Information Systems Course Offering
Descriptions

Adobe InDesign CS2

InDesign is a powerful design and production tool that offers precision, control, and seamless integration with other Adobe professional graphics software. Using Indesign, you can produce professional-quality, full color documents and formats, including desktop printers and high-resolution imaging devices. Also, you can create PDF files, and convert your documents for use on the Internet by Exporting layouts.

• Introduction & Tools: (1 of 2)
  InDesign is a robust and easy to use design and layout program. In this workshop, you will learn how to use the InDesign environment, palettes, and many of the tools as we explore the InDesign work area. You will also learn several techniques for navigating through an InDesign document, zooming in and out, and moving between document pages.
• Creating Publications: (2 of 2)
  This workshop is an introduction to setting up your InDesign document for publication. You will learn how to start and create, edit, and then apply master pages to a new document. The workshop will focus upon adding graphics and text to the document pages as we use the different tools and palettes to create a publication.

CAP Server

Currently the Rdb Replication database is easily accessible from any system on the campus network. While this is functional and has made it easy for users to get their work done, it also creates an environment that is less secure and very open to non-authorized users. Campuses have been implementing CAP (Consolidated Access Point) Servers for the purpose of creating a method of secure access to the preferred Oracle REPL database. This workshop is for Faculty and Staff who need to query ISRS data using either Microsoft Access and Excel. We will migrate your pre-built databases and queries into the CAP environment and then link tables with ISRS.

Customer Service

This workshop is an overview of different techniques to better your customer service skills when working with many different facets of the campus community. This workshop also discusses guidelines for proper phone etiquette, how to work with irritated customers, and stress relief techniques for use when feeling overwhelmed at your workstation.

Ergonomics

In this workshop, you will learn different ways to enhance the usability of your workstation by improving the ergonomic design of hardware, software, and the workplaces, to enhance people's comfort, performance and health. This workshop is intended to guide you in a self-assessment of the ergonomic design of your computer workstation.

Microsoft Office 2007: 30 Tips & Tricks

The 2007 Microsoft Office system helps you simplify the challenges of today’s workplace. We've designed this workshop so you can get started quickly on learning the new Microsoft Office programs. The conversion from Microsoft Office Professional 2003 to MS Office Enterprise 2007 has brought some common problems for end –users. This workshop focuses on the 30 most common issues the St. Cloud State University community has encountered with the adoption of the 2007 Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Office 2007: What Changed

When you open a 2007 Microsoft Office system program, you’ll see a lot that’s familiar. But you’ll also notice a new look at the top of the window. Menus and toolbars have been replaced by the Ribbon in many applications, which contains tabs that you click to get to commands. The Ribbon may be new, but with a little time and exposure you’ll find that it works for you, not against you.

Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007

Office Enterprise 2007 is the latest version of the Microsoft productivity suite; its core components include Word: Word processor, Excel: Spreadsheet program, Access: Database program, Outlook: Personal information and communication organizer that includes contact/personal address management, calendaring, and e-mail functions and PowerPoint: Presentation program. Office Enterprise 2007 also includes other programs, such as InfoPath, OneNote and a new program called Groove.

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a powerful database program you can use to store all kinds of information—from a simple list of recipes to an inventory catalog with tens of thousands of products. Once information is stored in a Microsoft Access database, it’s easy to find, analyze, and print.

• The Fundamentals: (1 of 8)
  In this workshop, you will learn more about exactly what a database is, what it is used for, and how to perform simple database tasks, such as adding and deleting records. This chapter also takes you on a basic tour of various parts of a Microsoft Access database: Tables, Forms, Reports, and Queries.
• Creating & Working with a Database: (2 of 8)
  In this workshop, you will learn to create and modify the major database objects: tables, forms, queries, and reports. You will even learn some basic database management tasks, such as how to delete and rename database objects. If all you need is a simple, easy-to-use database, look no farther than this chapter—more than likely, everything you need to know about creating databases is here.
• Finding, Filtering & Formatting Data: (3 of 8)
  Access is equipped with an arsenal of Find, Sort, and Filter commands that can track down and organize a table’s information in record time. In this workshop, you will learn how to use these commands. First, you’ll learn how to use the Find command to look up a specific record. Next, you’ll learn how to sort information in a table—in ascending or descending order. Then, you’ll learn all about filters: How they can find and display only records that meet your criteria.
• Working with Tables & Fields: (4 of 8)
  Tables are by far the most important part of any database. Tables are where a database stores all of its information. This workshop explains just about everything you need to know about tables and fields: how to link two or more related tables, how to create indexes for faster performance, and how to create a primary key field, which uniquely identifies each record in a table. This workshop also explains how to change all the properties and settings for your tables’ fields.
• Working with Forms: (5 of 8)
  In Access, forms provide an easy way to enter and view data in a table. This workshop explains what you want to know about forms—and maybe a few things you didn’t want to know. Forms make working with data easier because instead of scrolling back and forth in a table’s datasheet, a form lets you focus on one record at a time, you can design forms to present information any way you like, and one form can display data from several related tables or queries.
• Formatting Forms & Reports: (6 of 8)
  This workshop guides you through the process of creating sharp-looking forms and reports that have colorful fonts, neat-looking borders, and this workshop explains the basics of formatting your forms and reports to make them more visually attractive and easier to read. You will learn how to change the appearance, size, and color of fonts and how to align text inside a control.
• Working with Queries: (7 of 8)
  Queries are the stars of Microsoft Access. Queries make sense out of all the thousands of jumbled records and display exactly what you need to know. In this workshop, you will learn how to harness the power of queries. You will learn about all the different types of queries: simple select queries, parameter queries that prompt you for more information, crosstab queries that summarize records in an easy-to-understand format, and action queries that actually modify the records in your database.
• Working with Reports: (8 of 8)
  It’s easy to print a simple list of records in a table or query—just click the Print button on the toolbar. But if you want your printed hard copies to look professional and include calculations, graphics, or a customized header or footer, you’ll need to create a report. In this workshop, you will learn how to use reports to present information from tables and queries in a format that looks great when printed.
• Working with Macro’s: (coming spring 2008)
  If you find yourself doing the same routine task repeatedly, you might want to consider creating a macro to complete the task for you. A macro helps you perform routine tasks by automating them. In this workshop, you will learn how to record a single macro that does your tasks all at once. In a way, you can think of macros as a very simple introduction to programming because you can use them to create automated tasks and somewhat complex procedures.

Microsoft Excel

Excel is a powerful spreadsheet software program that allows you to make quick and accurate numerical calculations. Entering data onto a spreadsheet (or worksheet as they are called in Excel) is quick and easy while making your data look sharp. The uses for Excel are limitless: businesses use Excel for creating financial reports, scientists use Excel for statistical analysis, and families use Excel to help manage their investment portfolios.

• The Fundamentals: (1 of 8)This workshop is an introduction to working with Excel. You’ll learn the main parts of the program screen, how to give commands, use help, and about new features. For 2007, Excel has undergone a major redesign. If you’ve used Excel before, you’ll still be familiar with much of the program’s functionality, but you’ll notice a completely new user interface and many new features that have been added to make using Excel more efficient.
• Worksheet Basics: (2 of 8)
  This workshop will introduce you to Excel basics—what you need to know to create, print, and save a worksheet. We don’t get into great depth here, but we make sure you understand key Excel functionality, such as entering data and the basics of using formulas. This chapter will help you build a solid foundation of Excel knowledge.
• Editing a Worksheet: (3 of 8)
  This workshop will show you how to edit your Excel worksheets. You’ll learn how to edit cell contents; cut, copy and paste information; insert and delete columns and rows; undo any mistakes you might make; and even correct your spelling errors.
• Formatting a Worksheet (4 of 8)
  This workshop explains how to format a worksheet to make it more visually attractive and easier to read. You will learn how to change the appearance, size, and color of text and how to align text inside a cell. You will learn how to add borders and shading and how to use cell styles, as well as many other tools that will help your worksheets look more organized and professional.
• Creating and Working with Charts (5 of 8)
  Charts allow you to present data, relationships, or trends graphically. Charts are often better at presenting information than hard-to-read numbers in a table or spreadsheet. In this workshop, you will learn how to create, edit and format dynamic looking charts.
• Managing Workbooks (6 of 8)
  Once you start filling up a workbook with data, you’ll find that it can be difficult to organize and view it all at once. Luckily, Excel gives you several options for viewing and working with data and windows. You can split windows, insert new worksheets, copy worksheets, work with multiple workbooks at once, hide data, protect and share workbooks. In this workshop we’ll look at ways to make viewing and working with data easier.
• Working with Page Layouts and Printing (7 of 8)
  Sometimes you need to do more than just print your worksheet. You may want to add a header or footer or page breaks, adjust the margins, print worksheet headings, or print only a certain part of a worksheet. This workshop will help you with these, as well as several other page-layout and printing tasks.
• More Functions & Formulas (8 of 8)
  Formulas are the heart and soul of a spreadsheet. Without formulas, Excel would be nothing more than a grid for displaying numbers and text. As you will see in this chapter, formulas can do a lot more than just adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Excel has hundreds of different formulas you can use to create complex statistical, financial, and scientific calculations. In this workshop, you’ll learn about more complex formula writing, how to insert and edit functions, how to define names, and how to trace formulas and diagnose errors.  

Microsoft OneNote

Office OneNote 2007 is a note-taking program in the form of a digital notebook that gives you the flexibility to gather and organize your notes and information—from typed text, audio, and video to handwritten notes and drawings, graphics, and research from the Web and other applications—all in one place. Powerful search capabilities enable you to easily find information in more content formats, such as spoken words in audio and video recordings, and text in scanned documents or pictures.

New to Office OneNote 2007 are shared notebooks, which give teams one place to gather notes, research, and information related to a project, customer, or meeting. With shared notebooks, users can contribute and share information more effectively—whether online or offline—and OneNote automatically merges and updates everyone’s changes.

• The Fundamentals (1 of 4)
  This workshop will focus on getting you started with OneNote. We will open the program, discuss key features and the distinctions between notebooks, pages and sections.
• Gathering your Notes and Information (2 of 4)
  Most people don’t have a single place where they capture all their different pieces of information that they use in the course of their work. This workshop will focus on bringing together in one place all the ideas, meeting notes, Web research and everything else that you need to do your work.
• Organizing & Finding Information (3 of 4)
  Office OneNote 2007 helps you stay in control of all your information more easily and effectively than ever before. In addition to giving you a wide variety of methods for capturing information—from recording audio and video to “printing” information to your notebook. This workshop will focus on showing you how OneNote provides new, powerful tools to organize and manage that information.
• Managing your Information (4 of 4)
  OneNote offers a set of Note Tags that you can use to organize and stay on top of the information in your OneNote notebook.  Clicking a tagged note in the Note Tags Summary task pane takes you to that note in your notebook sections. This workshop focuses on how you can navigate through notes according to the tags. Using the note Tags Summary, you can see in an instant all your to-do’s and assigned action items across all your notebooks.

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a messaging and personal information manager, or PIM. Outlook lets you send and receive e-mail messages, schedule appointments, and organize your contacts and addresses. It also reminds you of tasks you need to complete.

• The Fundamentals: (1 of 8)
  This workshop introduces the Outlook fundamentals. Besides learning how to start and exit the Outlook program, you will learn how to find your way around the Outlook screen and item windows. You will also learn how to use keyboard commands and access Outlook’s help features.
• Composing and Sending E-mail (2 of 8)
  This workshop covers two of the most-used functions in Microsoft Outlook: How to compose and send an e-mail message. The steps involved in composing and sending a message are pretty basic, but there’s quite a bit you can do in between these processes to maximize the effect that your messages have. This workshop will show you how to insert a signature, attach a file to a message, and more.
• Receiving and Sorting E-mail (3 of 8)
  Now that you know how to compose and send e-mail messages, you need to know how to receive and sort them. In this workshop, we’ll show you how to receive messages from your e-mail server and what to do with those messages once they appear in your Inbox. For example, you can reply to a message, forward a message on to someone else, flag a message for later follow-up, and more.
• Organizing and Finding Information (4 of 8)
  When you work at your desk for a while, papers and files can pile up into a mess. The same thing happens after you’ve worked with Outlook for a while—your e-mails becoming disorganized and harder to find. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to take control and organize your Outlook information. You’ll learn how to search for items, manage data in folders, and create rules that automatically manage your e-mails.
• Working with Contacts (5 of 8)
  Outlook’s Contacts list is a ―technological Rolodex‖ database that keeps track of names, addresses, phone numbers, and lots of other information. Once you have entered a person’s name and details into Outlook, the possibilities are endless. This workshop will show how you can instantly find, e-mail or print contact information, or even create a map to a contact’s business or home address.
• Using the Calendar (6 of 8)
  In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create and reschedule appointments and events, how to add a reminder to your appointments so that you don’t forget about them, and how to view your schedule using the various Calendar views. You will also learn how to create a recurring appointment, such as a weekly staff meeting.
• Working with Tasks (7 of 8)
  Creating tasks and to-do items in Outlook is almost easier than writing them on paper. In this workshop, you will learn skills like how to create a task or to-do item, view them in different ways, mark a task as complete once it’s finished, assign and forward tasks. You will also learn how to create a recurring task that appears at a specified interval, such as a reminder to get a weekly report in to your boss.
• Using the Journal and Notes (8 of 8)
  You will learn how to create and work with journal entries using both of these methods in this workshop. You will also learn how to attach a file to a journal entry, how to use the Journal with the Contacts list to perform basic contact management, and how to display the Journal using the available preset views.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program that helps you transform your ideas into professional, convincing presentations. Whether you’re delivering annual sales statistics to a large audience or creating a personal slide show of your recent trip abroad, PowerPoint has all the tools you need to get your message across.

For 2007, PowerPoint has undergone a major redesign. If you’ve used PowerPoint before, you’ll still be familiar with much of the program’s functionality, but you’ll notice a completely new user interface and many new features that have been added to make using the program more efficient.

• The Fundamentals: (1 of 8)
  This workshop is an introduction to working with PowerPoint. You’ll learn about the main components of the program screen, how to issue commands, use the Help feature, and all about PowerPoint 2007’s new features.
• Presentation Basics: (2 of 8)
  You can do many great things with a presentation, but before you can get into some of the more fun tasks, like formatting and animation, you need to learn the more basic tasks, like how to create a presentation and save it. This workshop will teach you the most basic commands and functions you can perform in PowerPoint, such as how to create, open, save, and close a presentation. You will also learn how to insert a new slide and navigate between slides in a presentation.
• Inserting and Editing Text (3 of 8)
  Now that you’re familiar with the PowerPoint basics, you’re ready to move on to inserting and editing text. This workshop explains everything you need to know about working with text, including how to insert and edit text; how to cut, copy, and paste text; and how to correct spelling errors. You will also learn how to find and replace text and insert special characters, such as trademark and copyright symbols.
• Formatting Test (4 of 8)
  This workshop explains how to format text. You will learn how to change the type, style, size, and color of the text in your presentations using the Ribbon, Mini Toolbar, and Font dialog box. You will also learn how to use the Format Painter tool to copy formatting changes from one block of text to another, and how to emphasize the text in your presentations using WordArt.
• Viewing a Presentation (5 of 8)
  PowerPoint 2007 offers four views, each of which allow you to focus on and work with your presentation in different ways. This workshop introduces you to PowerPoint’s views. You will also learn how to use the Zoom controls and the presentation window to change how your presentation appears onscreen.
• Formatting a Presentation (6 of 8)
  This workshop explains how to format your presentations to give them more impact and make sure your message is delivered effectively. You will learn how to apply and modify a document theme or background, as well as how to adjust page setup, how to insert headers and footers, and how to use the Slide Master to format your presentations.
• Working with Objects (7 of 8)
  Presentations that include pictures, drawings, and graphics can be much more compelling and effective than presentations that only contain boring text. Once you know how to work with pictures and graphics, you can create all kinds of cool slides. This workshop explains how to use PowerPoint’s drawing tools to insert shapes; how to insert pictures and clip art; and how to format pictures, shapes and clip art.
• Working with Tables (8 of 8)
  Tables can be used in place of tab stops to organize and arrange information in an attractive, effective manner. A table neatly arranges text and data in a grid, organized by columns and rows. Once you have entered information in a table, you can do all kinds of things with it. For example, you can sort the information alphabetically or numerically; add and delete columns and/or rows; and make your table stand out by formatting it with border, shading, and color options. As powerful as tables are, most people don’t know how to use them effectively, if at all. Tables are so important that this entire workshop is devoted to helping you become a table expert.

Microsoft Publisher

Publisher is a desktop publishing program that turns your ideas into professional publications. Publisher lets you create publications that include text and graphics, as well as charts and worksheets created using other applications. Once you have created a publication, you can print it from your own computer. Or, you can send it off for commercial printing.

• Introduction: (1 of 3)
  This workshop will introduce you to the Publisher basics—what you need to know to open, view, print, and save a publication. If you’ve already seen the Microsoft Publisher program screen before, you know that it’s filled with cryptic-looking buttons, menus, and icons. By the time you’ve finished this workshop, you will know what most of those buttons, menus, and icons are used for.
• Formatting and Effects: (2 of 3)
  This workshop explains how to format your publications to give them more impact and make sure your message is delivered effectively. You will learn how to use the Design Gallery and how to change the color scheme and background of your publications to make them more visually appealing. You will also learn how to adjust the page setup, how to insert headers and footers, and how to create and use a Master page in your publications. This workshop will also introduce Publisher’s unique drawing tools to add lines, shapes, and text boxes to your publications, as well as how to format them.
• Building a Publication: (3 of 3)
  Publisher comes equipped with many magnificent tools for creating, modifying, and solidifying your fabulous creations. To assist you in finding the perfect publication, Publisher includes a publication wizard to guide you through the selection process. No matter what your experience or artistic ability (or lack thereof), the publication wizard has something for everyone. This workshop will get you started creating your own publications.

Microsoft Visio

Visio is a diagramming program that can help you create business and technical diagrams that document and organize complex ideas, processes, and systems. Diagrams created in Visio enable you to visualize and communicate information clearly, concisely, and effectively in ways that text and numbers cannot. With Visio, you can show your audience what you mean by using clear diagrams, such as flowcharts, organizational charts, and detailed maps.

• Introduction: (1 of 3)
  This workshop will introduce you to the many templates, drawing shapes, and connectors incorporated within Visio. You will learn to drag-and-drop, nudge, duplicate, rotate, align and move shapes; use different connectors between shapes, and insert text boxes. In this workshop, you will also learn to add color schemes, backgrounds, titles and format shapes and connectors.
• Flowcharts: (2 of 3)
  This workshop will focus upon creating Visio flowcharts. You will learn to add, connect, fill, and title shapes within the flowcharts. We will discuss adding annotations, numbering in the flowchart, and formatting of shapes. This workshop will also teach you how to save the flowchart as a drawing file, for the web, and for other purposes.
• Organization Charts: (3 of 3)
  Visio templates present you two different methods to create simple to complex organization charts by dragging specialized position shapes, which represent people within the organization, onto the drawing page. The position shapes in a Visio organization chart store information abut the people and relationships within the organization. This workshop will focus upon understanding and implementing different templates, shapes, and layouts into your Visio drawing.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a powerful word‑processing software program that gives its users the tools to create a variety of professional documents. Word automatically checks your spelling and grammar, and corrects common mistakes. It even lets you insert charts, tables, and pictures into your documents. Microsoft Word is the most widely used and, according to most reviews, the most powerful and user‑friendly word‑processor available.

• The Fundamentals (1 of 8)
  This workshop is an introduction to working with Word. You’ll learn about the main parts of the program screen, how to give commands, use help, and about new features in Word 2007.
• Document Basics (2 of 8)
  This workshop will teach you the most basic commands and functions you can perform in Word, such as how to create, open, save, and close a document. It will also go through the most basic commands for working with text, such as inserting and deleting, selecting and replacing text.
• Working with and Editing Text (3 of 8)
  Word can do a lot of things, but its primary function is to be a word processor: it can help you out with anything that has to do with words. It’s also the most popular program for creating letters, memos, reports, outlines—any document that is primarily focused on producing text. Since text is the primary function and purpose of Word, this workshop deals with how to work with text when you insert and edit it in the document.
• Formatting Characters and Paragraphs (4 of 8)
  This workshop explains how to format both characters and paragraphs. You will learn how to change the appearance, size, and color of the characters in your documents. You will also learn the ins and outs of formatting paragraphs: aligning text to the left, right, and center of the page; increasing a paragraph’s line spacing; and indenting paragraphs. This workshop also describes how to add borders to paragraphs and how to create bulleted and number lists. Knowing how to format characters and paragraphs gives your documents more impact and makes them easier to read.
• Formatting the Page (5 of 8)
  Instead of working with characters and paragraphs, this workshop takes a step back and looks at how to change the appearance of entire pages. When you format a page, you determine the margins between the text and the edge of the page, the orientation of the page, and the size of the paper. This workshop also explains how to add a header or footer that appears at the top or bottom of every page in your document, how to control where the page breaks, and how to use multiple page formats.
• Working with Themes and Styles (6 of 8)
  This workshop covers formatting features that can save you tons of time as you create and format documents. First, we’ll learn all about styles. A style is a set of character and paragraph formats stored under a name. Styles are useful because you can apply a whole group of formatting options in a single step. If you decide to change the formatting options of a style, every character or paragraph formatted with that style is automatically updated with the new formatting options, instead of having to go through the document and manually update each and every paragraph. The final lessons in the workshop talk about document themes, a great way to make your documents look cohesive and professionally designed.
• Working with Shapes and Pictures (7 of 8)
  Documents that include pictures, drawings, and graphics can be much more compelling and effective than documents that only contain boring text. Once you know how to work with pictures and graphics, you can make all kinds of neat documents, such as newsletters, greeting cards, and pamphlets. This workshop explains how to use Word’s drawing tools to insert shapes and text boxes in your documents; how to insert pictures and clip art; and how to format pictures, shapes and clip art.
• Working with Tables (8 of 8)
  Tables rank right up there with the spell checker as one of the neatest word processing features. A table neatly arranges text and data in a grid, organized by columns and rows. Once you have entered information in a table, you can do all kinds of things with it. Tables can be used in place of tab stops to organize and layout information in an attractive, organized manner. As powerful as tables are, most people don’t know how to use them effectively, if at all. Tables are so important that this entire workshop is devoted to helping you become a table expert.

Microsoft SharePoint

This open lab/workshop is an opportunity for different stakeholders, involved with the implementation of SCSU’s SharePoint Portal, to practice their skills adding web parts, images, and have an open discussion of basic web layout techniques. This is an opportunity for content providers to discuss how they can manage the many options SharePoint provides to the campus community.

MnSCU Purchasing Control System

In recent years, policy changes have granted the University increased spending authority and enhanced abilities. These benefits come with greater accountability and responsibility to follow procedures and stay within guidelines. In this workshop, you will learn the procedural steps necessary to place a Purchase Order into the Integrated Statewide Records System (ISRS). The workshop focuses upon how you log into ISRS, navigate the many options, and use the purchasing system efficiently while following established guidelines.