Computer Skills and Applications - About CSA
The Computer Skills and Applications program includes a variety of basic, intermediate, and advanced courses. Courses may have anywhere from three to five modules, depending on which computer skills your department feels you need in order to do well in your program and in your career. All Computer Skills courses are graded as Pass/Not Pass.
Here are a few very important things you should know about your CSA course:
1. The minimum passing grade on all tests is 80%.
2. You have three attempts at each test. If you do not pass within three attempts, you must retake the entire course.
3. You must pass all your tests before end of term. Tests are not offered after end of term.
4.Please follow these testing policies when you're in the lab.
Please read on for more information about your CSA course.
Why CSA?
The Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities requires that all college graduates be computer literate. At George Brown, your computer literacy course is tailored to meet outcomes specified by your program.
Your CSA course has been designed to provide you with the skills you need to succeed here at school, on cooperative work placements, and in your career.
Here is a list of course content:
COMP1082: Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook.
COMP1109: Windows, Word, Excel, Advanced Excel, Outlook.
COMP1060: Access, Advanced Access, PowerPoint.
COMP6012: Windows, Word, Outlook.
Independent Study
Your CSA course is a self-directed, independent study course. You’ll meet the professor or course coordinator at your first class, where you’ll receive a comprehensive course orientation. You'll also learn how to use the Skills Assessment Manager (SAM) software.
The computer skills lab is staffed by knowledgeable, helpful facilitators. They are there every day to answer your questions, provide tutoring help, and supervise tests.
How Do I Get Started?
You will begin each module by completing training. You can do you training as many times as you wish, in order to be prepared for your test. It's best to get started very early so you can be sure to finish up all your tests well before the end of term. No tests are offered after term's end.
You can accelerate your progress as much as you like. As soon as you’ve passed all your course’s tests, you have completed the course! Many students complete as early as week 5 or 6 of term. This leaves you with more time to work on your other courses.
To pass, you’ll need a grade of 80% or higher on each CSA test.
You must pass all your tests to receive a Pass grade in the course.
During Fall and Winter terms, CSA Labs are open 8am-6pm. At St James, Monday through Thursday, and at Casa Loma, Monday through Friday. During Summer term, lab days and hours may vary--check the posted schedule on the door of your lab.
Home Study
CSA also offers a convenient home study option. Though your tests must be done in our lab, you can do all your training at home.
You can do your Training from any computer with an Internet connection. Just log on to: http://sam2010.course.com Training may be done as often as you like, and is always available to you at this website. When you have finished your Training, come to the CSA lab and take your test.
Important: Be sure to use all four modes of training: Prepare, Observe, Practice, and Apply.
While working through your training modules at home, you can use the audio function for the "Observe" mode (there's more about the different modes below). In the lab we have turned the audio feature off, so students are not disturbed by multiple audio tracks. But at home, you can certainly take advantage of the helpful audio feature.
CSA Lab Facilitators
The CSA labs at all three campuses are staffed by knowledgeable, helpful facilitators. They’re there to assist you in your learning. Please ask for help at any point in your training. When you're ready to take a test, just let one of the facilitators know and they will input a test password to unlock your test. You must display current photo id while you are taking a test or assessment.