The following is a collection of relevant jargon for the lab courses Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. If the term you are looking for is not defined, please inform me in a progress email so I can update this post. I will also be keeping this post in the FAQs.
Activity: any item “to-do” in Pearson; see: Simulation, Exam, Training, Grader
Application (app): a computer program, ex Word or Google Chrome
Attempts: times which you can submit your activities
Browser app: an application which is hosted and run within your browser; in the case of Microsoft Office, the browser apps are incomplete freeware intended to tantalize you into buying a license for the desktop suite
Chapter: a collection of three to four Modules culminating in a Grader; Word has three assigned chapters (stop after Module 10) while Excel and PowerPoint each have four assigned chapters
Desktop app: an application which is hosted and run using your OS; you open these from your Start Menu or Finder/Dock using Windows or Mac respectively; in the case of Microsoft Office, the desktop apps are commercial software which requires a paid license – we have a college license for you using the same credentials as you use for Teams
Download: save a file from online to your own computer
Exam: there are two types of exams; see either Simulation Exam or Grader Assessment
Final: a grader assessment found in the Final folder; Final 1 will match the material covered in Chapter 3 while Final 2 will match the material covered in Chapter 4 – please note Word students do not complete Final 2
Folder: labeled either as a Module, Midterm, or Final, these hold activities and are visible when first entering Pearson via ECampus
Grader: an activity for which you download instructions and files, edit the provided files using your own desktop Microsoft applications, and upload to Pearson for a mark which does contribute to your final grade in the course; you should have five attempts
Grader Assessment: a grader which is found in the Midterm or Final folders and matches the content of the grader assignment for that chapter
Grader Assignment: a grader which occurs at the end of each chapter as an opportunity to apply the techniques learned from the simulations
Grades Tracker: Word document downloadable from the appropriate Courses page on the lab site into which you enter your final marks and submit to Student Services and me as an email attachment
Midterm: a grader assessment found in the Midterm folder; Midterm 1 will match the material covered in Chapter 1 while Midterm 2 will match the material covered in Chapter 2 – both are assigned
Module: a folder housing a set of between two and five activities
OS: operating system
Pearson: the third-party company through which we license and host many of our courses, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
Simulation: a not-for-marks activity intended to teach the concepts you will need to complete the Graders; is a simulated version of a Windows 10 desktop and Office programs; you need to have your Pop-Ups turned on as these open in new tabs/windows; unlimited attempts allowed; requires particular methodology so can be very bossy – remember computers are binary and thus have no nuance – some steps may not be performable using Mac OS
Simulation Exam: a simulation activity which tests your recall of the Training activity immediately preceding; if you fail to correctly perform the task, you will be moved to the next question
Simulation Training: a simulation activity which asks you to complete certain formatting and data functions; if you fail to correctly perform the task, a training wizard will launch to teach you the desired item(s)
Suite: a “family” of applications made by one developer/development team which share common features such as layout or certain functions
Upload: save a file from your own computer to an online host, ie Pearson
Wizard: a step-by-step instructional program commonly used when installing applications or to provide assistance to the user, such as Clippy from older versions of Word