| | |

11 things they don’t teach you in ICDL

Ok so you’ve got your ICDL and you’re ready and able to do anything on a computer.

Wrong!

Many of the skills you learn can be applied directly to your work. But there is some stuff missing, here’s my list:

  1. How to design impressive looking documents
  2. Use picture editing software
  3. Programming
  4. Data organisation
  5. How to clean your computer
  6. Saving files on a network and opening files on a network
  7. Fixing computers
  8. Thinking for yourself
  9. Integration
  10. What chart are you supposed to use
  11. Publishing
  12. How to learn these skills

How to design impressive looking documents

ICDL teaches you to use the tools, not how to use them to create documents or spreadsheets. You are given all the tools, and you know how to use them, but you can’t create original documents. The skills that you learn from ICDL teach you to manipulate existing documents — they don’t teach you to create original professional documents.

Example: ICDL teaches you to change fonts. You don’t learn that it is dangerous to mix many fonts in a single document. ICDL graduates often do too much to make a document look impressive, because they know how to do something. Graduates need to be taught to keep it simple.

ICDL textbooks encourage complicating documents. Tasks in the textbooks teach you to make words underlined bold and italic. This is completely unnecessary. If you want to emphasise a word, please use only one method to highlight the word or phrase, and never use underline.

Use picture editing software

Fantastic, you can use word, excel, PowerPoint, access, internet explorer, and outlook, but can you edit a picture? Can you upload a picture to a website? Do you know how to change the lighting of a photo?

If you’re a recent graduate of ICDL, the answer is no. ICDL does not teach any form of graphic manipulation.

MS Paint is not a graphical editing programme. It does not have any redeeming characteristics. Use Inkscape or the Gimp if you can’t afford Photoshop. They’re free and open source.

Programming

Most people don’t need to know how to programme. But why not programming? Is it really that difficult for the lay person to understand?

Data organisation

ICDL teaches you how to delete files, change their name, move them about, but it does not teach you what the best practice is for naming files or creating folders.

File systems exist to help you organise data. But there must be a million ways to organise files. Do you add a date first to the file name? Must the filename be written in uppercase or lowercase? How many subfolders are too many? What do you think is the best method for keeping your computer uncluttered?

Do you have thousands of files in a folder called stuff, because you have no idea where else to put them? How many folders do you have in My Documents called “New folder”? Be honest.

How to clean your computer

Everyone really should know how to clean a computer monitor, mouse and keyboard. Common sense does not work as well as you might think. Some detergents can do more harm than good. Surely you should learn how to clean a computer properly.

Saving files on a network/ opening files on a network

Why is this not a skill?

ICDL is supposed to prepare people for working in an Office environment. Offices use networks extensively. Surely it would be beneficial for us to learn how to use a network.

Fixing computers

You should certainly not be learning how to change a hard drive or replace RAM. You can definitely learn how to fix a printer or faulty keyboard. How to plug in all the parts of a PC into the correct sockets will also benefit everybody.

Thinking for yourself

Great, you passed ICDL. Can you decide what search terms to use on Google. The exam tells you what to do. Graduates have simply copied search terms from questions. How does this show that a student understands how to use a search engine?

Any student of ICDL will tell you that in order to pass, all you need to do is read the question properly. The answer is in it. You don’t have to think about why you’re using that particular search phrase or why you’re using that formula. Smart people are still more valuable than people who only follow instructions.

Integration

You study each ICDL module in complete isolation. When you’re doing word you don’t use excel or access to import data for a mail merge.

Why not?

It makes more sense to use a database to store data. Making a word document behave as a database is surely not good practice. But ICDL teaches you to do just that.

What chart are you supposed to use

The pie chart is overused. Stop using it to present data. It probably has a purpose, but I can’t think of one.

ICDL graduates don’t know either, but they know how to create a pie chart, and so they do.

Students need to learn when to use what chart.

Publishing

Why can’t I choose CMYK colours instead of RGB or HSL? Ok so this is more of a rant against Microsoft. But really, if you pay R4000 for some software you expect it to work.

Maybe ICDL should include a section on colour theory or at least a section on the difference between colours on a screen and colours printed on a printer. Everyone will benefit from this information.

How to learn these skills

Once you’ve got your ICDL, you really need to do Advanced ICDL. It is a fantastic course. You learn how to be an Office Rock Star.

The course is structured in such a way that you can easily learn on your own. Study from home and enjoy private tuition to help you improve your skills to help you pass your exam.

The course material will improve your productivity at work and you’ll be an Office Rock Star!

Similar Posts