Chapter 5 Reflections

Spreadsheets: Now there's something I can sink my teeth into!

I've used spreadsheets for accounting, computer applications and business classes for ages. I kind of like the power of telling the machine what to do with the numbers and getting instant answers when the bugs are worked out. I think students see it the same way, when it's worth the set-up time. In conjunction with the Advanced Consumer Math class at my school, I used to play the Stock Market Game with them as they used my computer lab during my free period. They had to look up the numbers and do the math by hand for their teacher. I would find the same numbers and plug them into a spreadsheet and be done in minutes. My purpose was different of course, since I was just competing in the game and not really trying to learn and practice the math. Had computers been more readily available, I would have worked with that teacher to do the very same thing with the students.

I can see this as a mindtool without any trouble. The kids plug in numbers, with a little guidance on how to enter them correctly, and then off to the races with the charts and graphs. Naturally there would be discussion about the type of chart to use and what information is gained from the exercise. Perhaps a problem is solved or a new one discovered in a graph created by the students.

For the most part, the skill needed to use a spreadsheet is becoming more common among students. My favorite exercise was to create a "List of Stuff", which is a simple adding sheet for school supplies. Item, quantity and price were added across and summed down. It used to take a full 90 minute period to do the demo and explain the pieces. By the time I stopped doing it, last year, kids could get through the directions and crank out two samples in a shorter class period of 75 minutes. Weather data was another fun project and later I added an open project that had a minimum number of cells of data for any subject. Kids compared car engines, snow machine data, sports of all kinds and food calories, among a lengthy list of possibilities.

BC