Course Catalog
Computer Fundamentals (Microsoft Office) semester 1
(Based on 3 reviews) Read the reviews.
Details
| Course Code: AVCOMFUNSEM1 |
Provider: Aventa Learning Note:
This course has additional technical requirements. See below for details. |
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| Subject: Technology |
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 |
Credits: 0.5 (High School) | Level: Standard |
| Course Features: | - NCAA: The online provider has applied for NCAA approval. Use the NCAA code below and check the DLD NCAA Eligibility page for information on the status of the provider's courses. NCAA High School Code: 030618 NCAA Eligibility Information |
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| Terms Available: |
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| Completion Time: | Approximately 90 instructional hours per semester | ||
Note: This course is the first half of a year-long course. Students registering for this course in the fall semester will automatically be registered into the second half of the course in spring semester. View the details for the second half of the course. |
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Costs
| Course Cost: | $284.00 |
| Materials Cost: | None |
| Total Cost: | $284 |
Special Notes
State Course Code
10001
Requirements
Prerequisites
Technology Requirements
The school or student is responsible for providing:
General Workstation/Laptop Requirements:
We strive to minimize the technical requirements for our courses. Our multimedia is almost exclusively flash-based to minimize the need for plug-ins. Other requirements include:
Browser:
- Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) is recommended for stability, but both the ESR and final release channel are supported (both Mac and Windows)
- Internet Explorer 8 or 9 (Windows) (Must not be in compatibility mode)
- Safari 4 or higher (Mac OSX)
- Google Chrome stable channel (both Mac and Windows)
- Popup Blocking Disabled
- JavaScript Enabled
OS:
- Windows XP, Vista, and 7
- Macintosh OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7
RAM:
- 512MB or higher
Resolution:
- 1024 X 576 or higher
Media:
- Soundcard and Speakers/Headphones
- Microphone required for certain courses
Plugins:
- Sun Java 6 (Blackboard 9.1 does not work properly with Java 7)
- Flash Player Version 10 or higher
- QuickTime Version 7 or higher
- Real Player required for certain courses
- Jaws 11 or higher (for accessibility)
Third Party Applications:
- Google Earth 6.0
Network Requirements
The school or student is responsible for providing:
Aventa will provide a complete list of external sites that require access upon request to individual districts/schools.
Special Technology Requirements
These are course-specific requirements that go above and beyond the Provider Baseline Technical Requirements.
The school or student is responsible for providing:
The computer must use the Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4 operating system. It is recommended that the student use the 2002 version of these Microsoft Office Products (also known as the XP editions). However, this course will still work with earlier versions and even with Office 2003. Wherever possible, there are alternative instructions and hints for students not running the 2002 versions. For Semester II, students also need Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 and Hotmail which is a free webmail service.
Materials to be ordered via the DLD
The DLD Registrar may order the following materials via the DLD upon registering the student:
No additional materials required for this course.
Description
(Based on 3 reviews) Write a review.
Newport Senior High School Parent - 11/06/11 
I found this course to be extremely disappointing. I am a former web developer, and my husband is an Ops Engineer with Microsoft, and I do know my way around a computer.
Much of the information is out of date, and some of it was so badly written, I question whether or not English was the first language of the writer. Some of the diagrams were misleading or wrong, and my husband and I had to correct the information for our daughter--I should be the parent, not the curriculum provider.
Perhaps my greatest complaint is that the tests and quizzes are not very relevant to the useful material, and yet they make up the vast majority of the grading in this class. The projects are much more time consuming and relevant to the goals of the course, but they make up a tiny fraction of the grade--this is wrong.
Some of the codes which were sent to my daughter's counselor were incorrect, which resulted in delays in taking tests and quizzes and completing the course, which was a further irritation.
The assignment schedule does not jibe with the course organization, and even the gradebook had strange, out-of-order listings of the various assignments.
I would have rated this class with one star, were it not for the fact that the human instructor was very good, responsive, and recorded some imaginative and useful extra seminars in Class Connect. She was not the problem here--it was the lousy curriculum she was provided.
Not all Aventa courses are so poor--my daughter is also taking Aventa PE, and it has been excellent, with a lot of useful information which is relevant to fitness and health. Much of the information is actually more complex than that of the computer course (to wit, the anatomy quiz on muscle groups), but the expectations were clear, the instruction good, and the majority of the class was spent writing papers and doing projects, not in tests and quizzes.
Also, the tests and quizzes that were given were relevant to the material, had clear expectations and good preparation. If you worked hard, really reviewed the material and took time to study, you would usually do quite well. The same is not true of Computer Fundamentals. I would not recommend this course to anyone.
Oroville High School Educator - 05/11/09 
This was a great class which improved my computer skills. I would recommend this class, although I assumed it would be easy, I suggest taking hte course seriously because some of the quizzes/ exams can be a little tricky.
Northport Homelink Student - 09/09/08
I thought is was great, but I got in late so I had to hurry.