Class 2 for real November 20

Ok, Gang,

Here we go-our second week. At the end of the day (excluding our makeup sessions) we'll be half way home.

First, I'd like to have you set up your blogs so that we automatically get updates fed to us in our email in-boxes. We do a little exploring, testing, and analysis of some of the added features of blogs.

Today, I'd like to cover two programs; Excel and Access. Both of them are robust, complex, and very sophisticated. My goal is to show you potential uses of the programs and not to make you MS Office ninjas. Some of you may not "take to them" (I know that I didn't till I had to teach them, and then YES, I learned to hold them in awe.), or may not have occasion to use them because of what you teach. I would like to show you a number of sites that contain excellent tutorials and lessons. In doing my research, I was able to come up with the best ones that used Excel; I wasn't as lucky with Access. I will continue looking this evening and again early in the morning in the lab (remind me to show you Evernote).

Excel:

I'm going to show you a few sites with tutorials that I'd like you to look at. Please give them a quick initial peruse. Some are cursory; while others are not. Look them over and decide which you'd like to go through. Obviously you should judge your selection on your comfort, skill level and reach potential. Please keep in mind that you should do the one in which you'll learn the most without becoming disagreeable-just kidding because there are now disagreeables in our class. My goal was to locate tutorials dealing with both Excel and pie charts. This is going to be a very pleasant experience for everyone and I'll be helping you along the way.

As you go through them however thorough you may choose, please be thinking of possible ways that you might use the programs to create lessons for your students as well as your class project.

Pay attention though to those that create educational games. You may want to do something similar and I'm willing to help you in and out of the class.

Using graphs to investigate candy color distribution

http://www.microsoft.com/education/candy.mspx


Using Excel to create a chart or graph

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/excel_create_chart.htm


Beginning Excel Lesson: Making your first chart

http://oakdome.com/k5/lesson-plans/excel/index.php


Excel Learning Activity: An M&M Chart

http://oakdome.com/k5/lesson-plans/excel/third-excel-lesson.php

Creating an Interactive Game in Excel

http://pjnicholson.com/excel_game/jigsawgame.html


Access:

Please look these over. Your choice to complete any of the tutorials in their entirety is optional. Access is a program we could all spend 3 courses learning most of its potential. Pay attention though to those that create educational games. You may want to do something similar and I'm willing to help you in and out of the class.

Using a Database Application in the Classroom: Reflection by Julia Smith, Classroom Teacher

http://tiger.towson.edu/~jsmith40/301/database.htm

A Quick Microsoft Access Tutorial

http://www.cwnresearch.com/resources/databases/access/tutorials/access2000/Access2000Tutorial.html


Microsoft Lessons

http://www.reviseict.co.uk/lessons/access/index.htm

Discovery's Puzzlemaker

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp



Creating a Presidents Database (This is a great one, but has a steep learning curve associated with it.)
http://pjnicholson.com/access/accesspresident.htm



Please take a look at some lessons that teachers taking courses here at MEC have created. You may recognize some by their names. To view them go to our directory at: http://cgi.mec.edu/~groves/

The projects that you'll see there vary somewhat in terms of their sophistication, but they all represent a lot of hard work by their authors. While you are looking them over, be open to any ideas that will help you in creating your curriculum project.