Excelling in the classroom

This week we created a practice worksheet/quiz on excel. Wow, let me say it was a challenge. For this assignment, I did a practice worksheet identifying prefixes and suffixes. I focused this worksheet on fourth grade. We were given an example to work through, which was tedious and long, but helpful. I believed that after I completed the example with compound words in class, I was ready to do my own. However, I did have some technical issues. First off, I felt that I was rushing to complete my project in class today. Because I spent most of the class time working through the example on Monday, I was a little bit behind on Wednesday. Consequently, my attempt to rush and be efficient was not so successful. I ended up uploading the wrong file onto blackboard and I also forgot to turn in my rubric and answer sheet.

The biggest problem for me though, was typing in the formula. When I typed the first formula in the cell titled "Right?" the words that were supposed to appear, either "good" or "uh-oh" didn't show up. I spent at least the next ten minutes figuring out what I was doing wrong, even employed a friend to help me. However, once I changed the viewing properties, everything worked out the way it was supposed to do. Other than that, I didn't really have a hard time with the assignment. So, I guess you could say that it was human error rather than technological error.

When I become a teacher, I would use an excel worksheet/spreadsheet for many different occasions. First off, I could use a spreadsheet to create an attendance book/log. Even if I had a paper copy of an attendance book, I could always create a digital file for safe keeping. It would also be a quick and easy way to show parents their child's attendance. Also, I could create budgets for school supplies or parties. In terms of parties, I could use excel spreadsheets for food list or a guest list. When it comes to uses in the classroom, I would definitely create similar projects to the one I made. I would use these worksheets for practice as a class activity, or create one for a struggling student in a particular area. Quizzes would be another use I could rely on with excel spreadsheets.

I really liked the creative aspect of this spreadsheet assignment. I like how the spreadsheet is multipurpose, and teachers can use them for many different reasons both inside and outside the classroom, among students, and among teachers and parents. I also liked how you could hide the gridlines and everything else so that it didn't look like a spreadsheet! :) The shadowing aspect of excel was pretty cool too. If I were to have a do-over, I would make sure that I was very comfortable using the technology. To further ensure my comfort levels, I would probably have to a few practice runs with the practice sheet or quiz I was creating.