In this week’s lesson most of the focus was on spreadsheets and databases and programs that provide them. The most familiar software that I use on a regular basis is Microsoft Excel. I have used Excel in the past to jobs that I have had for many different purposes. Currently I use excel for quoting at work. We have different templates that are used and formulas are already entered. It saves a lot of time when marking items up. (Saves on the math I have to do as well) I have also used Excel to help create a behavior logs for my children (especially my oldest) for home behavior tracking.
After doing a search on the internet for spreadsheets used in classrooms I quickly found Belmar, NJ K-12 website. http://www.belmar.k12,nj,us/public/everyday-spreadsheets/ This website is used as a resource for teachers. Within the website there are several links that have both resources for teachers to use for grading/assessing purposes as well as resources for them to use for lessons.
I found the travel budget lesson very interesting because this could be made into more than a travel budget. Teachers can change this to a fundraiser/class party budget. Students could work together to fundraise to have a class party at some point in the year. They would start from the beginning gathering data for how much they will need and what they will do. Each week they can track their progress towards this goal.
Other spreadsheets that were great ideas that I hadn’t thought about were homework schedules. Like a calendar the homework schedules clearly state what is expected of students and can prepare them for one week or one month worth of homework lessons.
Teaching some math concepts can be enhanced with spreadsheets. Take multiplication tables as an example. Other spreadsheets that focus on averages can also be very useful in teaching these concepts.
I think the main idea here is to not only teach student the concepts but also get students to learn how to use the technology that is out there. Getting them to interact with technology and use opportunities such as Poll taking to input into spreadsheets. These spreadsheets can help make charts and graphs and further the lessons we design.
It really surprised me when I started immediately thinking of ways to modify the lessons that were given as examples. I find myself being creative and thinking how can I incorporate this into a lesson that will be appropriate for all grade levels.
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