Click on the link to see my sheet: Student Data
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Student Test Results from Excel
Attached is my spreadsheet for Student Test Results. I'm a little frustrated from this assignment because it was really meant to do on Google Sheets and those of us who tried to use Pages or Excel seem to be put at a disadvantage. It seems that if the assignment was meant to be done on Google Docs, then it should have been explicitly stated to use only Google Sheets. The problem that I find with Google Sheets is that it is much slower than excel or Pages and doesn't allow for the basic functionality that those programs allow. Also, since spreadsheets are frustrating to most people to deal with anyhow, trying to introduce spreadsheet analysis with a new program accelerated some frustration. I understand the "neat-factor" involved with the widgets and gadgets, however, it seems like we shouldn't have been required to use Google Docs...that's all.
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I partially agree with your thoughts. I should have clarified why I wanted the emphasis to be on Google Sheets. Here's my rationale:
ReplyDeleteAfter talking with some of the other instructors, they all felt everyone should already have a basic background in spreadsheeting. That being said, if the project was done in Excel, it would only take a few minutes to complete. So my intent was not to use sophisticated Excel functions, but rather to apply the use of Web2.0 tools to add the collaboration piece, and ease of embedding into a blog post. Embedding an Excel sheet or chart into a web site or blog should be very easy, but in reality one has to export as a .PDF (which is far more complicated for PC folks) and jump through other types of hoops. For those who used G.Sheets, the only stuggle should be to figure out how to do the same types of things they did in Excel. Once that is done, many other doors are opened --- especially the collaboration piece. No attachments, up/down loads, compatibility issues, etc. So, definitely pros and cons to both sides.
Gadgets weren't mentioned in relation to this project, but rather to demonstrate the power of Google Sheets to offer some very, very simple (2 or 3 minute setup) activities that kids can do from anywhere.
I still use Excel when I have major projects (pivot tables, lookup tables, etc.), but I've found Sheets to be most satisfactory for the majority of my tasks, especially since I generally need to share the results.