Spreedsheets Blog

Spreadsheets can be utilized as an effective learning tool in the classroom. Using graphs and charts teachers can teach students to analyze data and information. I recently reviewed a spreadsheet project titled Graphing Our Throw-Away Materials by Linda Wiedenfeld. This project is designed for students to learn about conservation by analyzing the trash they generate every day. The assignment requires them to record what type of trash they throw away and how much. Students then analyze the data to learn more about their throw-away patterns.

This simple yet effective project can be altered and utilized for different subject areas as well. For example, If I were to use this project for my High School Physical Education class, I could do so by making some minor changes. Instead of analyzing throw-away materials, I would have my students record their eating patterns. First, students would be taught proper diet and important elements of the food pyramid. Then, I would have to teach them how to enter data recorded onto a computer. Using this computer, they would keep track of what types of food they eat each day and how many servings they consume. It could then be applied to a graph that showed how many servings per day they were eating of each component of the food pyramid. Once a graph is created students could use it to observe their eating habits and see what particular food groups they need more or less of. This project would be a very beneficial and informative process for students in any Physical Education or Health class.

Using spreadsheets can provide an effective way of allowing students to gather, apply, and analyze data. This can be an important element of the educational process if utilized correctly.