Two words you never thought you’d see together

Sensational Spreadsheets

Douglas Drover & Donna DesRoches

• Introductions• Walking through the Excel environment• What’s a database• Excel for Organization• Excel for Calculation• Excel for Visualization• Excel for Personal Goal Trackination• Your Turn

Morning Agenda

Rule 1: Don’t be scared.Rule 2: Know how to undo.

Let’s Go!

Environment

• All the data you want to use• Logically organized• Consistent• Error-free

Eye Colour

Hair Colour

Sock Colour

Amy Blue Blonde Black

Bob Green Brown Yellow

Cindy Brown Trying to be Blonde Black

Dave Brown Brown White

Emma Blue Blue

Mismatched, because

that’s cool somehow

Database?

Tools• Counts

• Conditional Formats

• Sort

• Find / Filter

Tracking• Milk money• Permission forms• Parent contact• Outcomes in course or for

students

Organization

Why?• Removes “busy work” when

practice is not the goal• Allows more time for analysis• Still demands student

understanding of BEDMAS• Allows students to visually sort

and/or “chunk” multi-step problems

Formulas• Can perform basic arithmetic

operation formulas• Roughly 400 pre-programmed

functions available• Strictly follows BEDMAS• Can toggle to show formulas

Calculation

Why?• Removes “busy work” when

practice is not the goal• Allows more time for analysis• Still demands student

application of expectations• Supports MI by allowing visual

learners quicker access to visual representations

Graphing• 11 different graph types with

hundreds of different formats• Linked to cells; instantly update

Visualization

Shading• Conditional Formatting• Manual shading

What?• Allowing students to track their own

data to indicate progress towards a goal

Why?• Emphasizes personal reflection• Promotes student ownership of their

learning• Students see their data in real time• Students easily share data with the

teacher• And… do you really want one more

thing to do?

Goal Trackination

Now it’s your turn!Build your own chart and table on a topic of your choosing using data from the participants in this room.It doesn’t matter:• How have our feelings towards Excel changed this morning?• In which areas of instruction do we want more support?• Where do we want to eat lunch today?• Who has the best dance moves?Just remember to start with a database and end with a chart!

Your Turn