An essential I.T qualification (The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL))

Member Name: davey_26

Product:	The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
Date:	14/10/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well presented, user friendly, ideal for I.T novices for improving confidence

Disadvantages: It doesn't go into enough depth for more experienced users

The ECDL was something I initially encountered some 4 years ago and it was of interest to me because it is an I.T qualification which is recognise throughout Europe. Fortunately the computer course itself was being held at a location only a few miles away where I reside and so commuting was not a problem.

The course is broken down into 7 areas each of which will be assessed via an online multiple choice test and these are

Use Of I.T Systems The first of these modules is simply a very basic overview which will allow to understand the functions that I.T has particularly in the work place.

Operate A Computer - This is simply showing people particularly people who for them this is a baptism of fire, how a computer operates but in very basic terms.

Word Processing - You will learn how to type a document and to do basic things things such as creating a template and mail merge

Spreadsheets - On Microsoft Excel basic formulas will be introduced as well as a foundation grounding in if statements

Databases - Databases allow you to hold huge and extensive amounts of data. The module shows you to create this data and useful facilities such as how to filter this data for specific criteria.

Presentation - The presentation module deals with Microsoft Powerpoint and teacher the user on how to create a slide show presentation.

Internet Intranet and Email - This will teach you the basics of emailing, attaching files to documents, sorting the emails.

With this basic overview, you are then in a position to undertake the Level 1. You are assisted by some fairly big books which accompany each of the modules. However they are written in a user friendly and will provide you with numerous working examples to undertake until the learning becomes easily absorbed.

This course is essentially a starter course for those not completely unfamiliar with computers but who are something of a novice. Having said that, it is very useful to do because from acquiring the knowledge and confidence, should you then wish to, you can then further your learning by undertaking a Level 2 course. This will provide you with the opportunity to learn much more but will also mean the information and ideas are somewhat more complex.

I enjoyed doing this course because I did learn a little from it and gave me the confidence to further my learning with Microsoft Excel. I thought the course is very manageable, presented in a clear and straight forward manner and thus provides you with more than sufficient preparation to successfully pass the test. If nothing else, the course will also provide you with something you can add to your resume.

It might be too simplistic for more experienced users but that also means you will be quicker to obtain the qualification from it. On successful completion of the course you will be issued with a an ECDL card to although obtaining the ECDL expert card makes me able to fool many more people with my I.T wizardry "cough"

Summary: A very good course which is well worth doing