During this semester, you are required to complete 5 projects and four activities for this class.

Have you seen the "Shark Tank" TV show? Well, contestants present their idea or business venture in the hopes of getting investors to give them a lot of money. You are going to do the same thing with me. I am the head shark and you are going to convince me to give you money so you can grow your business and become rich. The projects are designed to convince me that your idea is a great one. Each project will be based on this idea of yours so pick something you really like so you will do a nice job. View this as a five step interview process where each project is used to give me more information about your idea. All of these projects can be completed in class or at home.


ALL PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES ARE DUE ON MONDAY AT NOON ON THE WEEK SHOWN!
(No late assignments will be accepted)

Projects & Activities Details
Project # 1

Advertisement/Flyer
(10 pts)
Due Week 3		 Step 1: You will make a flyer that is designed to get my interest about your business or idea. Make it cool with photos and enough text to let me know what you are trying to sell or do.

I am looking for good layout, font selection, and spelling. You MUST include a photo or clipart that goes with the theme of the flyer. This project gives you a chance to work with Office 2010 and explore its new interface and features. There are several good templates that you can use. 

Project # 2
 
Resume
(10 pts)
 Due Week 5

 Step 2 in the interview process requires a one-page resume. You need to use one of the new templates in Word 2010. This is your chance to show me you have the skills necessary to bring your business idea to market. Of course, you can make up stuff on the resume but make sure it sounds real and is based upon your business idea.
Project # 3

Excel Spreadsheet (15 pts)
Due Week 7		 Step 3: Create an Excel Spreadsheet that shows your expected revenue for the first year of your new business.

Your project must include the following: 

  • Your table must have at least 4 rows and 4 columns
  • All rows & columns must have totals. Be sure to use formulas in Excel to do the math for you!!
  • The dollar amounts are formatted as currency.
  • The table has a nice looking title
  • The chart can be any style but must be easy to read and must be accurate.
Project # 4

 PowerPoint (15 pts)
Due Week 9		 Step 4 requires a cool Powerpoint slide presentation about your idea. I am looking for creativity, layout, font, colors, etc.

Your project must include the following:

  • 4 slides
  • Slide transitions
  • At least one animation on each slide for text or graphics
  • One hyperlink to a website related to your subject.

Project # 5

USB Drive/Jump Drive
Investigation (15 pts)
Due Week 11

 Step 5.Let's say you need to purchase new USB jump drives for your employess. I want you to put together an Excel spreadsheet that shows the prices of these drives from four (4) different stores (online stores OK). Choose 3 different capacities (4GB, 8GB, & 16GB).

Use project #3 as a model for this project. The Excel table would have 4 rows and 3 columns. I want you to include:
  • Average price at each store.
  • Cheapest and most expensive sizes.
  • Create a graph showing your results.
  • Finally, based on your result, tell me which one you recommend and why.

Activity #1

Ready Boost investigation (10 pts)
Due Week 4

 Your new business will need computers. I want you to investigate Ready Boost. It is something very cool! It may be really useful to you...especially if you use laptops for your employees. I want you to specifically find out the following:
  • What is Ready Boost is all about.
  • What type of O/S must you have?
  • Will it work on your own computer at home?
  • Will it work on the computers in our classroom?
  • What do I have to buy in order to use it?
  • How much will all this cost me?

Activity #2

Computers and Voice recognition systems (10 pts)
Due Week 6

 

 Many times it is easier to dictate a letter than it is to write one. Your employees are aksing for a way to speak to their computer so they do not have ot type everything. You are told that Windows has good speech recognition capabilities. So find the answers to the following:
  • How do you enable speech recognition in Windows. Be specific. don't just tell me to turn it on.
  • What do I need to do to train it to recognize my voice?
  • How can your employess use dictation in Office 2010?

Make sure you give me complete and specific examples in order to get full credit.

Activity #3

OnLine Meetings (10 pts)
Due Week 8

 

 OK, you have decided that it will cost way too much to travel around the country doing business. You heard about video conferencing. You need to explore it because it could save you a lot of money and time.
  • Describe two products that are used for video conferencing in big business. Be sure to look at solutions for companies not just free stuff you use with your friends!
  • How much does it cost?
  • What equipment will I need to have?
  • How do I connect?

Activity #4

Wireless Network investigation (10 pts)
Due Week 10

 

 Let's say you are interested in putting together a wireless network in your new office. This activity will help you discover what your options are and what you need to purchase. I want you to answer the following questions:
  • Why would you want to create a wireless network anyway? Give specific reasons and why you would want those features.
  • What are my options for connecting to the internet? Again, be specific. Don't just say "an internet connections".
  • What equipment must I have in order for two or more computers to be connected?
  • Explain what 802.11 standards refer to. What is the difference between 802.11b,  802.11g & 802.11n?
  • How much will it cost to put this network together?

 

Updated 2/17/2014