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Spreadsheets in the ClassroomIts Elementary
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a rectangular array of boxes in rows and columns. columns are named by ... Enables teacher and students to tinker with values of variables, constants, and ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation
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Title: Spreadsheets in the ClassroomIts Elementary
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Spreadsheets in the ClassroomIts Elementary!
- Steve Mills
- Greensburg Community Schools
- Greensburg, IN
- www.greensburg.k12.in.us/teacher/millssteve/index.
htm
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What Is a Spreadsheet?
- a rectangular array of boxes in rows and columns
- columns are named by letters (A, B, C, etc.)
- rows are named by numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
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What Is a Spreadsheet?
- individual boxes in the array are known as cells
- typical spreadsheets programs allow more than 100
columns and 1000 rows. (More powerful programs
allow several times this amount.)
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What Can Be Entered?
- labels non-numerical or text information, not
processed by the spreadsheet when it does
computations - numbers used in spreadsheets for computations
and graphs
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What Can Be Entered?
- formulas direct the computer to do an operation
on a cell or group of cells and to put the answer
in the cell where the formula is entered. - dates and times for record-keeping purposes
- graphics
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- Enables teacher and students to tinker with
values of variables, constants, and step size and
to explore the tempting "what if?" type of
questions in the problem-solving process
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- Can enhance the user's insight into the
development and use of algorithms and modeling
for the solution of mathematical problems.
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- Frees students from being hampered by laborious
manipulation of numbers and allows them to
concentrate on the mathematical problem itself
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- Permits the in-depth exploration of meaningful
mathematical application without concern for the
possible complex calculations
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- allows the students to see a progression of
calculations on the screen as they are generated
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Benefits of a Spreadsheet
- Permits students to change one variable at a time
to see what effect that change has on the overall
pattern of those calculations
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Additional Benefits
- Displays information in a graphical, yet readable
format - Formats data in organized patterns
- Forces students and teachers to focus on
important details - Saves time
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Real World Applications
- Students lack skills
- Essential tool for the real world
- Teach to students at all levels
- Technology will become very useful in the future
- Students actively involved in their own
learning.
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Real World Applications
- Math
- Estimations - then make actual calculations
and/or graph - Make predictions based on initial data gathered
- Statistical surveys from any subject area
- Metric (or English) measurements of the body,
objects of various sizes, perimeters, areas - Equations, functions, relations and
- Time needed to accomplish various tasks
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Real World Applications
- Science
- Sizes of the planets, density, distance from
Earth, atmospheric composition - Temperature, humidity, rainfall over time,
overcast-amount of sun-visibility - Growth of plant or animal under different
experimental conditions - Distance, velocity, acceleration
- Falling objects, gravity, wind resistance and
- Animal population, growth and decline rates.
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Real World Applications
- Health
- Vitamins, minerals, or other composition
comparisons - Calories versus weight for various foods
- Fast food nutritional, saturated versus
unsaturated fats and - Heart rate over time, varying according to
activity.
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Real World Applications
- Social Studies
- Size comparison for cities, states, or countries
or their growth rates - Size composition (farm land, mountains, lakes,
etc.) - Population composition (cities, rural areas,
small towns, etc.) or (percent literate versus
decade) or ethnic backgrounds - Economic growth (crops or mining or shipping or
roads, (industrial, farming, services) - Buying power or cost of living comparisons versus
different areas - Projected growth rates.
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Real World Applications
- Language Arts
- Number frequency in ciphering codes and
- Number of books read by different classes/students
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Real World Applications
- Physical Education
- Scores versus time of specific track and field
events and - Number of push-ups, sit-ups, etc. one can do on a
sequence of days.
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Internet Resources
- Spreadsheets in the Classroom
- http//www.amphi.com/psteffen/excel.html
- Almost Everything You Need to Know for Using
Spreadsheets in the Classroom - http//www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/FreeF
all/Resources.html - The A to Z of Spreadsheets
- http//www.mathsnet.net/a2zofssheets.html
- Graphs
- http//mathforum.org/alejandre/spreadsheet.html
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Print Resources
- (2002). Microsoft Excel Classroom Activities.
Elk Grove, CA Teacher2Teacher. - LeMoine, Eric (2001). Microsoft Excel Simple
Projects. Westminster, CA Teacher Created
Materials. - Other Teacher Created Materials
