Excel and Forms Online Module

This online module is designed to give you an Intro to Microsoft Excel, another basic skill from the NETS for Teachers standards, as well as allow you to explore spreadsheet activities for students and another tool in the Google Apps suite, Google Forms.

Topic 1: Intro to Excel

1. First, visit the following link to view Excel tutorials. Choose the tutorial that you feel will be most beneficial for YOU (beginner, intermediate, advanced, 2010 version, charts, etc.), read the appropriate tutorial, complete the activities/tasks listed in the tutorial, then, in a healthy paragraph, mention at least two things you did not know about Excel before this module. How will you incorporate this new-found knowledge within your lessons? You will include your paragraph in the submission form at the bottom of this page.

Excel Tutorials on Workshop Docs page

See also (from the pdfconverter site): 
http://www.pdfconverter.com/resources/blog/learn-excel-by-yourself

2. Next, view the attached documents related to Excel Spreadsheet Activities for Students.

3. Now, choose one of the spreadsheet activities to try out for yourself or incorporate with one of your existing classroom activities. In the submission form below, please describe in a healthy paragraph how you would use this activity with your students. Then, attach your spreadsheet (the one created by you as you tried the activity or a sample from one of your students) using the Upload Files question within the submission form.


*Another nifty trick in Excel: Sparklines allows you to insert mini graphs within cells. Find Sparklines under the Insert menu or search the Help menu.

For more information about using Sparklines, see the link below:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16759/how-to-use-sparklines-in-excel-2010/

Topic 2: Google Forms

Google Apps is a service that Google provides for schools and businesses. It is a set of Google Docs features that are packaged together for easy use (such as email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and more). 

The online nature of Google Apps makes for some very interesting possibilities for using Google Apps with your students (and with other teachers). For years students have been using word processing software (such as Microsoft Word) for much of their written work. But the world of technology is continuously changing, and many basic software tasks are moving to online environments. This opens up a whole world of possibilities for sharing and collaborating on documents and projects. 

We learned about some of the features of Google Docs in our last all-day training session, but here are a few more web sites for ideas about how teachers are using Google Docs in the classroom and how to integrate Google Apps into your curriculum (particularly Google Documents and Google Forms):

Google Apps for Education - Lesson Plans

Google for Educators - Classroom Activities

Lesson Planet - Google Docs Lesson Plans

21st Century Teaching - Using Google Docs in the Classroom

In order to learn many of the features and possibilities of Google Docs, the following set of assignments was designed to have you combine a number of elements into one set of tasks. Although you may not actually use all of these features in a single lesson, this should give you ideas for what you could do with students (and with other teachers).

1. Using the links above and/or resources found on your own, carry out research online to learn more about the creative ways that this technology (Google Docs/Forms/Spreadsheets) is being used by other teachers of your specific subject area and grade level. The main idea is that you focus your research on YOUR specific grade levels and/or subjects. Summarize your research in a healthy paragraph and include this paragraph in the corresponding space of the submission form below. Please include at least one link found while researching.

2. Next, view the documents below for additional information about Google Forms.

3. Now, create a Google Form in order to gather some information from the other T3 participants OR students in your class. This could be a survey or quiz format asking for information related to a topic that you teach, or a topic relevant to teachers in general, or to the topics of your class. The form should have at least FIVE questions/items. In the corresponding space of the submission form below, please describe your form and how it will be used in your classroom. Please also include a link to your Live Form so all of us can view, complete, and/or submit your form.

The following link may be helpful as you create your form:

Create an Online Quiz using Google Forms from Richard Byrne:

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/create-online-quiz-using-google-forms.html#.UG2Nuhg-IUk 

* NOTE: If you created a form designed to be an online quiz, and you’d like it to be self-graded, check out the following link:

Flubaroo UserGuide:

http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide


You can even use Google Sheets to create flashcards and other review games!
http://flippity.net


Topic 3: Edmodo Quizzes - Optional but really cool!

Speaking of online quizzes, did you know that Edmodo has its own quiz feature?

*NOTE: If you have not created an Edmodo account yet and want to do so, please use the following link to get started: http://warrensburgr6.edmodo.com 
and contact me for your school’s code.

You can create a quiz quickly and easily, assign the quiz to specific groups/classes, specify a time limit, and choose whether to show students their results immediately or not. Edmodo will even grade it for you!

Here’s a link with more information about creating quizzes in Edmodo:

http://help.edmodo.com/create-a-quiz/

If you try Edmodo’s quiz feature with your students, be sure to let us know how it compares to a Google Form (this would be a great T3 Discussion Forum topic, too!!) as well as the pros/cons of using Edmodo features with your students.

Please use the form below to submit your module.

https://goo.gl/forms/edwBpYuj4RvFlrFi1