下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
● Office Automation （ OA ）
Office automation refers to the integration of office functions usually related to managing information．Raw data storage， electronic data transfer， and the management of electronic business information comprise the basic activities of an office automation system． The modern history of office automation began with the typewriter and the copy machine， which mechanized previously manual tasks． Today， however，office automation is increasingly understood as a term that refers not just to the mechanization of tasks but to the conversion of information to electronic form as well． The advent of the personal computer revolutionized office automation， and popular operating systems and user interfaces dominate office computer systems． This revolution has been so complete， and has infiltrated so many areas of business，that almost all businesses use at least one commercial computer business application in the course of daily activity． Even the smallest companies commonly utilize computer technology to maintain financial records，inventory information， payroll records， and other pertinent business information．
● Paperless Office
Traditional offices have paper-based filing systems， which may include filing cabinets， folders，shelves， and drawing cabinets， all of which require maintenance， equipment， considerable space， and are resource-intensive． In contrast， a paperless office could simply have a desk， a chair， and a computer（with a modest amount of local or network storage）．
A paperless office （ or a paper-free office） is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced． This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form， a process known as digitization． Proponents claim that “ going paperless” can save money， boost productivity， save space， make documentation and information sharing easier， keep personal information more secure， and help the environment． The concept can be extended to communications outside the office as well．
● The First Network E-mail
E-mail， as a means of electronically sending messages between two people， is said to have begun at MIT in the 1960s． The system was crude， and basically amounted to different users leaving notes for each other stored on the same shared computer． This was a precursor to today’s method of sending an e-mail across a network．
The backbone of our current e-mail system began with ARPANET， near the end of 1971， by Ray Tomlinson， an ARPANET contractor working for Bolk Beranek and Newman． ARPANET was the network created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency （ARPA） of the United States Department of Defense during the Cold War． Tomlinson’s goal was to take his existing basic messaging system， SNGMSG， to the next logical evolution， indicating for a given message which user was at which of the network’s computers．
At its core， the e-mail isn’t too different from the regular mail． When you send a letter to someone，you indicate two things on the outside in order to get it where you want it to go： the name of the intended recipient， and the presumed current location of the said recipient． Tomlinson came up with an elegant way of designating these two parts with the adoption of the ＠ symbol． His system， familiar to all of us now，identifies the recipient before the symbol， the location after． While the location referred to a particular computer at the time， the location now refers to the domain at which a mail server is hosted， a bit like sending a letter to an apartment building， and you leave it to the building administration to get the note to the right person．
● How to Write an E-Mail ？
E-mail is a very common form of communication， so it’s important to get it right． Although emails usually aren’t as formal as letters， they still need to be professional to present a good image of you and your company．
There is a standard structure for e-mails． E-mail contents are primarily classified as three： the header， the body and the signature． The header is a set of lines containing information about the message，such as the sender’s address， the recipient’s address， c．c．， b．c．c．， the subject and the attachment． The body part is the main content including a salutation， opening remarks， the statement of important information， and the closing． The last is the signature．
Continued
Continued
Continued
Continued
Problem-Based Learning （PBL） is a student-centered approach to learning that involves groups of students working to solve a real-world problem， quite different from the direct teaching method of a teacher presenting facts and concepts about a specific subject to a classroom of students． Through PBL，students not only strengthen their teamwork， communication， and research skills， but they also sharpen their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities．
In implementing PBL， the teaching role shifts from that of the more traditional model that follows a linear， sequential pattern where the teacher presents relevant material， informs the class what needs to be done， and provides details and information for students to apply their knowledge to a given problem． With PBL， the teacher acts as a facilitator； the learning is student-driven with the aim of solving the given problem． Also， the assignments vary in length from relatively short to an entire semester with daily instructional time structured for group work．
Student assessment is a critical aspect of the teaching and learning process． It is important for teachers to strategically evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching by measuring the extent to which students in the classroom are learning the course material． Also， it provides useful feedback to both teachers and students about whether the students are successfully meeting course learning objectives．
There are generally two forms of student assessment that are most frequently applied in teaching and learning． The first form， summative assessment， is assessment that is implemented at the end of the course of study． Its primary purpose is to produce a measure that “sums up” student learning． The second form， formative assessment， involves the evaluation of student learning over the course of time． Its fundamental purpose is to estimate students’ level of achievement in order to enhance student learning during the learning process．
It is significant to recognize that both summative and formative assessment indicate the purpose of assessment， not the method． Different methods of assessment can either be summative or formative in orientation depending on how the teacher implements them． Some common methods of assessment implemented in the classroom are self-assessment， peer assessment， exams and individual assessment．
Continued
The following topics are designed to help Ss internalize what they have learned in this unit． T can assign Ss to discuss the topics based on the prior independent research， and then prepare a ten-minute presentation or write an essay of 200 300 words．
1） Ask Ss to make a comparison between the traditional office with old facilities and the modern office with automatic systems． Ss can make a list to show the similarities and differences between them．
2） Ask Ss to work with their group members and imagine a future office equipped with a variety of advanced facilities in 2120．