Microsoft Excel

Its funny, but in class today it almost seemed as though more people were familiar with Microsoft Excel (the basic features) than Microsoft Word as we used it last week.  Excel has always been a program that has sat in my “Microsoft Programs” folder and rarely been touched.  I can only account for one time that I have ever even used it in the classroom:  during student teaching I had to incorporate technology and I chose to use Excel to have the students enter data such as height, length of arm span, and how far they could jump, because they were working on a measurement unit.  This was a first grade activity so they seemed to enjoy watching me explain how to enter the data (similar to what we did in class with the M&M’s) after they had collected it and watching the graphs compare/contrast the different measurements.  Since I do not have my own classroom yet, I haven’t been able to use the different features of Excel, but I guess that I should probably learn more about what I can do with it, so that when the time comes, I will be prepared.   It’s true, what was said in class, Excel has always been viewed as the “nerd” program, used only for accounting and math.  I had that misconception as well.  It was great to be able to hear about all of the different things that we could use it for, in subjects other than math.  Students probably have that misconception as well, so as long as we clear that up, Excel can be a great tool for them to use.  Who knows…maybe in a few years, elementary students will have mastered the Excel program and it will no longer have that label.