Your Office: Getting Started with Business Communication, 1st edition

About the Book

• The Outcomes focus allows students and instructors to know the higher level learning goals and how those are achieved through discreet objectives and skills.
• Outcomes are written at the course level and the Business Unit level.
• Chapter Objectives list identifies the learning objectives to be achieved as students work through the chapter. Page numbers are included for easy reference. These are revisited in the Concepts Check at the end of the chapter.
• MOS Certification Guide directs anyone interested in prepping for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exam to the specific series resources to find all content required for the test.
• Features for active learning help students learn by doing, and immerse them in the business world using Microsoft Office.
• Blue boxes represent the hands-on portion of the chapter and helps students quickly identify what steps they need to follow to complete the chapter Prepare Case. This is easily distinguishable from explanatory text by the blue shaded background.
• Starting and ending files appear before every case in the text. Starting Files identify exactly which Student Data Files are needed to complete each case. Ending Files are provided to show students the naming conventions they should use when saving their files. Each file icon is color coded by application.
• Side note conveys a brief tip or piece of information aligned visually with a step in the chapter, quickly providing key information to students completing that particular step.
• Consider This offers critical thinking questions and topics for discussion, set apart as a boxed feature, allowing students to step back from the project and think about the application of what they are learning and how these concepts might be used in the future.
• Soft Skills icons appear with other boxed features and identify specific places where students are being exposed to lessons on soft skills.
• Study aids help students review and retain the material so they can recall it at a moment’s notice.
• Quick Reference boxes summarize generic or alternative instructions on how to accomplish a task. This feature enables students to quickly find important skills.
• Concept Check review questions appear at the end of the chapter, which require students to demonstrate their understanding of the objectives.
• Visual Summary offers a review of the objectives learned in the chapter using images from the completed solution file, mapped to the chapter objectives with callouts and page references, so students can easily find the section of text to refer to for a refresher.
• MyITLab™ icons identify which cases from the book match those in MyITLab™.
• Blue Box Video icons appear with each Active Text box and identify the brief video, demonstrating how students should complete that portion of the Prepare Case.
• Extensive cases allow students to progress from a basic understanding of Office through to proficiency.
• Chapters all conclude with Practice, Problem Solve, and Perform Cases at the end of chapters to allow full mastery at the chapter level.  Alternative versions of each of these cases are available in Instructor Resources.
• Business Unit Capstones all include More Practice, Problem Solve, and Perform Cases that require students to synthesize objectives from the two previous chapters to extend their mastery of the content.  Alternative versions of each of these cases are available in Instructor Resources.
• More Grader Projects offered with this edition, which include Prepare cases as well as Problem Solve cases at both the chapter and business unit capstone levels.
• The real world focus reminds students that what they’re learning is practical and useful the minute they leave the classroom.
• Real World Success features in the chapter opener share anecdotes from real former students, describing how knowledge of Office has helped them get ahead or be successful in their lives.
• Real World Advice box offers notes on best practices for general use of important Office skills. The goal is to advise students as a manager might in a future job.
• Business Application Icons appear with every case in the text and clearly identify which business application students are being exposed to, i.e., Finance, Marketing, Operations, etc.
• Real World Interview Video icons appear with the Real World Success Story in the Business Unit and feature a real business person discussing how he or she actually uses the skills in the chapter on a day-to-day basis.

Also available with MyITLab

MyITLab^® is an online homework and assessment program designed for Information Technology (IT) courses, to engage students and improve results. Live-in-Application Grader projects come with the convenience of auto-grading and instant feedback, helping students learn more quickly and effectively. Digital badges lets students showcase their Microsoft Office or Computer Concepts competencies, keeping them motivated and focused on their future careers. MyITLab builds the critical skills needed for college and career success.

New to the Your Office Series:

• NEW! Grader-First is the new MyITLab approach for the Your Office series, providing everything instructors need to both train and assess students using live in the application Grader projects with built-in learning aids.
• NEW! Prepare Cases built as auto-graded Grader proejcts in MyITLab and offered with Read & Watch remediation assets to provide a more personalized learning experience for students.
• NEW! Business Unit openersemphasize the business concepts students learn in the chapters. These showcase the Real World Interview Videos & Real World Success features so students do not overlook them.
• NEW! Course-level and Chapter-level outcomes, aligned with AACSB requirements, are all identified in the Business Unit openers so students have a big picture overview of what they need to get from using this book.
• NEW! All new Problem Solve cases keep this book fresh and current.
• NEW! Critical thinking steps, added to the end of chapter and capstone cases, require students to answer objective questions by interpreting the data they are working with.
• NEW! Updated design includes wide screen images, similar to what students see on their own monitors.

Also available with MyITLab

MyITLab^® is an online homework and assessment program designed for Information Technology (IT) courses, to engage students and improve results. Live-in-Application Grader projects come with the convenience of auto-grading and instant feedback, helping students learn more quickly and effectively. Digital badges lets students showcase their Microsoft Office or Computer Concepts competencies, keeping them motivated and focused on their future careers. MyITLab builds the critical skills needed for college and career success.