SpreadSheets; and why you should teach them to your students
What Are SpreadSheets?
Spreadsheets are probably the most powerful and versatile, yet underutilized, of all office suites. A spreadsheet is basically a matrix, i.e. an array of rows and columns, in which information is organized. Simple enough, right? Right, but wait, there's more! In each cell (i.e. the box created by an intersecting row and column), one can enter basic and complex commands to reference and interact with the data in the other cells and therein is where the magic lies.
Ok, But What's So Great About SpreadSheets?
So many reasons! but the TL;DR version is that it does whatever you are probably already doing, but better and faster.
The Calculator You Didn't Know You Wish You Had
The first of which being that spreadsheets are basically the calculator you didn't know you wish you had. Anyone who has had to do advanced algebra probably remembers having to solve problem after problem by entering some numbers and then hitting the same sequence of buttons over and over again. With a spreadsheet however, you only have to enter the sequence of operations you want to execute ONCE and then simply change the input numbers and all the rest of the work is executed automatically.
The Easiest Way For Managing Information
Whether creating a T-table for math functions, collecting lab data for science, or researching biographical details for various people of interest, spreadsheets are the absolute easiest (and arguably best) way for not only organizing information, but sorting, manipulating, and analyzing that information as well. Not only can you quickly sort data alphabetically and numerically, you can also use spreadsheets to quickly determine useful information like time elapsed between two dates for multiple entries (e.g. tenure for all Chief Justices of the Supreme Court) or generate a graph to establish trends (e.g. average age of acclaimed authors' first work over time). Additionally, spreadsheets are incredibly powerful when it comes to breaking up and combining information for large sample sizes (e.g. separating out the month from a collection of dates of all observed solar eclipses).
Versatility Unlike Any Other Tool
If you have used a word processor (MS Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages) or a presentation program (MS PowerPoint, Google Slides, Apple Keynote), then you've probably noticed that in addition to allowing you to create a table, they also allow you to copy and paste or insert a table from their respective spreadsheet program as well (MS Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers). That's only the beginning though. Spreadsheets are also used to create Comma-Separated-Value files that are used to import information into, well pretty much any computer program that uses specified data. This includes maps, vendor software, fitness software, educational apps, calendars, and more! This doesn't even begin to account for the various ways you can use spreadsheets for your own purposes -e.g. like calculating the distances between all aircraft around a particular airport!
What Can You Do With Them?
The real question should be, "What can't you do with them?"
Basically spreadsheets can do just about anything that involves organizing, tracking, manipulating, or analyzing data. BUT that's not all. You can also use them to generate written reports that rival what one might type up in a word processor -I used to write all my quarterly student comments using Excel/Sheets, and the switch reduced the time I spent on this from approximately 16 hours to a mere 20 minutes! You can also use spreadsheets to generate infographics.
Why Teach SpreadSheets to Students?
They make calculators obsolete, and math students better at math.
With the possible exception of calculus, there is almost nothing a basic TI or Casio calculator can do that a Spreadsheet can not be made to do better (though at that point, there are yet still several other better options than a traditional calculator). More importantly however, unlike with a TI or Casio calculator, mastering a spreadsheet approach necessitates understanding the underlying math in order to obtain a correct answer. In other words, an inherent benefit of teaching students to solve math problems with spreadsheets rather than traditional calculators is that it will simultaneously make them better at math.
It's the most powerful easy-to-use computer tool available.
Planning a trip. Tracking your finances. Scheduling employee shifts. Analyzing your health and fitness data. All of this can be done with the same tool, and by now you've probably guessed, it's spreadsheets. In fact, if you were to look at the back end of most of the paid software that does these or other tasks (separately), you would find that they all use what are (effectively) their own version of a spreadsheet. However, unlike those advanced apps and softwares that require lots of programming knowledge, spreadsheets are much more simple and straightforward. Are their limitations, of course, but you will likely have mastered a programming language before you find yourself in a place where the limitation is actually with the spreadsheet and not your knowledge thereof; which brings me to my last point.
It's a great entry point to the world of programming.
Students today need to learn to program just as adults today needed to learn to read and write; and with any luck, math (yes, I used "math" as a verb, as it should be more often). While intro programming tools like Scratch, Code.org, and Swift are great ways for engaging students to learn the basics of object-oriented programming; none come with the instant application benefit quite like a simple spreadsheet in the classroom.
Most importantly
With an increasingly competitive and automated job market, learning to work smarter instead of harder is ever more imperitative and there simply isn't another tool out there that lends itself to the "smarter, not harder" mentality than spreadsheets. Also, they’re just plain fun.
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