Spreadsheets in the Classroom

The first thing that came to mind when I thought of using a spreadsheet in the classroom was to use it for myself, for grading. After reading and visiting some of the websites I realize that there is so much more that you can do with spreadsheets. In math I would be able to utilize spreadsheets a lot with the children. Children often have a better understanding with information that is visual. Using a spreadsheet the numbers become bars, if you use a bar graph, and the children can see the size and compare the information that way. In my thematic unit study of recycling we would use a spreadsheet to record and create a graph of the number of items that we had recycled from day one to day five. As we become more aware of recycling and create the habits of recycling I would hope to see our graph grow as the days went on.

An advantage would be that the children are going to have a better understanding of the amount of recycling and how much it has grown by looking at the graph that we creating by utilizing the spreadsheet.

Though creating a spreadsheet is easy enough for a first grader I would create the spreadsheet on the computer as the children view what is happening by looking at the white board that projects what is happening on my computer screen.

I would be meeting the NETS standards by incorporating technology and by allowing the children to work collaboratively in helping create the graph. I would be engaging students in exploring real-world isues of  trash build up and solving authentic problem of reycycling using a digital tools.