Lesson 2 Blog: Spreadsheets and Databases in the Classroom
This week I learned...about how (and why) to use spreadsheets and databases in the classroom. As a science teacher you’d think I’d be all over using this type of technology in a science classroom, but alas, I am a teaching enigma-a science teacher who hates math, so the thought of incorporating more math into my lessons does not make me want to go shout from the rooftops. Now when I say “hate,” I guess that’s kind of a strong word. As a science teacher, I recognize that math is necessary, but my math phobia is deeply rooted in my past. I come from the old school where calculators were “verboten” and it was memorize, drill, and more memorization. No fun games, no computer applications, no Study Island. Memorizing metric conversion tables because “everyone in the whole world will be using nothing but the Metric System by 1977”…well, at least the rest of the world kept their end of the bargain. I guess there were some folks in the decision-making part of the country who weren’t too keen on memorization either, ‘cause it never happened. That created a whole different problem-learning the metric system in math and science classes and then going home and using the English system (which, by the way, not even the English use anymore). But I digress…my point is that if data tables, spreadsheets, and computers had been part of my educational math experience, I not only would have had a better attitude, I would have loved it! Hands-on and using the computer is right up my alley.
In researching this week’s lessons, I found some really helpful ideas for using Microsoft Excel charts in the science classroom. The following is the web address:
I already mentioned earlier in my discussion this week about using a spreadsheet to show the predator –prey relationship in an area, and then chart what happens if you change either variable. I think that would be a really impressive and immediate way to show students how delicate ecosystems are and how little changes can make big differences. This is technology that I already have access to at school and home, but never thought about using in this way. So without any extra funding or cost, I could easily incorporate this into an ecosystem activity that I already do with my students. This would give them an extra math and graphing opportunity, which they usually need. One spreadsheet idea from the site that I will definitely use in the fall is the one that charts and graphs the freezing and boiling points of a substance. Each year my students do a lab where they gradually heat ice until it boils, then turns into steam. Currently, they record it in a chart, by hand, and then graph it by hand. Each year I spend 20 minutes going over how to graph the variables and each year I get graphs that look like ragged mountain peaks, instead of nice gradual slopes. Using an Excel chart and graph would allow the students to become more familiar with where everything is supposed to go on a graph and what the graphs are supposed to look like, before they try to tackle them on their own. I thought the information found on this website was very enlightening-even if it is about math!
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