UIL Computer Applications Contest
Linda Tarrant, State Contest Director
1-800-PAJAMAS (800-725-2627)
Computer Applications Video:
Spring, 2009 and into 2010...
Being a contest directly related to technology, Computer Applications promises to be an everchanging entity. For the past year, information has been disseminated that the Computer Applications Contest will support only Office 2007 starting in the fall of 2009. Now is the time to be certain that your schools have Office 2007 for competition next fall.
Being directly linked to Microsoft Office, this contest must change as this application package changes. Office 2007 operates in a very different environment than Office 2003, and these changes have impacted the contest. Many elements have changed their appearance and operation; many have been added; and several elements have been discontinued in this transition. For the past two years, the contest has supported both platforms. This has impacted the tests which have included instructions for both platforms and printouts for both platforms whenever these have varied, and variances in the grading to encompass both platforms. As students graduate into the workplace or into college, they are better prepared to compete with the current skills of Office 2007, which has already been in the marketplace for 2 years, instead of fettering them to Office 2003, which is six years old.A recent survey to 200+ Computer Application coaches addressed the upcoming change and the impact it is expected to have on participants in the contest. There is a percentage who felt that the change would create a hardship on their school districts and possibly preclude their participation. The large majority (nearly 75%) favored using strictly Office 2007. Thanks enormously to those who responded! The Computer Application coaches are the absolute backbone of this contest, the driving force.
In the same survey coaches were asked for comments and critiques on the contest. Some of the suggestions involved making the directions for tests less complicated and putting instructions "in order" so that students don't have to "go back" to change things. Using only Office 2007 should resolve this problem. Many said that grading was hard, and tests had too many discrepancies. Hopefully, some of this will be alleviated when there are not separate printouts and grading instructions for the two different packages.
Other comments centered on the difficulty of the contest. The intention is to closely monitor the results from District, Region, and State to determine if the difficulty level should be reset a bit. Clearly, this is an extracurricular contest, and as that, it is not expected to track the classroom learning environment, but to extend students' expertise beyond the basics.
I also got quite a few suggestions to make the contest reflect Excel and Word and cut back on Access. Of all the applications, Word is the most straightforward, and Excel is the most fun. Students commonly gain a good mastery over both of these well before they begin to become proficient in Access. Access is simply not intuitive as are the others. The learning curve is considerably greater, and for that reason, knowledge of Access is particularly valuable in the workplace. If the use of Access were moved to higher level tests, students who are jackrabbits in Excel will definitely rise to the top. However, these same students, if they have not also mastered Access, will hit a brick wall when it is introduced at a higher level. The intention is to encourage the students who are well rounded and have a command of all three packages to rise to the top.
What to expect at the higher levels of competition for 2009 and 2010...
At the higher rungs of competition, competitors will be expected to be able to work with more advanced features in Access, Excel, and Word this year. In Access, this will include more extensive knowledge of relational databases, more complicated and more different kinds of queries, more significant changes to a report after it is created with the Wizard, use of formatting switches, more printing of formulas, and generally a higher level of knowledge. For Excel, this will entail more complicated functions and charts, multiple worksheets, goal seeking, consolidation, and more interaction between Excel and Access. For Word, this will mean using more of the features of this application from tables, calculations in tables, columns, format switches and other unique features, plus more interaction from Excel and/or Access with Word.
2009...
USB expansion ports are allowed. Flash drives that plug into the USB port (aka keychain drives, thumb drives, pen drives, stick drives, etc.) may be used in lieu of diskettes or CDs for storing files during contests. These will have to be left with graders, and it will be the responsibility of each student to tape over any school identification and identify the flash drive with his/her Contestant Number and retrieve the unit at the appropriate time. External hard drives or external floppy or CD drives are prohibited, and internal timers that make any kind of noise are prohibited.
Microsoft Office...
Contestants are restricted to the use of only Microsoft Office, using a current or near-current version, which currently includes Office 2007 and Office 2003. Tests were written to run in either version of Office for the 2008-2009 school year.
Beginning in the fall of 2009, only Office 2007 will be allowed. Spreadsheet elements must be done in Excel, database elements in Access, and word processing elements in Word. Graders may check diskettes or CDs to be certain that the appropriate element of the test was done in the appropriate application package. If a database element was executed in Excel, it should not be graded. However, some students may choose to start in Excel, manipulate calculations, and then take the output of the spreadsheet to Access to complete processing. This is acceptable unless a test specifically asks that formulas for calculations in Access Queries be printed. In this case a formula from Excel will not be acceptable.
Publications...
Computer Applications Handbook – Be certain that all competitors and coaches read and learn Instructions for Conducting a Contest. This handbook changes somewhat annually. It accompanies all tests sent out, and all contest directors should be adhering to the specifications herein.
All Excel functions in MS Office are listed. Students should learn to use them all. Most translate directly to functions in Access, but some have a different name than in Excel, such as IF is IIF, FIND is InStr, etc. All functions in Access should also be learned.
Constitution & Contest Rules – The following changes have been included in the C&CR: All coaches are expected to serve as graders, and if a coach does not grade or arrange for an alternate grader, his or her student may be disqualified. Networked systems are not allowed. Each contestant must have a laptop or notebook computer plus a printer. No sharing is allowed. An optional mouse and/or keyboard unit is acceptable.
Contact Information...
On most Saturdays while you're grading invitational tests, I'm available in my office (1-800-PAJAMAS, you'll never forget it), or the phone message will direct you to my cell phone. If you hit a roadblock in your grading and want a mediator, don't hesitate to call. Remember that the point is to have a level playing field, make the tests difficult enough so that the cream rises to the top and the top places are earned, not just decided with a tiebreaker, and help the students become very, very competent in this powerful package.
I'm also available during the week at the same number or by email: .
This is your contest. We listen to all the input from both the competitors and the coaches. We want to wield this into the best possible contest, and we know there will be some growing pains again this year. There were actually fewer growing pains than we anticipated last year, and that is thanks to the cooperation from the coaches from all over Texas. Let's continue working together to make this a positive experience as we tread through this continuing transition.