Preface

From Compsci1

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In Lesson 4 you created a grade sheet for a class of 4th graders based on a template you had put together at the beginning of the same lesson. You learned that you can easily adapt a template for use with other classes that you might teach. You learned about the organization of spreadsheets. You learned about rows and columns, and the cells at the intersection of those rows and columns. You learned how to select cells and how to address cells using row and column coordinates. You learned how to enter formulas into certain cells in order to have Excel do calculations for you--totals and percentages in particular.

You filled the rows and columns with labels and grades. You had a first introduction to the idea that a spreadsheet can be a powerful tool for handling numeric data that requires mathematical or statistical processing.

In this tutorial you will have the opportunity to reinforce what you learned in Lesson 4. At the same time you will learn how to maintain a spreadsheet. This you will do by making enhancements to the spreadsheet you created in Lesson 4. You will also learn about some of the logical processing capabilities of spreadsheets, capabilities which enable you to give an "intelligent" flavor to the applications that you build. In particular, you will learn about the following

• features of the Excel spreadsheet.
  • Recapitulation and Reinforcement
  • Updating an existing spreadsheet
  • More changes to the look of the spreadsheet
  • Using the LOOKUP function
  • Creating charts based on spreadsheet data
  • Printing the updated spreadsheet
  • Making a backup copy of your documents

A caveat before you begin: You'll find it easiest to use the tutorial if you follow the directions carefully. On computers there are always other ways of doing things, but if you wander off on your own be sure you know your way back!