This week we had to do a lot of things with spreadsheets. We had to fill in a magic square. I thought this was a lot of fun because I give this kind of a challenge to my students. I teach math and always enjoy math challenges for me or my students.
We also had to make a recipe. I enjoy cooking, so I liked looking at everyone else recipe. However, I did find it a bit challenging at first to get the proportions to work out the way I want it to. I had to look at other’s to help me remember how to get it the way I wanted it. If I did not have other people’s recipes to help me, I would not have been as successful. Part of this program is to support each other. I definitely had support of my classmates and they did not even know it.
I have seen the 7th and 8th grade Spanish teachers use spreadsheets for verb congregation. However, I teach middle school math. I think there are a lot of opportunities for spreadsheets in my classroom. My students could bring in a recipe and do what we did. There is a lot of math included in this. For example, measurements of food and the math with setting up the spreadsheet to change when you change the number of servings.
Another place where I could use spreadsheets would be in 6th grade we do a lot of work with graphs. We make line graphs, bar graphs, and read circle graphs. Using this website I can help the students to make bar graphs out of spreadsheets. The students can create a survey, distribute the survey, collect results, and finally graph the results they find. This could be a great project they could work on right before break or at a time when they want to do something other than listen and work on worksheets. Overall, I think this would be a fun, engaging, and great learning opportunity.
Another place where I could use spreadsheets would be in 6th grade we do a lot of work with graphs. We make line graphs, bar graphs, and read circle graphs. Using this website I can help the students to make bar graphs out of spreadsheets. The students can create a survey, distribute the survey, collect results, and finally graph the results they find. This could be a great project they could work on right before break or at a time when they want to do something other than listen and work on worksheets. Overall, I think this would be a fun, engaging, and great learning opportunity.
Crystal, I also had to peek at the formula on other recipe spreadsheets to get it to calculate
ReplyDeletecorrectly; but now we know how to do something new, right?
Spreadsheets and math really go hand in hand, and I think as you use them more you are going to find tons of way to integrate them into your lessons. Just like we teach kids how to use graphing calculators and other hand-held tools, spreadsheets can be used to calculate and graph and is something that could give our students an edge going into the workforce if they have a working knowledge of this application. Have fun with it! :)
Collaboration, that is the key. Team work has been the buzz word in the classroom and in industry for awhile, so any gooledocs program is a step towards that. Sometimes, we need to step back, take a deep breath, and look at our lessons. How boring are they and what can we use to liven them up? One of my fellow teacher, just did a wiki with her students in LA. She did not change the assignments, in any way, other than them being on-line. The kids are SO excited.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I am saying is throw technology in and see what sticks, just like anything else not all of it will work, but it will make the students a little more excited about class.
I liked the challenge of the magic square too. It took me a few tries to figure it out, but I got it eventually. I wasn't quite sure myself how to set up the formulas in the recipe, and it was very beneficial to have the help of the class. Collaboration is great! In terms of spreadsheets in education, I believe the opportunities are endless. There are ways they could be applied to pretty much any subject. Right now I use them in terms of keeping track of my budget for the library, but I would like to find a useful way to use them with my students.
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