Sunday, October 26, 2008

Interactive Spreadsheets

This week was spreadsheets and they were not the boring rows and columns of black and white numbers that you think of when you think of Excel or spreadsheets. We created our own interactive spreadsheets which were tailored to a subject and grade level of our interest. By adding logic statements, students could fill in the blanks to the questions and get a "Yay" or "Boo" response, which also had a point value associated with it. Also, we were able to change fonts, colors, add cool headings, and pictures to make them look fun, inviting, and age appropriate.

It was a good experience working with Excel even though I've used it before. What we did in class was more useful as far as using them in a classroom. I now know that it would be relatively easy to create a review or quiz for my students using Excel and that it would be something they would enjoy doing too. When other teachers are handing out xeroxed worksheets, my students will be doing theirs on the computer and personally, I think that is very COOL! Another use for Excel in the classroom would be a grade book/attendance sheet.

This was another experience where I had to step outside of my comfort zone to work on a project, but overall it was a positive experience and I enjoyed it. Spreadsheets are definitely more than words and numbers in columns, they are also another way to incorporate technology into my classroom.

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