Teachers can use spreadsheets to calculate and enter student grades, create charts, graphs, lesson planners, seating charts, inventories; construct game boards; and develop rubrics.
Students can use spreadsheets to track results for science experiments; find area and perimeter; create timelines and charts; keep track of their own grades; plan a budget; calculate data and storing equations/numbers; and analyze statistics for team sports.
Historical Overview
the early 1970s, the microcomputer was used primarily by hackers and hobbyists.
Microcomputer use changed when Dan Bricklin, a Harvard student, and Robert Frankston, an MIT student, created the first spreadsheet, VisiCalc, in 1979. Primarily designed for microcomputers, VisiCalc had a small grid size and limited features. The program was first run by Apple Computers and became the prototype for other programs.
the 1980s, spreadsheets improved vastly, became faster, and offered more features.
1982, Lotus Development introduced Lotus 1-2-3, a new generation of spreadsheet that became the industry leader, because it was the first integrated spreadsheet. It combined several different programs, and information could be presented in different formats.
Later versions of spreadsheets added a telecommunication component, expanded spreadsheet size, and word processing.
Today, spreadsheets are widely usedfor preparing income tax forms, family budgets, loan information, pupil test scores, and business transactions.
A spreadsheet is "a graphical representation of an accountant's worksheet, replete with rows and columns for recording labels (headings and subheadings) and values" (Pfaffenberger, 2000).
Components of a Spreadsheet
Every electronic spreadsheet is organized in a similar manner with two axes: rows and columns.
The letters across the top of the columns are used to identify the columns.
The numbers across the side identify the rows.
The intersection of each row and column forms a box, or cell, identified by its column letter and row number.
Three types of information can be entered into any spreadsheet cell: number, text, or formulA. The ability to enter formulas onto the spreadsheet makes it a powerful tool for business, science, and education.
How a Spreadsheet Operates
Microsoft Excel 2003 for Windows with grade book examples is a popular type of spreadsheet.
Excel has more than 230 functions, or shortcuts, that save the user from typing in formulas.
AppleWorks has more than 100 built-in functions, while Cruncher 2 has twenty-three.
The more built-in or predetermined functions, the more versatile the spreadsheet.
use a manual spreadsheet for grade records, the teacher enters the students' names and their quiz scores, then follows the steps discussed on pp. 159-160.
Every spreadsheet has its own collection of built-in functions, ranging from sum to average to sine, which make the use and application of formulas quick and easy. Functions are simply selected and pasted into the spreadsheet.
Why Use an Electronic Spreadsheet?
A computerized spreadsheet has many advantages over a manual spreadsheet.
The electronic spreadsheet is faster, is more flexible, permits changes, and performs instant calculations; also, any number can be accessed instantaneously by pressing a key or two.
electronic spreadsheet can recalculate values in other cells when values are changed in one cell, using what-if analysis strategies to answer mathematical questions.
electronic spreadsheet allows the user to display and print the output in many visually pleasing ways.
electronic spreadsheet allows the user to repeat a formula effortlessly once it has been defined.
electronic spreadsheet saves time and increases productivity.
Integrating a Spreadsheet into the Classroom
The spreadsheet is not only a management tool, but also a tool for learning in the classroom.
The spreadsheet can be used as a grade book and for classroom budgets, attendance charts, surveys, and checklists.
The spreadsheet can be used to supplement instruction in a variety of curriculum areas.
The spreadsheet can be used by students to do timelines, gameboards, graphs, problem solving, classroom experiments, mathematical relationships, and social studies or scientific investigations.
The spreadsheet can be used by students in everyday life for comparison shopping, expenses, calorie counting, calculating income tax returns, figuring baseball statistics, and creating a budget.
Basic Features of a Spreadsheet
Many spreadsheets have safeguards built into the program that protect a group of cells from being altered or erased, allow confidential information to be hidden from view, and make hidden information easy to retrieve.
Powerful spreadsheets have logical functions that evaluate whether a statement is true or false, to ensure that calculations are valid.
Predetermined spreadsheet functions include built-in mathematical functions, including simple statistics, logarithmic functions, financial functions, and trigonometric functions.
Date and time calculates how many days have elapsed between two dates in spreadsheet cells.
Macros are groups of routines and commands combined into one or two keystrokes.
Graphing such as pie or bar graphs is a great visual aid based on the spreadsheet information.
Memory alerts let the user know how much memory remains in the spreadsheet, so the user does not run out at a crucial point.
Cell names are cells labeled with words instead of short cell addresses.
Windows or windowing lets the user split the screen, see the work in two locations, and work in each module window simultaneously.
The attached notes feature lets the user attach Post-it type notes to the written work on the screen.
Editing and sorting allows for quick insertion and deletion of rows and columns, as well as widening and narrowing of columns.
The copying command copies the contents of a group of cells from one column to another, replicating formulas, values, and labels, which saves time on data entry.
Ready-to-use templates are spreadsheets that contain no data but have selected functions chosen for certain cells and are filled in by the user, with the computer making calculations and displaying results in appropriate cells. Users can also create their own templates.
Online help allows the user to get help from the computer while using the program.
Formatting capabilities allow the user to align numbers, create text labels, and apply different fonts and type styles. Microsoft Excel has an AutoFormat features that allows the user to apply built-in table designs to give the spreadsheet a professional look.
Advanced features in more powerful spreadsheets can link other spreadsheets, which can have database capabilities; charts or graphs; desktop publishing tools with various shading, fonts, pictures, logos, and printing choices; special fonts; multiple dimensions; sound; add-on software; and addition of hyperlinks to the worksheet.
How to Select a Good Spreadsheet for the Classroom
Spreadsheets were designed for adults, but a handful of programs are suitable for the classroom: the Cruncher 2.0 for grades 3 and up, and Microsoft Works, AppleWorks, Microsoft Excel 2003, and Quattro Pro for high-school students.
Choosing a spreadsheet program for the classroom involves a six-step process. See the spreadsheet checklist on p. 157 for a complete list of criteria and Appendix A for a list of recommended spreadsheet software.
Determine the hardware compatibility, what type, and how much memory.
Determine the general features of the spreadsheet program, such as labeling, calculations, and memory alerts.
Determine the ease of use of the program, one that gives online help and step-by-step tutorials.
Determine the built-in functions of the program, such as calculating sum, average, and standard deviation.
Determine the consumer value or cost of the program, on-site licenses, and lab packs.
Determine the support offered by the software company, its willingness to help the user, and its accessibility.
Teacher practice exercises appear on pp. 159-165 and include an introduction to the spreadsheet, how to use it to calculate grades, and how to use spreadsheets in a variety of lesson plans for different disciplines.
Integrated Programs
Integrated programs combine word processing, databases, and spreadsheets. Each application can be used individually within the integrated program, or the free interchange of data among applications can occur. For example, budget information from a spreadsheet can be transferred to a document in the word processor.
Stand-alone programs involve laborious steps for transferring information.
Integrated programs such as Lotus 1-2-3, SuperCalc 3, MicroSoft Works, and AppleWorks are single programs that share a similar command structure across the various applications of word processing, database, and spreadsheet.
Data is transferred seamlessly, but the integrated program requires more memory and has a weaker module, with more limited functions, than the stand-alone program.
Alternatives to Integrated Programs
The user can use the stand-alone program as it is, to cut-and-paste when necessary.
The user can retype data into each, separate application, which requires much retyping and opens the data to error.
The user can file share, which permits access to files of other programs, but little standardization exists across programs, and translator programs are not available for all software programs.
Software suites, introduced in the 1990s, are packages of individual programs designed to work together to share data easily and quickly. The user can install the entire suite or only the programs desired. Popular examples are Corel WordPerfect Office, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office X, and Lotus Smart Suite.
Similarities and Differences
Similarities between integrated packages and suites include the ability to run many programs at once that can work together, use a clipboard as a place to store text, graphics, audio, and video clips, and write more sophisticated reports and papers with access to a variety of programs.
Differences between integrated packages and suites are that the suite's components are full-featured programs, not limited versions, and are very economical, but they may not work as smoothly as those in the integrated program and require high speed and memory.
Features of integrated programs and suites should be scrutinized for the same features the user considers in selecting separate applications, such as file loading speed and ease of use.
