Tech Skills
Everyone Should Have

Recommendations below are from students, who searched for materials on the apps listed in the article and graphic above, explored them, and chose some they found helpful.

MS WORD

1. Basic Word Processing 

   1. This article briefly defines the concept of Word Processing in Microsoft Word (MS Word). Most importantly, the article walks through the basic functionalities of MS Word such as creating a document, editing a document, selecting a text, the methods of deleting (or removing) text, copying and pasting, reviewing a document, and finding synonyms.

2. An Introduction to Word Processing 

   1. The abstract defines what a Word Processor is and how it’s utilized. It succinctly explains the benefits, abilities, and history of Word Processing. 

3. The Concept of Word Processing (Video)

   1. This video belabors the importance of the concept of Word Processing. It then walks through the basic Word Processing operations such as creating a Word Document, saving a Word Document, and ending the Word Processing program.

4. Microsoft Word for Beginners (Course)

   1. This course is a complete introduction and walkthrough to Microsoft Word. During this course, the student is taught to create documents, resumes, charts, tables, and use other shortcuts and features to improve their efficiency and productivity. This course also allows the student to learn the terminology associated with Microsoft Word.  

ADVANCED MS WORD

MS Word

1. https://business.tutsplus.com/series/learn-to-use-microsoft-word--cms-1323 

• I like this article because it uses simple language to give you a nice overview of Microsoft Word and how to use it. Additionally, this article has multiple sub articles that are listed at the bottom that you are able to click on and get a specific deep dive into more topics that have to do with Word. The article basically goes over shortcuts that can be used, how to save and open files, how to convert a document into something else that you might need, how you can make business documents using it, how to insert pictures, how to adjust font styles and sizing, and so much more. 

MURAL (WHITEBOARD)

Mural designer 

https://www.mural.co/templates/ideate 

I enjoyed using this site because it allowed me to view examples of what this website can accomplish. They allow all sorts of different templates to choose from. Some include engineering, consulting, design, marketing, and so many others to choose from. It allows us to choose a role going forward. From that point on the creator of the mural can invite others, and they can make it their own. There are options for adding visuals and writing down thoughts about what they want inside the mural. It is an area for brainstorming and sharing ideas. The best part about it is people in the group can brainstorm on it at any time.  

YouTube on Mural 

9 ways to BRAINSTORM and PRIORITIZE in MURAL 

This video gave me some good insight on some ways the workplace can use it. In the video, the creator used for example the boss or manager inviting the rest of the employees to the group mural where they can elaborate on ideas. They shared their views on working at home during COVID and what was going to be different. I also enjoyed learning that within the website there are different workshops you can run. There are different interactive workshops that allow people to elaborate and brainstorm whatever they want. The creator of the mural is allowed to make it very interactive if they want or keep it very individualized.  

PowerPoint 

Youtube: PowerPoint for Beginners | Step by Step Tutorial to get started 

PowerPoint is one of the most basic technology presentations. PowerPoint does a very good job making it easy for new users to create a presentation using PowerPoint. In this video, it gives good details about certain key words and a tutorial on creating slides. Design and layout are very important in PowerPoint. Employers are looking for people with an expertise in these and not just a basic understanding of it. I liked that it covered every basic principle in PowerPoint. This helped me remember some things I forgot and gave me a better idea of little things I can use.  

PowerPoint 101 

https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/powerpoint-101-everything-you-need-to-make-a-basic-presentation--cms-19541 

PowerPoint can be overwhelming to new people at the start and can take some time to understand. This website was very informative about some dos and don’ts to include in PowerPoint. It also gives simple steps to take in order to start your presentation. This website is just like the YouTube video, informal and more for beginners. One major point that I really agreed with is using speaker notes. PowerPoint slides shouldn’t have everything on them. They should be clean, precise, and straight to the point.  

OUTLOOK (Microsoft Email tool)

Articles: 

https://www.visualcv.com/resume-skills/microsoft-outlook/

https://www.nucleustechnologies.com/blog/benefits-of-moving-to-microsoft-outlook/

https://blog.standss.com/email-marketing-using-microsoft-outlook/

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edABo0VnHK8

Course:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/outlook-essential-training-microsoft-365

Article 1: https://www.nucleustechnologies.com/blog/benefits-of-moving-to-microsoft-outlook/

This post by Rafeal Galante, is a simple but powerful overview about the benefits of converting usage of email and more on Microsoft's Outlook program. Some benefits include, user friendliness, organization towards your needs, shared calendars, easier to follow up emails and schedule meetings etc, improved security, and most importantly enhance productivity. I chose to comment on this article because it was effective and easy for a consumer to understand the great benefits of using MS outlook. I would have liked to see some data to back up the claims. The date would allow for a solid evidence trail to why Outlook is more beneficial compared to other software.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edABo0VnHK8

Many people today learn through visual learning instead of reading an article. This video by Kevin Stratvert provides great visual examples of important tools and tricks inside of outlook. The video is time stamped with sections making it easier to look for certain tools or tricks you want to learn or come back towards. Personally, the idea of having auto generated emails for response is amazing because it can improve productivity and help improve your response time and possible business. 

GMAIL

BEST Way to Organize Gmail Inbox - YouTube

This resource was a helpful 8 minute instructional video on how to organize one’s Gmail Inbox. The youtuber Michael organizes emails into three categories; follow up, awaiting response, and to read. He then walks the viewer through 5 simple steps on how to create labels and finally have an empty inbox. The steps are as follows; create labels, colorize labels, set up multiple inboxes, right click emails in inbox to label, then select all emails once labeled and hit archive. This results in a satisfying empty inbox. I thought this video was profitable because inboxes can be overwhelming and difficult to prioritize. With labels and multiple inboxes it actually makes the process of checking email less daunting. While I am sure he could have included many more details, I appreciated the simplicity of the video. This is a great resource for a broad audience.

Gmail Tutorial for Beginners | 2021 - YouTube

This resource was a helpful 10 minute instructional video on how to do everything from drafting an email to finding and searching for mail. Although Gmail is familiar to me, there were some insightful topics covered that I had not known about. One topic unfamiliar to me was the “Undo Send” setting. Once an email is sent there is a delay and during that time you have the option to “Undo Send”. This can be helpful for times when you forgot to attach a document or include additional information. While I did know how to accomplish most of her topics already, I still learned something new and would recommend it to anyone switching to a Gmail inbox. 

SLACK (MESSAGING)

Links:

https://slack.com/help/articles/115004071768-What-is-Slack-

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tiny-spec-inc/

https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/strengthen-client-relationships-slack-channels

https://slack.com/why/slack-vs-email

Course:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/slack-essential-training

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZdYHl1olV4

Review 1: https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/strengthen-client-relationships-slack-channels

Out of the sources that I looked at, this article from slack.com is my favorite. Slack business communication app for messages and more. This article was my favorite because it discusses the importance of using slack to increase client relationships. A great saying is “it's not what you know but who you know”. The more people you know and great client relationships you have the more opportunities you can create for yourself and your business. 

Review 2: https://slack.com/why/slack-vs-email

A positive towards looking over both MS Outlook and Slack is that I was able to get 2 perspectives on two different softwares, with the benefits of both, as well as comparing them together. Inside of the article above, it references the differences between slack and email. Remember slack is a communication program where you can set up meetings etc because it is a business messaging app. Some highlighted differences between Slack and mail ( gmail or outlook) follows: Transparency, Flexibility, Collaboration, Security, Integrations, Automation

INTRODUCTORY AI

. . . plus the books on http://learnskills.tech 

CHATGPT-4

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/chatgpt-4-everything-we-know-so-far/

This article talks about ChatGPT-4, and it has all the reasons on that make this version of GPT way better than the previous versions. They talk about how it's been trained on a ton of data, which makes it way better at understanding and generating text. Like, it's seriously good at keeping context in mind and putting together sentences that make sense. The article also touches on how ChatGPT-4 is super helpful for developers and everyday users. It's got a bunch of potential uses, from writing emails to automating tasks, and it's only getting better. As I am a GPT-4 user I can tell from personal experience that it is way better than the older versions in terms of all tasks it can complete.

MS Security Copilot

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/28/23659711/microsoft-security-copilot-gpt-4-ai-tool-features

This article discusses Microsoft's new AI tool, Security Copilot, which uses GPT-4 to enhance the security industry. GPT-4's impressive language skills and expanded dataset enable Security Copilot to detect security risks in code and various digital software. The article also mentions how Microsoft is incorporating GPT-4 into its security tools, marking a significant advancement in how AI can play a major role in protecting us from cyber threats. This is just another aspect of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which integrates GPT-4 with 365 applications for businesses.

Introducing ChatGPT Plus (openai.com) 

How to use ChatGPT: Step-by-step instructions | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

Start ChatGPT - Use AI ChatBots to Engaging Content in Seconds! (ai-pro.org)

ChatGPT: How to Use the AI Chatbot for Free (howtogeek.com)

https://youtu.be/40Kp_fa8vIw - In this video he really goes into detail about how AI is really getting to be bigger and bigger. AI is something that has really blown up and helped people more and more. Being the timesaver it is, ChatGPT has really become more and more of a lifesaver and even helping people think deeper at times for different things. 

How to access ChatGPT plugins, the 'eyes and ears' of OpenAI's chatbot | Mashable
As of 4-19-23, Plugins for ChatGPT are coming and there is even a waitlist for it. The plugins will help ChatGPT be better at different functions that someone might need it for. An example would be like complex math equations. It would be a way to help the AI become better as you need it. 

BING CHAT (ChatGPT via Microsoft Bing)

Note: some resources that provide a waiting list may be out of date, when Bing Chat is rolled out to all Bing users. At the moment as of 4/19/23, access is still provided by going on a waitlist - but it is free. Microsoft is working on integrating ChatGPT/GPT into all Office products.

1. Digital Trends - How to Use Bing Chat 

   1. This article discusses how one gets access to Bing Chat and explains how it's used. The article also explains how Bing Chat works, uncovers the Bing Image Creator, Bing Chat’s cost, and other ArtificIal Intelligence options.

2. How to Access Bing AI Chat and Search

   1. In this video, the instructor walks the viewer through a series of steps on how to access and use Bing Chat. The first step begins with simply signing into the user Microsoft account. The subsequent steps entail the viewer choosing a Bing Chat conversation style, using Bing Chat’s features, using Bing’s search features, and walking through what Bing Chat can do. 

3. Bing Chat Tutorial: Beginners to Advanced (Crash Course) Part 1 of 13

   1. This video is a part of a 13 course video series. Part 1 of this series teaches the viewer how to learn different ways to use Bing Chat for things such as reading online content, generating YouTube ideas, searching the web, creative writing, grammar edits, proofreading, coding, business analysis, reviews, and mathematics.

Original template:

(Word Processing)

MS Word

Google Docs

(Advanced Word Processing)

MS Word 

Google Docs 

(Spreadsheets)

Excel

Google Spreadsheets

(Presentation)

Powerpoint 

Google Slides

(Email Management)

Outlook

Gmail

(Team Communication)

MS Teams

Slack

(Team Ideation)

Miro

Mural

(Introductory AI)

Text Tools

ChatGPT

Getting access to BingChat (ChatGPT)

Bingchat

Getting Access to Bard (Google)

Using Bard

Art Tools

Midjourney

Dall-e 2

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