Spreadsheet

**What is a spreadsheet?**A spreadsheet is a table which displays numbers in rows and columns. Spreadsheets can be used for a variety of purposes (accounting, budgeting, charting/graphing, financial analysis, scientific applications). Spreadsheets can exist in paper format but the electronic spreadsheets are able perform automatic calculations on changing data. For example, a teacher who uses a spreadsheet to record student marks is able to determine student averages and class means in real-time - that means the minute one number in the spreadsheet is changed, the calculations are up-to-date everywhere within the spreadsheet. This can save users drastic amounts of tim e. **Why use it?** Spreadsheet programs help you manage data in various formats and, as mentioned above, they can increase your productivity when dealing with various types of data. Computerized spreadsheets offer students and teachers with a way to view data in various formats (pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, and the like). When students and teachers are able to view data in various formats, they are able to make important visual discoveries about their data. || > **Example**: Second graders count how many people are in a particular room and divide them into groups: men, women, and children. This raw data is then entered into a spreadsheet. > ** Raw Data ** Students can then select the **chart wizard** to have their raw data automatically put into various types of charts. By transferring the raw data into colorful visuals, students are able to answer questions about this data very quickly and they learn that certain charts/graphs better suit their needs than others - depending on their data and the answers they are seeking. As you can see from the two sample charts below, a quick glance at the charts can reveal answers to questions they may be asked about the data. ||
 * ** SPREADSHEETS **
 * As you can see from the illustration below, the data is entered into cells and is organized in **rows** and **columns**.
 * [[image:http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/pd21byersj/images/chart1.gif width="482" height="282"]]

When the data is put into a pie chart (or circle graph) is is difficult to tell if there are more women or more men in the room. However, the students can create a different type of chart quickly that better suits this data by switching to a bar graph. || In the bar graph, it is easy to tell that there are more women in the room because the dark pink bar is taller than any other bar. ||
 * [[image:http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/pd21byersj/images/chart2.gif width="483" height="281"]]