. Users can access Gmail on the web and using third-party
programs that synchronize email content through POP or IMAP protocols.

Windows Mail

Mail is an email and newsgroup client developed by Microsoft and included in the Windows Vista, 8, 8.1, and 10 operating systems.
The main function of Mail is sending and receiving email. It is a successor to Outlook Express, which was either included with, or
released for, the Windows 9x family and older versions of the Windows NT family.

Windows Mail Setup

1. Include your Gmail account to the Windows Mail.

2. After signing in to your Gmail account, the UI for Windows Mail will be shown like the one below.

3. Personalize your mail by clicking the Gear icon on the lower left of the app. The right panel will slide out then click
Personalization.

4. Personalize the Mail to your heart's content.

Setting up your Signature

1. Again, click the Gear icon and on the right panel, click Signature.

2. Again, click the Gear icon and on the right panel, click Signature.

 Make sure to check "Apply to all accounts"

 Turn on "Use an email signature"
 Always start a signature with "Regards," followed by your name to show courtesy to the recipient.

Format for Signature:

 Nickname
 Full Name
 Grade Level/Section/Full Strand
 Name of school
 Contact Details (Phone Number/Email address)
 (Optional) Picture Banner/Company Logo

Mail Merge (1)

Mail merge is used to create multiple documents at once. These documents have identical layout, formatting, text, and graphics. Only
specific sections of each document varies and is personalized. The documents Word can create with mail merge include bulk labels,
letters, envelopes, and emails. There are three documents involved in the mail merge process:

 Your main document 2

 Your data source 3
 Your merged document 4

Step 1: Prepare data in Excel for mail merge

The most important step in the mail merge process is to set up and prepare your data. You'll use your Excel spreadsheet as the data
source for the recipient list.
Here are some tips to prepare your data for a mail merge. Make sure:

 Column names in your spreadsheet match the field names you want to insert in your mail merge. For example, to address
readers by their first name in your document, you'll need separate columns for first and last names.

 All data to be merged is present in the first sheet of your spreadsheet.

Mail Merge

 Data entries with percentages, currencies, and postal codes are correctly formatted in the spreadsheet so that Word can
properly read their values.

 The Excel spreadsheet to be used in the mail merge is stored on your local machine.

 Changes or additions to your spreadsheet are completed before it's connected to your mail merge document in Word.

Activity - Mail Merge (Excel)

Instructions: Create an Excel document which contains the following details. Create a header for the sheet.

 Title (either Ms. or Mr.)

 First Name

 Last Name

 Address

 City

 Grade Level

 Section

 Age

 Phone Number

 Email

Mail Merge

Step 2: Start the mail merge

 In Word, choose File > New > Blank document.

 On the Mailings tab, in the Start Mail merge group, choose Start Mail Merge, and then choose the kind of merge you want to
run.

Mail Merge

 Choose Select Recipients > Use an Existing List.

 Browse to your Excel spreadsheet, and then choose Open.

 If Word prompts you, choose Sheet1$ > OK.

Activity - Mail Merge (Word)

Instructions: Create an Word document and select "Cover letter (blue)" template. Click "Create". Save the file as "My Cover
Letter.docx".

 Go to "Mailing" tab then click "Start Mail Merge" and then "Letters".

 Click "Select Recipients" then click "Use an Existing List...".

 Select the "data.xlsx" file then click "OK".

 Select "Sheet1$" then click "OK".

Google Drive (5)

Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows
users to store files on their servers, synchronize files across devices, and share files.

Launched: April 24, 2012; 7 years ago (6)

Owner: Google LLC

Created by: Google

Type of site: File hosting service

Users: 1 billion (July 2018)

Programming languages: Python, Objective-C

Using Google Drive

There are two ways to use Google Drive. One way to use it is through the web application. We will mainly use Gdrive for personal
use. Web app is applicable if you tend to use different PCs from time to time and you need to access your files without a need for
Flash drives, etc.

Second way to use Gdrive is to download the application. The second way is only applicable if you are using your own PC or Laptop.
It is much easier to navigate than the Web app.

Since you are currently using a shared/public PC, we will mainly use the Web application for Google Drive.

Creating a Shared Folder

To create a shared folder, first you need to create a folder (duh?).

 Click "+ New" then click Folder.

 Name the folder with your last name followed by Shared Folder.

 Ex: Parin Shared Folder

Creating a Shared Folder

Right click on you newly created folder then click on "Share".

Creating a Shared Folder

On the textbox, type in "cabtfaculty.maclanglk@gmail.com" to share the folder to me. Click Send once done.

Dynamic Presentations

- Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program, created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software company named
Forethought, Inc. It was released on April 20, 1987 (7), initially for Macintosh computers only. Microsoft acquired PowerPoint for $14
million three months after it appeared.

Initial release date: 1987

Developer(s): Microsoft

Operating system: Microsoft Windows

Written in: C#

Available in: 102 languages (8)

Prezi (9)

Prezi is a presentation software company founded in 2009, with offices in Budapest, San Francisco, and Riga. As of April 2018, Prezi
had more than 100 million users who had created more than 325 million public presentations that have been viewed over 3.5 billion
times.

Founder(s): Adam Somlai-Fischer; Peter Halacsy; Peter Arvai (10-12)

Launched: April 5, 2009; 10 years ago (13)

Headquarters: Hungary

Owner: Prezi Inc

Type of site: Collaboration

Available in: English Language, Portuguese Language, MORE

Google Slides (14)

Google Slides is a presentation program included as part of a free, web-based software office suite offered by Google within its
Google Drive service. The service also includes Google Docs and Google Sheets, a word processor and spreadsheet respectively.

Developer(s): Google LLC

 Initial release: March 9, 2006; 13 years ago

Written in: JavaScript

Operating system: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, BlackBerry, ChromeOS

Platform: Google, Apple, Microsoft (15-17)

Available in: 83 languages (18)

Type: Collaborative software; Presentation program

Website: https://www.google.com/slides/about/

Word Processors

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983 under the name Multi-
Tool Word for Xenix systems.

Initial release: October 25, 1983; 35 years ago (as Multi-Tool Word) (19)

Developer(s): Microsoft

Platforms: x86-32 (32 bit Intel x86), x86-64, ARM architecture

Programming language: C++ (20)

Google Docs

Google Docs is a word processor included as part of a free, web-based software office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive
service.

Developer(s): Google LLC

Initial release: March 9, 2006; 13 years ago

Written in: JavaScript

Operating system: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, BlackBerry, ChromeOS

Platform: Google, Apple, Microsoft

Available in: 83 languages

Type: Collaborative software, Word processor

Advanced Presentation Skills

What is PowerPoint?

 It is a slide presentation software made by Microsoft.

 It is a highly innovative and versatile tool that may help you communicate effectively.

Five Features of PowerPoint (21-25)

Adding Smart Art

- SmartArt allows you to communicate information with graphics instead of just using text.
- There are a variety of styles to choose from, which you can use to illustrate many different types of ideas.

Inserting Shapes

- Shapes are a great way to make your presentations more interesting.

- PowerPoint gives you a lot of different shapes to choose from, and they can be customized to suit your needs, using your own
color palette, preferences, and more.
- While you may not need shapes in every presentation you create, they can add visual appeal.

Inserting Images

- Adding images to your presentations makes them more interesting and engaging.
- Pictures, clip art, and screenshots can be inserted into PowerPoint to help you effectively communicate your ideas to your
audience.

Adding Animations
 - In PowerPoint, you can animate text and objects such as clip art, shapes, and pictures.
- Animation or movement on the slide can be used to draw the audience's attention to specific content or to make the slide
easier to read.

Slide Transitions

- Transitions are motion effects that when in Slide Show view add movement to your slides as you advance from one slide to
another.
- There are many transitions to choose from, each one of which allows you to control the speed and even add sound.

Creating an Effective Presentation

Minimize

- To maintain a clear message and keep the audience engaged, restrict the number of slides to a minimum.
- Always keep in mind that the presentation is merely a visual help. The reporter should still provide the amount of
information.

Clarity

- Use a font style that is easy to read to avoid being overly sophisticated.
- Make sure it's also big enough for the audience to read.
- Consider the size of the screen during your report once you've started making your presentation.

Simplicity (27)

- Use bullets or brief sentences to make your point. Summarize the material on the screen so that your audience's attention is
drawn to the speaker rather than the slide.
- The material should be limited to six lines with seven words each line. The 6 x 7 rule is what it's called to read.

Visual

- Use graphics to aid your presentation, but don't overdo it to the point of distracting the audience.
- Additionally, instead of tables of data, utilize graphs and charts.

Consistency

- Make your design look the same.

- Different font styles and backgrounds should be avoided.

Contrast (28)

- Use a bright font on a dark background, or the other way around. This is done to make it more readable.
- In most cases, a dark background makes information simpler to read on screen. This is related to the screen's brightness.

Creating and Manipulating Images Using PhotoScape

On Photoscape’s main screen, you will see the many features it has you can use for creating web content as follows:

1. Viewer – a picture viewer with features the same with some image viewers like changing image orientation
2. Editor – alters the appearance of multiple images
3. Page – Arranges several photos to create a single one; similar to a mosaic
4. Combine – links several images together to form a bigger image
5. Print – readies pictures for printing
6. Splitter – divides a single photo into multiple parts
7. Scree Capture – captures the screen and saves it
8. Color picker – grabs a pixel from your screen to be used in editing
9. Raw converter – coverts raw images (uncompressed images from digital cameras) to JPEG format
10. Rename – Allows you to rename a batch of photos
11. Paper print – Useful tool for printing your own calendars, sheet, lined paper, graph paper etc.