The growth of computer use has resulted in the proliferation of training materials aimed at the naive user. Students of French are probably better served than those of other languages since there is a mass of publications that are accessible both in terms of cost and level (technical and linguistic).
This page provides a list of French materials that can be consulted at UWE. Typically, these are the materials we would recommend that students use if the Placements Officer is aware that knowledge of a particular package is a requirement for that placement.
The cost of these materials is such (typically 25-30 Francs) that students could well afford them themselves. In some cases, they can be ordered directly over the WWW.
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 106, 'Excel perfectionnement' (25 FF)Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 103, 'Access' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No.203, 'L'Internet Facile' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 202, 'Mise à jour de ton PC' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 201, 'Windows NT' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 104, 'PowerPoint' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 102, 'Excel pour débutants' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 100, 'Word 97' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 301, 'Windows pour débutants' (25 FF)
Les Cahiers de l'Informatique No. 105, 'Windows 98' (25 FF)
The practice of supplying CDs with computing magazines is not yet as widespread in Europe as in the UK. However, magazines occasionally yield some worthwhile offerings:
There is one exceptional source of inexpensive French documentation and software, an occasional publication called Presqu’offert. This magazine comes with a fully functional CD (not time-limited). As an example, the May 1998 edition came with a full version of Claris Works, release 5.0 in French (French spell-checker and thesaurus) and simple documentation, all costing only 99 FF. This is generally regarded as one of the better integrated packages and has been used by my placement students to write their foreign language projects. Presqu’offert is published by Diamond Editions and their catalogue can be viewed on-line.
There are now a significant number of low-cost interactive CDs available from outlets such as Dixons, Currys, PC-World, Tandy and even motorway service-stations. Again, these are eminently affordable and have the advantage of providing tuition in a package without the student necessarily having access to the package him/herself. This means that a student can focus on a particular application at the level required by the potential employer. These same skills may also be desirable for some other aspect of the student's work: intermediate word-processing to enable the student to produce a dissertation with footnotes, endnotes, index, etc.
Softkey publishes a range of CDs covering standard applications: Word Tutor, Excel Tutor. They cost in the region of £10.00 and can be used by complete beginners or as a means of improving already existing skills. Their catalogue can also be visited and searched on-line.
Focus Multimedia produces a
similar range of products in the same price range. Their products can be
searched for and bought from Futuretail. Examples of the kinds of
product that can be found are:
Teach Yourself MS Word 97 (Beginner and Advanced
Tutorials)
Teach Yourself MS Access (Beginner and Advanced
Tutorials).
Digital Cognition produce an excellent interactive CD called 'All you need to know about ... The Internet'.