Purpose
I am writing to propose a solution to a problem in my
keyboarding lab. The problem is that my books and software are
outdated. I recommend that you order new textbooks and new software to
be used for my keyboarding lab. I hope that you will approve this
proposal and get the books ordered this week. Ordering new books and
software will improve my students typing skills and improve their
grades.
The Problem with Current Books and Software
Currently, I teach five keyboarding classes each day. There
are 25-30 students in each of my classes. We do not have an updated
textbook to use for typing. The textbooks we have are the same ones
that we have been using for many years. The information in the
textbooks is outdated. In fact, these are the same typing books we used
when we had typewriters to teach keyboarding. We also do not have
software to help teach the students keyboarding skills. The program
that we have doesn't work most of the time. It is also very outdated
and doesn't go along with the textbooks that we use.
Another problem with these textbooks is that the information is very
basic. The books do not include information about word processing or
computer applications. The only thing in the books is simple
keyboarding for typewriters. We use computers in my keyboarding lab and
we need books that teach computer keyboarding, not typewriter
keyboarding.
The software that we currently use is also very boring to the
students. While in grades 4-8, the students take this class every
year for nine weeks. We need to purchase software that would save their
progress until the next year. This way, students could pick up where
they left off each year. The current software doesn't do this.
The students must start at the beginning of the program each year.
A Solution to the Problem
The purchase of new textbooks and software will benefit all
of my students. I propose that we order textbooks and software from
Glencoe Publishing. I have worked at two other schools that used this
software. These schools were Southeast Bulloch High School and
Portal Middle School. The keyboarding teachers at both of these
schools agree that this software is a good choice. It is very
up-to-date and it is also challenging and fun for the students. The
title of the book is Glencoe Keyboarding with Computer
Applications. The software that comes with the textbooks is
called KCA.
This is an excellent choice for a textbook and software combination.
The KCA software and the textbook are integrated. The students
are able to type the textbook lines into the software program on the
computer. They are able to get an instant score of the errors and speed
of each lesson.
The software is easy to use and install. Students will have their own
password and screen name. Student progress will be saved each
day. The wonderful part is that the students can continue the work from
year to year. They would no longer have to start at the beginning
of the program.
This book and software also includes a section devoted to computer
applications. This is especially important to my 8th grade
students. They will be taking a full course next year in computer
applications. The introduction in this textbook is a great way for them
to end their 8th grade year in keyboarding.
Costs
The costs of purchasing new textbooks and software are shown below.
Thirty Student Edition Textbooks:
|
$1,589.40
|
One Teacher's Edition Textbook:
|
$86.49
|
One Teacher's Classroom Resources Kit:
|
$230.49
|
Classroom Courseware CD-ROM & Site License:
|
$1,062.99
|
Total Cost:
|
$2,942.67
|
As you can see, the textbooks and software are not very expensive when
you consider the great effects they will have on my students. I have
thirty computers in my lab. The students will not be allowed to take
the textbooks home since this will be a shared set of textbooks.
We can get a site license for the software and install it on all thirty
computers. I have installed and used this software before, so it will
not be necessary to hire someone to install the software. It will not
cost anything for training either because I am already very experienced
with using the software.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I think it would be a great benefit to our
school for you to approve this proposal and order textbooks and
software for my lab. The students at the middle school really need a
program to use so they can learn how to type. Typing is an essential
part of our lives because of all the technology around us. Purchasing
this program will ensure that graduates of this school are able to type
when they reach high school computer applications.
Purchasing this program will also ensure that high school computer
teachers will not have to spend time teaching students how to
type. They will be able to type after finishing this program and
should be ready for advanced computer applications.
I really hope that you will think about approving this proposal for my
lab. My students and I would love to start the year off next year with
a new outlook on keyboarding.
Click here to see specifics of my proposal.
Click here to return to the article.