Microsoft Excel is a Windows spreadsheet application that is used mainly for mathematical purposes. MS Excel is used by accountants, financial analysts, data entry operators and quality management analysts for statistical analyses and interpretation. This is how I perceived MS Excel as. That was before I got to see its use in our work shop and at MacLeod College.
The first time I became aware of how I could use MS Excel in teaching was during the ‘M&M Data analyses’ exercise that was done by Greg in our work shop. I had fun not only speculating on how many colours there might be in the box but also in predicting how many would there be in each colour. All the speculation and prediction did not help me in coming anywhere close to the original colours or numbers.
During this exercise I was wondering what the connection was between the M&M’s and the use of computers. It was then that Greg asked us to create a bar diagram using MS Excel based on our findings. I realised that I could create two diagrams, i.e. one that would show my prediction and another one that would show the findings.
It is important that as a teacher, we should scaffold learning so that every student is comfortable with using technology responsibly and to its maximum potential. This can be done in the following way:
Step 1: Explain the features of the software
Step 2: Provide examples
Step 3: Allow students to experiment with the software and its features
Step 4: Give students an activity that will allow them to use the software
Step 5: Bring students back for a time of sharing and peer correction
Step 6: Give students a platform to show-case their work
Once this is done, students will find it easier to work on any software.
MS Excel is easy to use as it has been created to be user-friendly. However, when I went to MacLeod College, I was in for a surprise. MacLeod College uses MacBooks and Apple computers. They even have NetBooks. Indeed, they use a PDA to mark attendance every day. I was amazed at the technology that was available to the students and staff in this school. I had to re-learn the software available on MacBooks before I could get the students to work on the systems, especially since I had no notion of what software was available on Apple computers.
However, I shall come back to talking about the use of MS Excel in schools or rather in MacLeod College. The students here were very tech-savvy. They used computers to not only create brochures, posters (using MS Publisher) but also were comfortable creating Podcasts, mini-movies, etc.
I have seen them using MS Excel to explain tessellations that were based on placing biscuits and wafers on graph sheets. Also, they have used MS Excel in their integrated class on ‘Natural Disasters’. I had asked them to create a bar diagram on the number of ‘Natural Disasters’ that had hit Australia between 1980 and 2010.
The great thing about allowing students to use technology is that they can become independent learners. However, I have to issue a word of warning since I learnt this the hard way. Not all students will work on the computer responsibly. I had allowed a student access to a Netbook so that he could create a poster. Later I found him playing ‘Solitaire’ rather than working on the poster. So, be it using MS Excel or creating a poster using MS Publisher, we as teachers have to ensure that our students use the technology available to them in a responsible manner. But that is a one-off incident and so should not deter teachers from using the technology available to them to improve learning amongst their students.
