Introduction

							                BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Study Skills

Introduction

Welcome to this IT based class in which you will be instructed in word processing, use of
the Internet, email and Powerpoint. You will be required to write a short essay that is not
marked but feedback will be given on content, writing style, grammar, spelling, use of
references and presentation. Time is allocated during class to write this essay and to use
the Internet to search for information relating to the essay. Depending how quickly you
get through the exercises, there should also be some time for you to study for other
modules you will be doing during you first semester.

Most, if not all, of you will already have experience of using computers and some, if not
all, of the programs we will be using. However, it is important that you become familiar
with the equipment, systems and programs used in this University so that you can make
full use of computing facilities during your four years of study. There will be some
introductory lectures but the majority of your time will be spent on self-directed study
using exercises such as the one that follows. However, one-to-one tutorial support will
be provided as and when required.

Apart from when lectures are being given, the class will be relatively informal and you
should take short breaks from looking at the computer screen every 45 minutes or so.
You are encouraged to share your experience with other students (and staff!) in the class
and exchange useful information.

There are two tutors for this class:

Greg Kelly is one of the occupational therapy lecturers and will be available during the
class to provide a link to the Occupational Therapy course as a whole. He is familiar
with the programs you will be using and the exercises you will be doing and should be
able to provide any assistance you need.

Bill McMillan is a senior lecturer from the Faculty of Informatics. He has written this
study skills programme and will be able to provide you with any assistance you need.
Bill has been teaching occupational therapy students for years and so he is also familiar
with their particular needs.

You should feel free to approach us during the class, and outside the class, for any
assistance you need.

Enjoy the course.




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                BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Study Skills

Why is this course important?

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) have become an essential element
in most fields of work, and no less so in the field of academic study. Throughout the
years of study for your degree you will be required to make use of ICT for many aspects
of your study and, even when it is not a requirement, you will still find that it is an
invaluable tool. It is, therefore, imperative that you should learn how to use these
technologies effectively and efficiently. In using ICT for your studies, there are four main
ways in which you will use it

(a) As a source of information

In this respect, the main tool will be that part of the Internet referred to as the World
Wide Web (WWW). From this you might obtain information about any of the subjects
and topics contained in your courses as well as information about, say, the University's
procedures and facilities, instructions for using software, the availability of books in the
library, or simply the local bus or train timetable. In some cases you will be able to
interact with databases to, for example, renew your library books. Note that, for some
topics, the Internet might well be the only source of up-to-date information available.

(b) As a communications device

The main tool in this area is electronic mail (e-mail). You will have your own account on
one of the University e-mail servers so that you can send and receive mail to anyone in
the world who has a similar e-mail account. You might use this to send a query (or an
assignment) to one of your lecturers, or to request information from, say, an electronic
journal concerned with your subject area.

(c) To record and present your own work.

Here we are talking primarily about wordprocessing though you might later be required
to use database and/or spreadsheet software for this purpose. It is hoped, possibly
expected, that all of your written coursework will be prepared, to certain standards of
presentation, using a wordprocessor and submitted in either printed or electronic form. In
addition, you will be required, from time to time, to give an oral presentation
complemented with professional-looking 'slides' on screen. For this you might use a
special slide-presentation program such as PowerPoint.

(d) To learn new knowledge

Occasionally you will need to use a computer-based, structured learning program either
in place of, or to complement, more traditional learning methods such as lectures or
reading. Some such programs might be obtained from the Internet whereas others will be
found on CDROM discs. In most cases these programs are 'interactive', allowing you to
check your learning progress (or otherwise) and to go over the material as often as you
feel necessary to achieve the program's objectives.



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                BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Study Skills

Learning Outcomes

Note that this course, being in your first semester, should be considered as an
'introduction' to the use of ICT for academic study. At the end of it you might not be an
'expert' in using ICT for study and presentation, but you will know something of its
potential for these purposes. The more practise you get in using this knowledge, over the
coming years, the more expert you will become.

It is recognised that you might have already acquired some of the skills and knowledge
dealt with on this course, but attendance is still mandatory. You might be able to
complete the set exercises more quickly, but that just gives you more time to practice
with the University network system, the Internet and so on. Take advantage of the fact
that for this one and a half hours a week you will at least be guaranteed access to a
computer, and that people will be on hand to assist you when necessary. Again, even if
you have used a wordprocessor, say, many times before, you might not necessarily 'know
it all'. That is, you might have used a different package, or a different version, or there
might be some functions that you haven't used but which are essential to attain the
necessary standard of presentation. Your time will not be wasted! In the list below, tick
the number when you think you have mastered a particular skill; in this way, you can
keep a check on your progress.

At the end of this 'Study Skills' course you should he able to:

1. Use the Windows operating system for common file operations such as opening,
    copying, moving, renaming and deleting files.
2. Create backup copies of important files.
3. Use the Internet Explorer WWW browser to find information about the University
    and about your course.
4. Browse the University on-line catalogue and renew books on loan.
5. Search for information using search engines and subject lists.
6. Refine search criteria using advanced search engine operations.
7. Download text and other files from the Internet and copy text directly from a browser
    to another application such as a WP or NotePad document.
8. Use MSWord to create, edit, cheek and present documents.
9. Use specified standards and conventions in formatting documents.
10. Print documents from MSWord and Internet Explorer.
11. Set up your University e-mail account.
12. Use e-mail to send text messages, and to send other files as attachments, while
    observing the rules of 'e-mail etiquette'. Avoid plagiarism and breaches of copyright
    in your work.
13. Convert a document from one file format to another.
14. Recognise the significance of some common file suffixes such as doc, txt, ppt and
    follow some simple advice in naming files.
15. Understand the meaning, and the significance, of some common computing terms
    such as 'window', 'file', 'ASCII code', 'URL', 'hypertext', 'byte', 'Megabyte', etc.




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                     BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Study Skills
How will the course be taught?

The course will be situated in one of the University IT laboratories and there will be practical work
for most of each session throughout the semester. Instructions and materials for the practical
exercises will be supplied in a number of different ways. You might be given printed worksheets,
such as this one,or, more likely, you will be asked to download materials from either the local
network or from the Internet. You can then print your own copy of these documents and file them
within this booklet.

There will be one or two tutors in the lab each day so you can request assistance at any time. There
should be no 'idle' periods. At any time, if you have finished the set exercises, you should take the
opportunity to gain practice with the techniques you will be learning. You can, for example,
compare different search engines in seeking out information related to any of your other modules,
or start making on-screen notes for a forthcoming assignment, or practice sending e-mail
attachments to each other. The more practice you get the easier it all becomes.

Computer Lab Rules

You should not bring any food or drink into the computer laboratory. If you normally carry a drink
around with you, keep it tightly stoppered and go out to the corridor to drink it. It is a serious
offence to use University computers to download offensive materials from the Internet. University
email accounts must not be used for commercial purposes (such as advertising goods for sale).

Assessment

There will be no formal assessment of this course BUT if you don't apply the knowledge in other
modules of your degree you may find yourself at a disadvantage, or may even lose marks for some
of your assignment work. You will, however, be asked to complete an exercise that integrates
many of the main techniques taught on this course. You will be given a topic title and asked to
search the Internet, and other sources, for information about it. You will plan a short essay on the
topic and create this essay using MSWord, putting into practice the advice you will be given about
the formatting and presentation of written work. It should not contain any spelling (or, if possible,
grammatical) errors. The MSWord document will be submitted to each of the two tutors in the
form of an e-mail attachment.

You will receive feedback on the content, writing style, spelling, grammar, use of references, and
the standard of presentation. If you implement the advice given in this feedback, this will be a big
advantage when you submit written coursework to other tutors. Similarly, your PowerPoint slides
will be assessed in oral presentations in other modules.

Some class time, with a tutor present to assist you, will be allocated to allow you to prepare the
above work although you may have to find additional time to complete it.




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                 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Study Skills
PROGRAMME

WEEK


1    Introduction to Study Skills. Basic File Operations in Windows. Using Internet Explorer to
     explore the University Web pages (Information Services, Library, Students Union, Online
     PDP).

2    Downloading Word files from Internet. Reformatting text files downloaded from the
     Internet. Using UUMail to send and receive file as attachments.

3    Downloading Word and Excel files from the University’s Online PDP

4    Wordprocessing (WP): instruction and practice

5    Browser search techniques

6    Start work on Short Essay

7    Continue work on Short Essay

8    Submit short essay as email attachment

9    Further searching techniques - Sensory Integration. Evaluating information sources on the
     Internet

10   Feedback on Short Essay. 'Advanced' search techniques. Begin work on Long Essay.

11   Continue work on Long Essay. Creating outline notes; working with MSWord windows.

12   Revision




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