Spreadsheet Website Review

The Math Forum

I followed the link to The Math Forum from the On the Web text companion website. At first glance, the Graphs page is a great website that provides step-by-step instructions for creating spreadsheets that includes: How to Make a Bar Graph, How to Make a Pie Chart, Changing Fonts and Colors, Changing Icons to Pictures, and more. I thought I’d put the directions to the test to see if I could easily make a bar graph by following the simple directions. After several puzzling minutes trying to figure out where the Options tool was located, I figured I must have an older or newer version of Excel than the author. However, when I looked more carefully at the introduction on each page, I discovered that the directions were for Clarisworks spreadsheets, an extinct Apple word processing software. I believe it was renamed to AppleWorks in 1998. Unfortunately, this website and its simple, clear directions for creating various spreadsheets uses an obsolete software. I checked the dates of the website and it lists copyright dates of 1994-2010. While other information on The Math Forum is up-to-date, the link provided in our text leads us to archaic information. By the way, the same is true for another link provided in our text, Math Forum’s Introduction to Math and Spreadsheets. Perhaps some school districts still use ClarisWorks on their Apple computers? (Sidenote: Although the spreadsheet information was obsolete, I felt it was a great lesson in researching a website to check for current information as we’ve discussed in class).

INTERACTIVE SPREADSHEETS

This site was extremely educational for creating a basic interactive spreadsheet. The authour includes step-by-step instructions for interactive Excel spreadsheets for both PC and MAC users as well as many sample interactive spreadsheets that teachers can download and use with their students. I followed the instructions and created my first interactive spreadsheet! It's a site well worth using if you're interested in going beyond a basic spreadsheet to use for yourself and with students.

CREATING A GRAPH
Kids’ Zone

This site offers templates for creating graphs, a tutorial, a help page, and examples of each type of graph. When the graph has been designed, it offers the option of printing, downloading to a CD/USB/hard drive, or emailing the graph. As a teacher, I found that in order to create the graph I needed, it was necessary to spend quite a bit of time reading through the examples and experimenting with formatting the design, data, and labels. If you’re willing to play with the program, you can create an attractive graph for your own needs as well as teach your students how to use the templates.

SCHOOL SPREADSHEET SAFARI
ThinkQuest

This site is a classroom ThinkQuest about spreadsheets. The helpful information includes basic spreadsheet information, vocabulary and definitions with a labeled graphic, and a quiz to test your knowledge. The downside of the site is that it is outdated – written in 2001 – so, many of the links (i.e., in the Scavenger Hunt) no longer function. The Site Map link provides an overview of all the links, including classroom activities, and helps you navigate through the information. I found the directions on the activity pages a bit unclear and, at times, incomplete.