Microsoft® Windows® 8 and Office 2013: Making the Transition

Course Description

Overview:

Mobile devices are widely used. As a result, many business professionals find themselves performing a greater number of work-related tasks, from a variety of devices, regularly. You may find yourself included in this group of multiple-device users, although you might still perform a significant amount of your work from a desktop or a laptop computer. Being able to access your work from nearly anywhere is a matter of convenience and efficiency, but it also has its drawbacks. Some devices simply don't have the ability to run many of the applications you use in an office setting. You have likely experienced the frustration of trying to review a document from a mobile device only to encounter an error message.

With the release of Windows 8 and Office 2013, Microsoft has made strides in bridging the gap between your laptop or desktop PC, and a variety of mobile devices. While this may bring us one step closer to the ability to work anywhere, any time, from any device, it can present some challenges. How can an operating system designed to work on mobile devices also function on a PC? How can you make a smooth transition from one type of device to another? And, how compatible can these vastly different environments really be?

Course Objectives:

Target Student:

This course is designed for students who wish to make a switch from using a PC running on the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system with foundational knowledge and skills in Office 2007 or 2010 to using a PC running on the Microsoft Windows 8 operating system with Office 2013 in a business or work-related environment.

Prerequisites:

To ensure success, students should have a prior working knowledge of the Windows 7 operating system and Office 2007 or 2010. Students should be proficient in the general use of personal computers and related peripheral devices and should have experience using either Office 2007 or 2010. To meet these prerequisites, you can take the following Logical Operations courses:

Windows® 7: Transition from Windows® XP

Microsoft® Office Windows® 7: Level 1

Microsoft® Office Word 2010: Part 1

Microsoft® Office Excel 2010: Part 1

Microsoft® Office PowerPoint 2010: Part 1

Microsoft® Office Outlook 2010: Part 1

Course-specific Technical Requirements

For this course, you will need one workstation for each student and one for the instructor. Each workstation will need the following minimum hardware configurations:

1 GHz Pentium®-class processor or faster
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) with at least 1 GB free hard disk space available for Office 2013 installation
CD/DVD-ROM drive
Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Keyboard and mouse (or other pointing device)
1366 × 768 resolution monitor (Dual monitor setup is optional for students, but required for the instructor's workstation.)
Two additional USB, SATA, or SAS hard drives for the instructor's workstation
Network cards and cabling for local network access
Network server
Internet access (contact your local network administrator)
Printer (optional) or an installed printer driver
Projection system to display the instructor's computer screen (It is strongly recommended that the instructor station be equipped with the ability to display both the primary and secondary monitor screens simultaneously.)

Microsoft® Windows® 8 Professional Edition
Microsoft® Office 2013 Professional Pro (The Office 2013 Professional Pro requires an Office 365 account. You will be prompted to sign up for an account to download the software. Follow the onscreen prompts to create your account and download the software. If you already have an Office 365 account, use your current login credentials.)
Web conferencing application for class sessions with remote students or a blend of live and remote students

Course Content

Lesson 1: Navigating the Windows 8 Environment

Topic A: Log in to Windows 8

Topic B: Navigate the Start Screen

Topic C: Navigate the Desktop

Lesson 2: Working with Common Features

Topic A: Use Modern Apps

Topic B: Use the Charms

Topic C: Use File Explorer

Topic D: Use the Control Panel and the Task Manager

Lesson 3: Customizing the Windows 8 Environment

Topic A: Customize the Start Screen

Topic B: Customize the Desktop

Lesson 4: Getting Started with Microsoft Office 2013

Topic A: Common Features

Topic B: Office 2013 and the Cloud

Lesson 5: Working with Microsoft Word 2013

Topic A: Edit a PDF

Topic B: Work with Tables

Topic C: Edit Documents

Topic D: Read Documents

Lesson 6: Working with Microsoft Excel 2013

Topic A: Streamline Workflow with Templates

Topic B: Accelerate Data Insertion with Flash Fill

Topic C: Incorporate Charts

Topic D: Analyze Data

Lesson 7: Working with Microsoft PowerPoint 2013

Topic A: Apply a Theme from the Start Screen

Topic B: Leverage the Enhanced Presenter View

Topic C: Incorporate Objects

Lesson 8: Working with Microsoft Outlook 2013

Topic A: Navigate Through Mail, Calendars, Contacts, and Tasks

Topic B: Connect to Social Networks