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Copyright of Scientific Journal of Library, Archives & Information (SJLAI) is the property of Cairo University, Faculty of Arts - Documents & information Technology Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is a question in many countries whether ICT and application usage should be taught. There are some problems with IT literacy: users do not understand the concepts of a software, they cannot solve problems, and moreover, using applications gives them more problems. Consequently, using ICT seems to slow work down. Experts suggest learning programming to get some practice in computational thinking; but learning programming is very difficult for many people. In this publication a method is suggested how to teach computational thinking and how to prepare students for programming. The focus is set on the spreadsheet software, but the method is more general: the teaching of programming is embedded into the teaching of application usage. While discussing a specified software or problem to solve, indirectly, one teaches computational thinking and programming. Advanced spreadsheets are known as programming like language but in this case the focus is on the spreadsheets as a program in everyday use. While examining how to solve a problem using spreadsheet and what does spreadsheet do, computational thinking and key competences of programming are developing. Later known data types, data structures, algorithms, functions and methods give the conceptual basis of programming practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is not the usual Excel pedagogy fare in that it does not provide an application or example taught via a spreadsheet. Instead, it briefly reviews the history of spreadsheets in the economics classroom and explores the current environment, with an emphasis on modern learning theory. The conclusion is not surprising: spreadsheets improve learning outcomes across the economics curriculum and are increasingly being used. They offer the “just right” option that gives a middle way between too little and too much focus on software in an economics course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The role of universities in preparing students to use spreadsheet and other technical software in the financial services workplace has been investigated through surveys of university graduates, university academics, and employers. It is found that graduates are less skilled users of software than employers would like, due at least in part to a lack of structured formal training opportunities in the workplace, and a lack of targeted, coherent learning opportunities at university. The widespread and heavy use of software in the workplace means that there is significant potential for productivity gains if universities and employers address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central tenet of mathematics education reform is the integral role of technology at all grade levels. The current technological changes combined with the changes in the mathematics content and instructional method require elementary mathematics teachers to be able to design technology intensive lessons for exploration and discovery of these concepts through appropriate computer applications. In actual practice, however, most computer applications provided for mathematics education consist of software designed for a specific educational purpose: the solution in a can scenario. Furthermore, economic constraints often stand in the way of incorporating such special purpose software into an instructional setting. In this paper we will discuss an alternative to this traditional approach which shifts the instructional focus specific computer applications to more sophisticated uses of general purpose software. In particular educational uses of spreadsheets will be developed as an exemplar for this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the role of spreadsheet self-efficacy, spreadsheet anxiety, and gender in explaining performance in using spreadsheets. Additionally, we compare two learning assessment formats: multiple choice tests and constructed response tests, as applied to spreadsheets. The empirical investigation using data from 217 students indicates the following: (1) spreadsheet self-efficacy was inversely related to spreadsheet anxiety. (2) Female students reported higher levels of spreadsheet anxiety. (3) There was significant difference between the variances of multiple choice test scores and constructed response test scores and (4) Female students performed better than male students in multiple choice test format and were at par with male students in constructed response test format. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents information on a fifth-grade teacher's math lesson on graphing functions using spreadsheet software in the U.S. The author looks at educational technology, input-output tables, and mathematical formulas. The article also discusses Microsoft Excel, the spreadsheet application from the software company Microsoft Corporation.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) proposes a theoretical framework that incorporates four central components: an overarching conception of what it means to teach with technology, knowledge of students' thinking and understandings of specific topics with technologies, knowledge of curricular materials that incorporate technologies, and knowledge of instructional strategies and representations for teaching subject matter with technologies. This interpretive case study, conducted over a 3-year period, identified descriptors aligned with the four central components of TPACK to highlight differences in teachers' knowledge levels when integrating spreadsheets as learning tools in mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to assess required information and communication technology (ICT) tasks in selected undergraduate agriculture courses in a land-grant university during a 10-year period. Selected agriculture faculty members in the fall 1999 (n = 63), 2004 (n = 55), and 2009 (n = 64) semesters were surveyed to determine the ICT tasks they required of students. There were significant (p < .05) increases in the number of required Internet and electronic mail tasks between 1999 and 2009; but no significant changes in the number of word processing, computer graphics, spreadsheet, database, or miscellaneous ICT tasks required over the period. In 1999, three specific tasks (receive electronic mail, search the Internet, and type a lab or project report) were required in more than 50% of courses; in 2009, these three tasks plus three additional tasks (send electronic mail, submit assignments as attached electronic mail files, and use Blackboard© to acquire course information) were required in a majority of courses. Faculty with higher levels of self-perceived ICT skills and those teaching higher-level courses tended to require larger and more diverse sets of ICT tasks than other faculty. Course level explained the largest proportion of unique variance in the number of required spreadsheet, word processing, computer graphics, and miscellaneous ICT tasks. Self-perceived ICT skills and course level explained approximately equal amounts of the unique variance in total ICT tasks required. Both the quantity and complexity of ICT in undergraduate agriculture courses should be increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article fouses on the role of spreadsheets in answering mathematical problems particularly in investigating recursive processes to high school students. It relates on the activity entitled "The Devil and Daniel Webster," adapted from "Navigating Through Algebra in Grades 9-12," in which traditional spreadsheets were used by students to answer the problem. It says that the spreadsheet can help students in expanding the expressions of formulas.

The main goal in education is to ensure that the students have the acquisitions which are specified in the programs of the lessons they take. In order to achieve the aimed goals, teachers use different materials within the learning and teaching process in accordance with the modern approaches and methods. In the concept of activity based functional learning, it is important to use various tools, make the environment interesting for the students and achieve a permanent learning. One of the tools that are used in the activities which are carried out with the concept of functional learning is the worksheets. In this study, worksheets are discussed, which have considerably significant functions in ensuring permanent learning and transforming knowledge into skill. The uses of work sheets in Turkish teaching in the School have been evaluated according to views of the candidate. According to the results, Turkish teachers are not conscious preparing and using of work sheets, purpose, function and important etc. issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a science experiment to help undergraduate students understand the concept of identifying acids by determining their molar masses following a simple standardization exercise. It mentions that quantitative analysis activity for acids involves the collection and analysis of data from the entire class using standard spreadsheet software. It informs that students use least squares minimization algorithms to plot the result as a frequency histogram in the experiment.

Inservice teachers need ways to gain an integrated knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technologies that reflects new ways of teaching and learning in the 21st century. This interpretive study examined inservice K-8 teachers' growth in their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) toward technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) in an online graduate course designed for integrating dynamic spreadsheets as teaching and learning tools in mathematics and science. With the lens of four TPACK components (Niess, 2005), the analysis describes teachers' development from recognizing to accepting, adapting, and exploring TPACK levels. Implications and recommendations for the design of future professional development courses and continuing research are identified to support inservice teachers' knowledge growth for teaching with technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine history teachers' using status of worksheets by determining their perceptions and opinions about them. In this study, descriptive method was used. In this case, the study was conducted with 90 history teachers who were working in high schools in Trabzon and Akçaabat city centers. In this study, questionnaire called "Evaluation of History Teachers' Perceptions about Worksheets" was used as a data collection instrument. As a result of this study, it has seen that majority of history teachers have positive attitudes to worksheets, but they have no enough information about worksheets in terms of theory and practice and they don't use them effectively in their courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present in this work some possible uses of an Excel worksheet for teaching a non-experimental subject to freshmen university students. We show two different kinds of applications: On the one hand we use the program as an aid for teachers and students in solving systematic exercises and, on the other hand, as a tool for understanding interesting problems that are usually not considered because the students lack the mathematical skills needed. With our approach, we are able to generalize results from a great variety of initial conditions in a fast, clear and interactive way. We have selected Excel because of its widespread presence and its ease of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of coupled oscillations is rich in physical content which is both interesting and complex. The study of the time evolution of coupled oscillator systems involves a mathematical formalization beyond the level of the upper secondary school student's competence. Here, we present an original approach, suitable even for secondary students, to investigate a coupled pendulum system through a series of carefully designed hands-on and minds-on modelling activities. We give a detailed description of these activities and of the strategy developed to promote both the understanding of this complex system and a sound epistemological framework. Students are actively engaged (1) in system exploration; (2) in simple model building and its implementation with an Excel spreadsheet; and (3) in comparing the measurements of the system behaviour with predictions from the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important component of the school-based practitioner's role involves collecting, graphing, and analyzing quantitative data to evaluate student progress. This article highlights advantages of using computer spreadsheet programs for storing and graphing single-case data. Every few years Microsoft launches a new version of Excel. The most recent release was in 2007. This article outlines several new features of the most recent version of Excel as they relate to school-based practice. Several commonly used tasks are outlined, including graphing ABA and multiple baseline designs, applying linear trendlines, the use of templates, and inserting graphic displays into other programs including Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Templates for these tasks will be made available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on he aspect of the approach in teaching and demonstrating regression effect through actual data and spreadsheet, citing processes such as the placement of data on the adjacent columns and resorting the data in the ascending order.

Copyright of Pedagogy Studies / Pedagogika is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on spreadsheets which could be used as a resource to learn mathematics of annuities. It mentions that two student teachers in a financial math course utilized spreadsheets for the annuities. It states that the transparency of the spreadsheets enables students to take out the financial and mathematics idea of annuities. It also adds that the spreadsheet opens an inner operation of the annuity calculation and helps one to concentrate on individual payments and account balance.

The process of scheduling classroom observations-either for staff or for student performance data collection-is often done haphazardly or out of simple convenience. However, slapdash approaches to scheduling are rich with possible confounds to the validity of the data being collected. Due to the possibility of detrimental outcomes such as reactivity or stimulus control, classrooms observations ought to be scheduled in a calculated "randomized" approach. In this technical article, we outline the various ways in which unsystematic scheduling of observation may evoke undesirable trends in data. We then present a task analysis detailing ways in which a supervisor may use Microsoft® Office Excel®-a widely available spreadsheet program-to create randomized schedules to promote the integrity of the dependent variables being collected during scheduled observations. Implications of using simple spreadsheets to assist supervisors in scheduling "random" observations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemistry for first year students has been identified by Tshwane University of Technology as one of the subjects with a low pass rate. It is apparent that students often memorize formulae and definitions, without understanding the underlying concepts required to work with abstract units of measure. We have found that the majority of students at this university are unable to balance reaction equations satisfactorily. They are also unable to predict the reaction yield, or identify limiting reagents. It is imperative that these and other related problems are overcome before any meaningful change to the high failure rate at first year level will be realized. All conventional forms of lecture presentation failed to make any significant impact on the success rate. Structured worksheets were developed and used, together with tactile models, to address the problems and the initial findings showed a marked improvement. It was discovered that the students' problems originated from their inability to understand the meaning of subscripts and coefficients in chemical equations. The worksheets and the impact they have made on the students' understanding of stoichiometry are shared in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasting is an integral business activity that is covered to varying degrees in most marketing textbooks. Texts generally present the material from a theoretical perspective, but many students need to experience the material from an active learning. To bridge this pedagogical gap this article provides a step-by-step tutorial for teaching forecasting using Excel based regression analysis to forecast seasonal demand. Three seasonal regression models are presented and interpreted including a quarterly model, a bi-monthly model, and a monthly model. The results of the models are compared and each model's efficacy discussed. This assignment has been well received by students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies various holiday distributions, the most interesting one being Easter. Gauss’ Easter algorithm and Microsoft Excel are used to determine that the Easter distribution can be closely approximated by the convolution of two well-known uniform distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines the much maligned piechart and provides justification for its use. It identifies common pitfalls when drawing piecharts in Microsoft Excel and offers advice on how to avoid them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students of introductory courses consider statistics as particularly difficult, as the understanding of the underlying concepts may require more time and energy than for other disciplines. For decades statisticians have tried to enhance understanding with the help of technical solutions such as animation, video or interactive tools. However, it is not clear if the added value generated by these e-learning tools justifies the work invested. In this paper the experience with various e-learning solutions in terms of utility and the impact on teaching is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows how to use Microsoft Excel to get data from the Internet into a statistically usable form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of retrieval practice in the form of multiple-choice testing to make teaching effective in middle-school classroom. Topics discussed include use of interactive tool Plickers which need WiFi, a tablet and QR codes to design multiple-choice and true/false question and use of spreadsheet data to inform about teaching unit.

The article discusses research on the use of spreadsheets to enhance primary school study of the algebraic solving of word problems (ASWP). It is said that spreadsheet method (SM) goes beyond a trial-and-error method or a paper and pencil method, preparing sixth grade students for learning algebraic language.

The article describes a spreadsheet exercise for undergraduate analytical chemistry courses that was developed to illustrate the mathematical basis of the Fourier Transform function as it applies to Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. Topics include creating interferograms, applying apodization functions, and converting single-beam spectra data into interferograms and back into spectra.

The article offers information on the application of Google Docs spreadsheet and forms as an approach to overcome obstacles in students in terms of collecting data which will used for class discussion. It mentions that the use of Google Docs will enable a professor to detect the groups with poor input of data. It states that the Google Docs spreadsheets and forms was a useful tool for interactive engagement learning where collection of data from students were easily access in real time.

In the teaching of physics at upper secondary school level (K10–K12), the students are generally taught to solve problems analytically, i.e. using the dynamics describing a system (typically in the form of differential equations) to compute its evolution in time, e.g. the motion of a body along a straight line or in a plane. This reduces the scope of problems, i.e. the kind of problems that are within students’ capabilities. To make the tasks mathematically solvable, one is restricted to very idealized situations; more realistic problems are too difficult (or even impossible) to handle analytically with the mathematical abilities that may be expected from students at this level. For instance, ordinary ballistic trajectories under the action of gravity, when air resistance is included, have been ‘out of reach’; in school textbooks such trajectories are generally assumed to take place in a vacuum. Another example is that according to Newton’s law of universal gravitation satellites will in general move around a large central body in elliptical orbits, but the students can only deal with the special case where the orbit is circular, thus precluding (for example) a verification and discussion of Kepler’s laws. It is shown that standard spreadsheet software offers a tool that can handle many such realistic situations in a uniform way, and display the results both numerically and graphically on a computer screen, quite independently of whether the formal description of the physical system itself is ‘mathematically tractable’. The method employed, which is readily accessible to high school students, is to perform a numerical integration of the equations of motion, exploiting the spreadsheet’s capability of successive iterations. The software is used to model and study motion of bodies in external force fields; specifically, ballistic trajectories in a homogeneous gravity field with air resistance and satellite motion in a centrally symmetric gravitational field. The article reports briefly on a study of the use of computers in the teaching of physics at K12 level in Norway, as part of an EU research project (for details, see the end of the article). It is demonstrated how the simulation software (the spreadsheet) is implemented in practice, for the systems that have been studied, and various responses of the students and teachers to this new and unfamiliar method for solving problems in physics are discussed. Some perspectives on the future of physics teaching at secondary school level are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers insights related to the interactive Excel spreadsheet from Microsoft Corp. which serves as an effective training tool to demonstrate basic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transformation concepts. It notes the uses of interactive spreadsheet such as the self-guided tutorial and lecture demonstration in physical chemistry or instrumental methods.