OER4Schools/ICT/Introduction to spreadsheets

Different-tasks group work (20 min) with ICT on various topics.

Educator note

You may want to limit the time spent on these tasks spent within the workshop. You could interrupt, say after 20 minutes, to discuss the homework. However, if there is time after the workshops, participants could always return to these activities. It is essential to allow time to introduce the homework before the session ends.

To use ICT in an investigative way requires that both teachers and learners are sufficiently familiar with the technology and software, or the teacher spends the whole time troubleshooting problems of using the technology and software instead of addressing the more important enquiry skills and learning objectives. Developing this familiarity through progressively more complex use of ICT needs careful thought. For a starter, addressing the whole class to demonstrate features/procedures of using ICT can be most efficient rather than speaking to groups in turn.

In this session, we suggest that you familiarise yourself with the use of the spreadsheet function in OpenOffice and/or with GeoGebra. It is likely that you may need to complete the activity as homework.

Individual Task (11 min). Activity 1: Open Office.

This activity will orientate you to make use of OpenOffice for creating spreadsheets and databases which can be useful for investigating maths and science problems. You will need to access a computer/laptop/netbook and internet. Access a web browser and navigate to this page: http://inpics.net/calc.html

We suggest that you go through some of the exercises on the page in this order:

1. Basic Calculations

• Add
• Subtract
• Multiply
• Divide
• Calculate averages
• Find the maximum value

2. Formatting Worksheets

• Format text
• Format cells
• Adjust columns and rows
• Print worksheets

3. Manipulating Data

• Move, copy, and paste
• Add / delete columns
• Add / delete rows
• Employ multiple worksheets
• Employ AutoFill
• Insert / delete worksheets

4. Advanced Calculations

• Create formulas across worksheets
• Employ absolute references
• Employ the function wizard

5. Making Data Visible

• Add notes
• Freeze panes
• Create charts

You can print this content on a separate sheet here: OER4Schools/Spreadsheet exercises.

Individual Task (11 min). Activity 2: GeoGebra.

This activity will orientate you to make use of GeoGebra to create basic polygons. You will need to access a computer/laptop/netbook and internet. Access a web-browser and navigate to this page: http://mathandmultimedia.com/geogebra/

We will suggest that you go through the exercises in the page in this order:

1. GeoGebra Basic Construction 1 – Constructing an Equilateral Triangle
2. GeoGebra Basic Construction 2 – Constructing an Isosceles Triangle
3. GeoGebra Basic Construction 3 – Constructing a Right Triangle
4. GeoGebra Basic Construction 4 – Constructing a Square
5. GeoGebra Basic Construction 5 – Constructing a Rectangle
6. GeoGebra Basic Construction 6 - Constructing a Parallelogram
7. GeoGebra Basic Construction 7 – Constructing a Rhombus
8. GeoGebra Basic Construction 9 – Constructing a Kite

You can print this content on a separate sheet here: OER4Schools/Geogebra exercises.

(In the Zambian context, these may be suitable for Grade 5 upwards.)