Oh Excel. A sweet and unassuming little program that I've played with now and again, both personally and professionally, but never really spent hours with like Word or even PowerPoint. From Windows 95 to 7, and even the free OpenOffice generic Spreadsheet program, I've dabbled and summed over the years. Honestly, though, I've only made myself fluent enough to get through a few uses maybe once or twice a year. I've been steeped in word processing and presentations for over a decade, but rarely needed to delve into a program I've only associated with numbers. My focus has always been on words and language and comprehension, and the formulas of Excel seemed like a foreign language to me (which they are in a sense). When I was teaching, we had a gradebook system, but it was sophisticated and integrated with the attendance program, and I never looked too far into besides where to type in test grades. In fact, I can't even recall the name of that gradebook program, and I looked at it every single day for 6 months. Sad, but true.
However, the time is nigh to change things and dive back into the world of spreadsheets and formulas, and this week's Activity Reflection is an ideal opportunity. With the sample grade book provided to me, I had to re-learn how to work these important numbers to a necessary conclusion. Follow the steps, create formulas and make sure the information is easy to read and useful beyond the single worksheet. These directions were clear, but also ambiguous to a mind that hasn't dealt with such tasks in quite awhile. A lot of time was spent trying to remember how I used to save myself so much time, with a lot of really intelligent remarks to myself such as “duh!” and “really?” that no doubt helped move progress along swimmingly. Hmm...unintended pun, but I like it. Moving on...
I will not sit here and pretend that I am the Mistress of Excel and that this assignment required little effort and took little of my precious time. This was harder than I expected, and I felt it was a great lesson to remember when I have to teach seemingly simple ideas or programs to users who are either entirely unfamiliar or simply out of practice.
Everyone has different skill levels, and everyone learns things in a different way. I was constantly referring back to the instructions of the assignment, making sure again and again that I was what I needed to. Following directions have always been one of my key learning techniques, since so many people only “get the gist” of a task and then improvise or leave it incomplete. Once I was done, I went through each direction from the beginning to ensure I had left nothing out. A little overkill, sure, but better that than a mark off with a very obvious mistake pointed out later on.
I appreciated this assignment. Sure, I may not be looking at a regular classroom anytime soon, but I am embarking on a big re-training of my entire store on our NOOK devices very soon, and I need a way to keep track of the progress of our 35+ employees. Originally, I was just going to use a simple table in my OpenOffice word processing program (because as much as I love Microsoft Word, I do not love it's price tag), but now I have reconsidered. My coworkers are not getting grades persay, but efficient monitoring of training can mean some seriously good consequences down the road such as higher sales, increased communication and even recognition from above.
So I think I've changed my mind about Excel/Spreadsheet. There is, in fact, more to the word than what can be done in a word processor. Numbers and formulas can, in fact, be my friends as much as fancy vocabulary words. So, while Spreadsheet may not be my favorite, go-to, instinctual software for everyday, but I think we can become technological friends, if not more.
After reading your eye catching title I was hooked. I was hoping for some good "cheat" tips because I could really use them as well! "Everyone has different skill levels, and everyone learns things in a different way." This sums up my experience with this activity, and also the experience of many of my students on our daily assignments in class. I think the whole purpose of this assignment is to help us realize that technology is there to help us reach those at all skill levels and all types of learners.
ReplyDeleteI do not consider myself an Excel guru by any stretch, and my experience with this activity seems similar to yours. I tried my best to approach it with an open mind, and dedicate myself to coming out of it with something learned. Much as you thought of a new way to use this tool in your job, ideas have been running through my head about all the ways I can use Excel in the classroom for both students and other administrative tasks.
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteYour coffee mug professing your affection for “Spread Sheets” grabbed my attention first, but your words drew me in to read your post. I can tell by your first paragraph that you are definitely an English Major at heart and your “focus has always been on words and language and comprehension.” The remainder of your post though revealed you maintained “the upper hand” as you completed our Excel activity.
I too haven’t used Excel much lately, and I had the same experience as you as I tried to remember the ways I used to be able to create spreadsheets that incorporated simple formulas. Fortunately it seems like we both prevailed in our quest even though it did take a little longer than we had both planned.
You were very correct when you said, “Everyone has different skill levels, and everyone learns things in a different way.” I found myself going over the instructions a couple of times just as you because I didn’t want to receive any deductions because I overlooked something that should have been obvious.
In your post you said you are “embarking on a big re-training of my entire store on our NOOK devices very soon.” It sounds like you work in a book store. Is that where you got the cute coffee mug? I think you have a great idea for using a spreadsheet for monitoring the training of your coworkers. My son works for Books-a-Million and he’s always using Excel in his job. You reminded me of him when you wrote about “some seriously good consequences down the road such as higher sales, increased communication and even recognition from above.”
Best of luck to you in the future as you “broaden your horizons with Excel.” I enjoyed reading your post, and I look forward to keeping up with your blog posts as the term continues.
:) Ruth
Hi Ruth! Aren't you sweet? I just wanted to let you know that the coffee mug I showed isn't actually mine. I just found it with a Google search and thought it would be neat in the blog. Thanks for the lovely compliments, though!
ReplyDeleteOh, Julie I am so happy someone else felt my pain this week. I have been in the world of Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint writing papers and doing reports while getting my BA in History to even notice Excel even existed. I can relate with you being an English major is the same as being a History major, lots of writing is expected! I felt that this assignment has really opened my eyes and made me realize I have a lot to learn. I read several blogs that all felt the same way as you and I. The task seemed simple but really was not, I don’t play well with math or numbers in general. I’m lucky I remember my social security number and birth date! That’s all I seem to remember when it comes to numbers, charts, graphs, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou mention using a Nook, I have never used one but have heard great things about them. I think if would be neat to use them to keep track of employee training and performances. I hope that it works out for your store, and you can improve sales and such with it.
Darleen