IMPORTANT:  This will be the first grade of your 2nd Semester.  This assignment counts toward your grade.

Today we will be completing a "Personality Test":

• Please go to: http://www.mypersonality.info/
• Sign up for an account
  Use your school-related email address
• Take both of the tests
  1. "Personality Types"
  2. "Multiple Intelligences")
• Click "My Account"
• Click on your profile page link
  Mine is: http://askgriff.mypersonality.info/
• Click your Full ____ Profile (mine is INFP)
• Create a title (I used the "INFP - The Dreamer" from the top of the page)
• Copy the top paragraph explaining your personality type and paste in a new Word document
• Copy your "Details" and paste into your Word document
• Copy your "Career Matches" and paste into your Word document
• Copy three quotes from the "About the ____" section and paste into your Word document
• Format your document so that it looks nice and is well organized
• Save your document as Personality Types
• Print and turn in your document

One of the skills that is most lacking in todays' business world is being able to type special characters.  Characters such as ñ, é, and ¿.  Today we will be learning many of these techniques. 

We will also be learning how to create a screen shot with the "Print Screen" button.

Today we will begin typing test practice.  Begin with Lesson A and go to Measurement Writing.  Continue working on Lesson A until you have achieved 30wpm or more with 97% accuracy.  As you progress through the lessons [each time achieving 30wpm and 97% accuracy or greater] you will be readying yourself for your official typing test -- which will be one of these lessons.  In your binder/notebook keep track of your highest score for each lesson.  Let me know when you have completed every lesson (A through T) to schedule an official typing test.

Remember, you only get the certificate once, so make sure you're ready.  :)

I received permission from Mr. Cockerton to offer KHS Typing Certificates when students have met the typing requirement.  For the next week, continue working on typing lessons from MicroType Pro.  There are twenty lessons (1, R1, 2, ... 20).  After we complete those lessons we will begin taking practice typing tests to prepare you for the actual typing test.  Once it looks like students are ready, I will begin offering the typing test.  Note:  I will only certify someone if they have a typing speed of at least 30 wpm with an accuracy of 97% or more.  If you prefer to continue working on your typing speed and take the typing test at a later date, I can certify you then -- but I will only certify each student once, so make it count.  :)

Have a great 3-day weekend!  :)

We took the first few minutes of class today to discuss what we want to cover in Life Skills & Personal Finance.  We discussed the possibility of working toward a "Typing Certificate" and that seemed to be a pretty popular [almost unanimous] option.  We also discussed covering the following:

• Excel
• Financial Responsibility
• Income Tax
• Banking: Checking and Savings
• Housing: Mortgages, Buying vs. Renting
• Loans: House & Car
• Student Loans
• Egg Babies
• College Prep
• Paying for College: Grants, Cash Aid, FAFSA
• Investing
• Insurance (car & health)
• Which bank is best?
• Which insurance companies are best?

If you have other ideas or suggestions please let me know in person or by emailing me.

One of the most valuable skills that people need in todays workforce [and in college] is proper keyboarding.  In the business world nearly every job requires some sort of computer use -- and being able to do so more quickly makes you a more valuable employee.  In college if you have to write a 6000 word paper and you type 10 words per minute, you can expect to be typing for 600 minutes [or 10 hours]... but if you can type 60 words per minute you will type approximately 100 minutes... or about an hour and a half.  Obviously learning proper keyboarding techniques is important.

If our computers handle the typing program properly [if they save our daily typing scores in Thawspace], I am hoping to be able to certify your typing speed by the end of the year.  Entering the work force with a typing certificate greatly improves your odds of being hired for many jobs.

To begin with, go to:

• START > PROGRAMS > SOUTHWESTERN KEYBOARDING > MICROTYPE PRO
• Create a new account with your First and Last name
  (Check capitalization because it will print on your certificate)
• Begin working through the first section (the top-left corner)

Important: Don't give personal information (last name, age, name of your school, etc.)
(Note: If you prefer to not share personal feelings on a blog, you may print your assignments and keep in a binder to be graded when I grade blogs.)

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Looking At Myself: Personality Traits


Click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu) and call it “My Personality Traits”.
Personality Traits: Are you tactful? Bold? Sociable? Quiet? Thoughtful? Energetic? Funny? Sympathetic? Inquisitive? Reserved? Dramatic? Intelligent? List as many traits as you can that describe you.

Click "Publish" to save your post.

Looking At Myself: Skills and Aptitudes


Click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu) and call it “My Skills and Aptitudes”.

What skills have you learned? What comes easily for you? Do you have a special talent for anything in particular? Are you good at working with your hands? Solving problems? Working with people? Are you artistic? A good reader? A welder? A seamstress?  An artist? 
 
Discuss as many skills and aptitudes as you can apply

Click "Publish" to save your post.

Looking At Myself: Roles


Click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu) and call it “My Roles”.

Your roles are the different parts you play in your life. Most of these are temporary, though some can go on for many years. Right now, you are probably a son or daughter, a student, a friend. You might also be an employee, a sister or brother, a girlfriend or boyfriend, and so on.

Discuss the different roles you play in your life.  Click "Publish" to save your post.

Looking At Myself: Occupations and Vocations

Click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu) and call it “My Occupations and Vocations”.

Occupations (work you do for pay) and vocations (recreational activities) might include you being a babysitter, saxophone player, cook, ballet dancer, skateboarder, or basketball player.

List your occupations and vocations and click "Publish" to save your post.

Important: Don't give personal information (last name, age, name of your school, etc.)
(Note: If you prefer to not share personal feelings on a blog, you may print your assignments and keep in a binder to be graded when I grade blogs.)

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Show Me Your… Blogger

First of all, make sure you have a Blogger page made just for this class. We will be posting to the blog regularly for our assignments. You can create as many different blogs as you need under one Gmail address. Simply click on “Dashboard” and then “Create a Blog”.

Next, email me (askgriff@gmail.com) with your name (first and last) and the URL of your blog (http://_____.blogspot.com). If you click “View Blog” you can copy the URL from the address bar. I will be grading your assignments from this address, so make sure you copy it correctly.

The first post in your blog should be the "What Is Success?" post from last week.  If you didn't get that finished, look back at the assignment for instructions.

WHO ARE YOU?

We are beginning this course with a section called "Who Are You?"  We will be looking at your skills, aptitudes, learning styles, habits, etc.  We will be working toward sections for "Where Are You Going?" as well in which we will be researching college, careers, budgets, and more.

Looking At Myself: My Passions

Now that you’re all set up with Blogger, go to your class Blogger page and click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu). Let’s call it: “My Passions”

A passion is something you feel very strongly about – something for which you have boundless enthusiasm. You might be passionate about music, sports, art, computers, horses, cars, gardening, politics, the beach, marching bands, penguins – you name it! The happiest people are often those who find a way to incorporate their passions into their career. These are the people you’ll hear say things like, “I can’t believe they pay me to do this.”

Think about your own passions. What kinds of things are you passionate about? Are there things that you could do all day long and not get bored?

Discuss your passions in your blog and then click on “Publish”.

Looking At Myself: My Values

Click “New Post” (from the top navigation menu) and call it “My Values”.

Your values are those qualities or things that are most important in your life. Some people may value family or security, while others place more importance on adventure or power. You might value beauty, knowledge, social justice, or independence. You could include your spiritual beliefs, your views on the environment or global warming, your political beliefs, or just things you “know to be right.”

Discuss your values in your blog and then click on “Publish”.

Well, we managed to get through our first week.  We actually covered quite a lot of ground!  Within the first week, we...

• created email (Gmail) accounts
• created blogs (Blogger)
• created Cover Letters / Appication Letters
• updated our Résumé's
• created Google Docs folders to store our files
• completed an online job application
• sent an email with attachments

If you are behind, please work to get caught up.  As we work through the rest of the year we will be building on some of the things we are creating now.  We will come back to the résumé, cover letter, application, etc.  We will be uploading/downloading from the Google Docs site.  We will be continuing to add to our blogs.

As you think of things you would like to cover this semester, please feel free to suggest them.

Thanks for a great first week!

You are applying for a position at Acme Industries:

Acme Industries has an immediate need for a Customer Service Representative seeking casual work environment, competitive salary and benefits and opportunity for advancement. Excellent verbal and written communication skills and proficiency in Excel will be keys to success in this dynamic and stable organization. Will be responsible for customer service and sales support; processing sales orders and returns; and maintaining customer sales order files for Manufacturing - Other company. Great benefits. Apply for this great position as a Customer Service Representative in the manufacturing industry today.

1. Create an Application Letter for this position.
2. Create a reume for this position (adjust yours to fit) 
3. Complete the online job application: http://www.jobs.state.ak.us/forms/genapp.pdf
   Note: Do NOT include your SSN
4. Save the application to your computer.
5. Print the Application (both pages)
6. Submit the application packet to the office receptionist (Mr. Griffith)

Next I would like you to upload your completed application to your Google Docs folder.  Keeping a copy of a completed application on file really helps when applying for other jobs.

Finally, I would like you to log in to your Blogger account and add a New Post discussing what your definition of success is.  There is no right or wrong answer here -- I just want you to begin thinking about what success means.

 

The first thing I would like you to work on today is a Letter of Reference.  Generally high school students won't be writing "letters of reference", but knowing what is included in a letter can help students understand what to ask for of teachers, employers, etc.

To begin with, open Microsoft Word and start out as if you're writing a block letter.  The format of this letter is a little different.  You will use your return address (or a business address), then a date, but you will not be putting a specific addressee.  The subject (the person who requested the letter of reference) will take copies of the letter to prospective employers.  The letter should explain your relationship with the subject and in what capacity you can vouch for them.  You should also include your specific recommendation.

I am including a Sample Reference Letter here.

Next we will be working on our résumé.  I understand that the class created résumé's earlier in the year.  Rather than creating a new résumé I would like you to update your résumé. 

Your résumé should include:

• Personal Information: Name, Address, City, State, Zip, etc.
• Career Objective: Keep it short, indicating your career goal.
• Education: High school & post high school (courses, extracurriculars, areas of study)
• Experience: Jobs (paid & unpaid) including name and address of employer, job title, etc.
• Additional Qualifications: Additional skills, equipment, software, foreign languages, etc.

Once your résumé is complete you will upload it to Google Docs:

• Log into your Gmail account using the name and password you created on Tuesday.
• Click on "Documents" at the top of the page to enter Google Docs
• Click "Upload" in the top left corner to get to the "Upload Files" page
• Click "Select files to upload"...
• Select your Résumé and click "Open"
• Click "Select more files"...
• Select your Cover Letter (from yesterday) and click "Open"
• Click "Start Upoad"

Your files will now be stored in Google Docs and available for you to edit, print, or download in the future.

Today we worked on creating our first "block letter" -- in this case, a "Letter of Application".  These letters (also called cover letters) typically accompany a résumé. 

They consist of the following sections:

• Return Address (your address)
• Date (in long form such as "January 6, 2009"
• Destination (Name and Address)
• Salutation (Dear Mr./Mrs. __)
• Body of the Letter
• Complimentary Cloe (Sincerely,)
• Signature (Written by hand in blue or black ink)
• Your Typed Name
• Enclosures? (Enclosure: Résumé)

You can view a sample letter here:  Sample Letter

Our assignment for today is to get set up with a Gmail account and a Blogger page. 
First of all, let's try Gmail:  Go to http://www.gmail.com/ and register for a new account.  Next we can go to http://www.blogger.com/ and sign in using our Gmail username and password.  I will walk you through this, but there are instructions available here if you would like to complete this at a later time.

We will be using our Blogger pages to keep links, post assignments, etc.