Spreadsheet software is an application where data is arranged within a table structure on separate sheets where the parts of the table interlink with other parts. This enables the management of data, through the implementation of formulas, formatting and the creation of figures. Microsoft excel is the most commonly known spreadsoft package, however Google now offers spreadsheet functionality as part of the Google Docs suite.
The table below shows some potential uses of this technology in both Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). Below this are videos which demonstrate how this technology could be used in teaching and learning.
| Uses in FE | Uses in HE |
|---|---|
| To create drag and drop activities | To perform basic data analysis (mean, standard deviation) |
| To create matching activities | To assess the distribution of a set of data |
| To review/recap learning | To determine the difference between data sets (t-tests and ANOVA) |
| For formative assessment | To determine the association between data sets (Pearson’s correlation) |
| To produce tables and charts/figures | To produce tables and charts/figures |