Lesson Two Blog

This week's blog post will be divided into three categories: a helpful URL for using spreadsheets/databases in the classroom, a surprising URL for using spreadsheets/databases in the classroom, and a reflection of ways that I currently implement spreadsheets/databases into my classroom.

First, before I dive into this week's discussion, allow me to share an EXTREMELY helpful link that I found for using Microsoft Excel and creating spreadsheets. Often times, one can save a ton of time by using shortcuts and cheat codes while operating this program. And, after consulting my friend Mr. Google, I've found the perfect link for those who consider themselves "beginners" when it comes to use Excel.

Click here to visit the link!!

^ While this link may not answer every question you have for using Microsoft Excel, it will definitely make your life easier when using the program. Make sure you check it out. ;)

Now, onto my assignment for this week. In order to keep this post organized and easy to read, I'll break each question down into segments.

1. Interesting URL: After doing some internet surfing, I came across a website with a ton of nifty ideas for using spreadsheets in the classroom. Here's a really cool activity I found that allows students to go on an interactive shopping spree at Wal-Mart or E-Toys. There's a situation given where the students recently won $1000.00 to spend and must choose items they would like to purchase. In order to keep track of their expenses, the students must complete an online, interactive working spreadsheet. Furthermore, the online spreadsheet teaches students to use a function like you can use in Excel. To do so, the students need to click the button labeled "Fn". To integrate more Microsoft Excel skills, I could adapt this lesson to have students use Excel for their gift list instead of using the online spreadsheet. I think this would be a great lesson to use with students because they'll be VERY motivated to participate knowing they will be "buying" toys. Plus, considering my school has several families with low incomes, this will be a fantastic chance for students who don't receive many gifts to imagine buying items they desire. Lastly, this is a great way to have the students practice basic math and real-life skills while learning about technology.
   
2. Surprising URL: While searching for interesting activities to use with my students, I came across a surprising fact that I never thought about....you can use Microsoft Excel to make time lines! In my reading classes, I always ask students to create time lines to show the sequence of events in a particular story or to demonstrate their comprehension of what they read. Now, using what I've learned here, I can incorporate Microsoft Excel and technology into this activity. Here's a link that discusses using time lines with Excel and also explains how to make them. This activity can be used for many different subjects including social studies and writing.
   
3. How I use spreadsheets: I'll admit that I haven't used Microsoft Access as much as Excel, Word, Front Page, or even Publisher. However, I have used databases in the past to sort and organize student information in my classroom. I use Excel often at my school to create helpful spreadsheets. I make custom grade sheets to use for my classes through Excel and also use it to make charts to monitor student progress on AR goals, Writing Portfolio progress, etc. When I was completing my education courses at W.K.U., I often used Excel to create graphs so that I could analyze and interpret student data on assessments. In the future, I'd like to use Excel much more in the classroom to make timelines, charts, graphs, and more. More importantly, I want to include my students when using Excel so that they may become more technologically-savvy.

I have another idea that doesn't really fit into the three questions answered above. Recently, I gave a fluency test to my students to determine how many words each student could read per minute. I think it'd be interesting to use Excel to graph the progress over the course of the year that students show with their fluency reads. This would be great for conferencing with parents and other school professionals and also could be helpful when talking with the students on their progress. Instead of just saying, "You're doing much better," I could bust out my Excel graphs to show them how they've improved/declined over time.

Also, MAP scores are extremely important in our district and at our school. I always conference with students to talk about their scores, how long they took to take the test (giving best effort), and how many points they need to improve the next time they are tested. Using Excel would be helpful here because I could make a graph that shows scores of students who didn't take their time as opposed to those who did. I believe the students who took more time should have higher scores and that will be illustrated for the students. Secondly, I could chart/graph each student's individual scores and show their progress throughout the course of the year.

As we learned in this week's lesson, "productivity software" is to help educators be more....well, productive! If Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and other programs are utilized properly, they should help make a teacher's life much easier and make that teacher much more efficient with his/her instruction AND analyzing student achievement.