Maximizing Education with Spreadsheets

(1) Making projections: A spreadsheet program stores and calculates information in a structured array of data cells. By defining relationships between information in cells, a user can see the effects of data changes on other data in the spreadsheet (see tutorial). Spreadsheets are "number crunchers" and are useful when ever teachers or students need to perform numerous calculations. • Both students and teachers should be able to perform "what-if" analyses to project budgets, grades or other numeric values. Analyze the sample family budget and make reasonable recommendations to balance the budget should one of the wage earners lose their job. Include a printout of your balanced budget. 1 To make up for the job loss I recommended that the family first cut down on the unnecessary items such as entertainment, clothing, charity, and vacation savings. The next suggestion was to cut down on the water and power bill, and electricity by being more aware of the amount they are using each day. Turn off the water and lights when your not using it can help reduce the bill. (2) Graphing and interpreting data: One of the most important analytical skills for students is the ability to read and interpret graphs. Fortuantely, spreadsheet programs can graph data and provide opportunities for analysis and discussion. • Create two or more different types of graphs (chart) from spreadsheets related to your discipline. Make sure the graph is meaningful and is fully and correctly labeled. Copy the graphs into the portoflio. Write two or more questions (and provide answers) for each graph. A graph showing each players contribution to the team in terms of points Questions and Answers: 1. Who scored a majority of points for the team? Laura 2. How many players did not score at all? 3 2 Leading scorers and rebounders for team Questions and Answers: 1. What assumptions can be made about the player with the most rebounds? She is tall, hard working, and receives a lot of playing time. 2. Which player can you assume will have the most number of assists? The point guard. (3) Creating a spreadsheet for your subject: • Create a new spreadsheet or a new worksheet in an existing spreadsheet file. Your worksheet should include a variety of useful calculations based upon cells in your new worksheet and/or associated ones in your modified spreadsheet file. Include a printout of your new spreadsheet in your portfolio and describe the purpose of your spreadsheet and describe how you would use it in your class. 3 I would use this to present hypothetical data to a class and in the spreadsheet I have provided total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and turnovers for an entire season and the average of each per game. I could have the students determine the highest and lowest from each category. Then I would have the students on their own find out each individual students average and then create their own spreadsheet with a list of players averages from highest to lowest. By showing them the feature of the auto filter they can create a list from highest to lowest instantaneously. 4