SILS iSchool

Task 04 | Spreadsheets

Value Added | daily

Class Schedule

Basics | sessions 01-05

21 Aug | intro
23 Aug | clients
28 Aug | servers
30 Aug | networks
04 Sep | basics lab

Web Development | sessions 06-11

06 Sep | structural layer
11 Sep | presentational layer
18 Sep | working with layers
20 Sep | behavior layer
25 Sep | images & design
27 Sep | website lab

Document Markup | sessions 12-14

02 Oct | object layers
04 Oct | tools that read markup
09 Oct | document markup lab

Spreadsheets | sessions 15-19

11 Oct | spreadsheets, formulas & functions
16 Oct | data display
 18 Oct | Fall Break 
23 Oct | database tools
25 Oct | spreadsheets lab

Relational Database | sessions 20-26

30 Oct | relational databases
01 Nov | tables
06 Nov | relationships
08 Nov | input & output
13 Nov | SQL
15 Nov | complex queries
20 Nov | databases lab
 22 Nov | Thanksgiving 

Presentation | sessions 27-30

27 Nov | presentation design
29 Nov | presentation delivery
04 Dec | presentation lab
13 Dec | 0800-1100 | final in class presentation





You will be called upon to demonstrate specific spreadsheet skills on a set of worksheets.

Task ④ ⇒ spreadsheets

spreadsheets task logo

You are to download and modify several existing worksheets to make them a more useful product. To be specific, these worksheets from a variety of publicly available data provided by the US government in spreadsheet form.

The task will require you to construct a workbook that can be used both as an electronic spreadsheet and as a paper product, capable of being easily used by a busy executive. The final workbook will include:

15 worksheets, each containing statistical data (numerical and/or textual) about a variety of topics.

You are to modify 12 worksheets in some fashion to make them more useful both as an electronic and as a paper product. You will be expected to create 4 additional worksheets by copying and modifying one or more of the provided worksheets.

Some worksheets will be modified specifically to make the data in them more visible. This may include converting data already in the worksheet to different kinds of data; may include using one or more of the tools to manipulate the data; or may include using your formatting skills to tidy up some spreadsheet inefficiencies.

You will also create several charts based on the worksheets and add these charts to the workbook.

Everything in this task is something we will have demonstrated and/or tried in class.

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Condition

There are several different commercial spreadsheet software applications, and you may use the one of your choice. However, I will have to be able to open the file using either MSOffice or OpenOffice.

You may work alone on this task, or you may work in groups. If you choose to work in a group, follow the same guidance as we did for task 03.

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Standard

It should meet the standards laid out on the task 04 gradesheet.

Everything on that gradesheet will be analogous to something we will have done in class.

Save the finished product using the standard file name structure for this class.

I have posted an approximate example that should provide some visual guidance for the task.

You do not have to follow the design of this example (it doesn't conform exactly to your current task), but you would do well to follow the guidance in it.

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Value Added | daily
Basics | sessions 01-05
Web Development | sessions 06-11
Document Markup | sessions 12-14
Spreadsheets | sessions 15-19
Relational Database | sessions 20-26
Presentation | sessions 27-30