This past Saturday marked the beginning of the second half of the Fall 2023 semester :-)
Manuel C. (Manny) alone showed up to the classroom at 8 AM and took on Bonus Quiz 9.
At 9 AM, I officially started the class with my message of shifting the mindset and habits from simply 'get it done' to 'do it well'! 'Do it well' means (a) setting aside quality time to focus one's attention and energy to (b) carefully analyze the situation and requirements so one can approach fulfilling the requirements with (c) critical thinking and precise execution of cell references, syntax, formulas, functions, or any or all of the above.
Manny then used A5 Slideshow Presentation to promote his budding business UTRUnnoticed, which stands for Under the Radar, Unnoticed. I love his tagline: "Whether you are on or off the radar, we will make sure you never go unnoticed." After reviewing the polishing process for Manny's slideshow, I gave my Lecture 4 Key Excel and Spreadsheet Analysis Concepts (Part 1 of 2).
- 'Order of Precedence' is not an Excel concept but a mathematical concept. 6 + 4 / 2 = 8, not = 5. If you want to end up with 10, you need to use _______ so the addition is performed first before the division. The resulting formula would be _______________.
- I believe for most people, if they master the five most commonly used Excel functions, that will satisfy most of their calculation needs in a spreadsheet. The IF function is not only a gateway to decision-making in programming but can modify other Excel functions too.
- If one does not master the concept of when to make a cell reference/range absolute (i.e. does not adjust based on filling/copying-pasting/moving) instead of the default nature of relative, one's spreadsheet experience will be miserable and even debilitating.
- Fill handle is an extremely wonderful feature. To be able to create your own fill-series in Excel will truly showcase one's elevated skill level. Just because LabSim didn't show you how, doesn't mean you can't research that knowledge on your own.
- Just because the wizard makes a suggestion to us and most of us -- myself included -- often just click OK or Next to accept the suggestion, if the formula or the result is wrong, who is responsible, the wizard or you?
Next Saturday, after Mary gives her A5, I will continue with Part 2 of 2 which consists of two topics, the first of which is my personal favorite interactive walkthrough of 'Straight vs. Weighted Average' and the second is my signature decision tree on choosing the most appropriate chart type to use for a given scenario.
Click on the image for a larger/clearer view
As I'm finalizing this blog post, Manassiya occupies the pole position for progress in LabSim but Manny leads in the first assignment as he is the first to reach 100% on 'Fun with Functions and More Workbook'. With the near-perfect performance on BQ9, Manny is now the holder of the highest cumulative score for all bonus quizzes thus far. I can't wait to see how the 'UTRUnnoticed' entrepreneur will perform on BQ10 this coming week ^_^
Students,
Please share your thoughts on these three topics in your comment:
- Did these two videos from the Digital Literacy Program Director help you alleviate any anxiety with Microsoft Excel?
Excel Primer, a helpful introduction to Excel (20 min 24 sec)Excel Functions Review (4 min 36 sec)
- How was your experience with doing the 'Fun with Functions and More Workbook'?
- How was your experience with doing A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer?
1.) The two videos are very nice. It's a nice walkthrough and review.
ReplyDelete2.) Fun with Functions was tough because I have a hard time interpreting directions, but I got through.
3.) I still haven't finish A6, but I will try to do so soon. So far it's not too bad. It takes me some time to mess around with some things though.
The two videos from the Digital Literacy program director helped a little. I found value in the section about absolute values, since that's one of the issues I struggle with. The Excel Functions Review tackled another issue I have when dealing with Excel, which is how to read what Excel is asking. I get confused when I see "Array" or "Logical Test." I end up guessing until the formula looks right to me which is not a good strategy.
ReplyDeleteThe Fun with Functions was a little challenging for me because I was one of the few students that "broke" the spreadsheet. Once I restarted it, everything went pretty well. Along with the "..and More" workbook, they definitely challenged me to think and put the information I learned in LabSim to the test.
The A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer was pretty easy for me which was surprising. Excel is one of the programs that I never really grasped, so the ease of these really makes me realize that I'm retaining the information. Dare I say "I wish there were more spreadsheets to practice (play) with"?
Yes they did help me lot. My experience doing Fun with Functions and More Workbook has been difficult for me just because I need to retake the lessons to have better understanding. It was challenging but I sent in what I have done. I just need to see the feedback and correct the mistakes I did.
ReplyDelete1. The video put was easy to understand and the review of Excel was great and simplified.
ReplyDelete2. The Fun and Functions Workbook was great, I had a few I had an issue with because I didn't read the instructions correctly.
3. The A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer was easier to complete after the previous assignment. I'm excited to finish Excel and take my certification exam.
1. I would say both of the Digital Literacy Program videos were very helpful. Although I’ve had a lot of practice with Excel so far, it was a nice and simple review. Sometimes, when I learn too many complex things at one time, I forget about how to do simple tasks. The most helpful task the videos went over for me was the IF function. This function was my least favorite and the most challenging, in my opinion.
ReplyDelete2. Overall, I would say that the Fun with Functions and More Workbook was challenging. The most challenging part of the workbook was the critical thinking aspect. This assignment made me think outside the box to come up with most of the answers. What I did not enjoy about this assignment was that some programming errors did not allow me to move forward, even if the answer was correct. Although it wasn’t the best experience, I know it was a great exercise for my brain!
3. This assignment was definitely easier than the Fun with Functions and More Workbook. I enjoyed this assignment more due to the fact that I could customize my own Excel sheet. The instructions were slightly difficult to understand but after a few tries I was able to complete the assignment. Overall it was an enjoyable assignment.