Completing Self-Paced Microsoft Access Course

Despite the fact that I thought December 8 was a Friday when it was actually a Thursday, I still completed all my self-paced Microsoft Access work at Moraine Park Technical College a few days early.

For self-paced classes, MPTC uses an online training system called MyITLab. I first used this at the beginning of the semester when I took the self-paced Microsoft Excel course. It took some time to learn how to navigate through the training system. When I started the Access class, I was much more comfortable with the system, and it went very smoothly.

I can see how Microsoft Access comes in handy when you have to manage several things for a company that requires more than a simple spreadsheet. I liked the label-making feature that allows me to make address labels. The book showed a lot of different ways to customize forms and reports to make them look nice and unique.

Even though this was a self-paced class, there were open lab hours staffed by the instructors of the courses a few times a week every week. I went in there a few times to work and to ask some questions I had. It was nice to work in that lab because the computer monitors had a horizontal orientation. I could have the PDF instructions on one side of the screen and the program open up on the other side of the screen.

The last task to complete for the course required some critical thinking. It was the Core Ability Self-Assessment. Besides learning technical skills, MPTC stresses these core abilities that employers are looking for in their employees. These things are transferable to every job position and include things like thinking critically and creatively, acting responsibly, and communicating clearly, just to name a few. I had to explain, while working through this course, how I demonstrated these abilities.

Since I turned in all my work early, my instructor was able to grade my work early. I am very pleased with my final grade. I feel confident that I learned the program well, and I’m excited to add it to my resume during winter break. I’m glad it’s over though, because I spent hours in the computer lab each week, and I’m looking forward to spending more time moving around and less time sitting.