Teaching with Productivity Software: Spreadsheets and Databases

This weeks’ lesson was on the use of spreadsheets and databases in the classroom. Overall, I am pretty familiar with Microsoft Excel (spreadsheets), but, just when I think I have Excel all figured out, I will find a new way to manipulate the data, create something new, or utilize a new formula. Excel never ceases to amaze me at what it can do! I recently used a spreadsheet in Excel as a budgeting tool for Art and Drama Procurement Materials for the upcoming school year. I will begin teaching in August at a start-up school and EVERYTHING needed to be ordered! This was a way for me to easily manipulate the quantities and materials to stay within my budget for supplies as well as easily record needed data such as vendors, item numbers, item names, individual costs, quantities, and total cost. I also intend to use this to keep track of materials throughout the year so I can easily order additional materials as needed as well as a way to organize and record student grades, attendance and behavior.

I do not have much experience with Microsoft Access (Databases), but I have learned that it could potentially be a good tool for me to use in organizing and storing lessons plans, images, links, all of which can be categorized by grade and subject. Through the use of forms and queries, data can easily be added, re-organized, or exported as needed. This sounds like a great opportunity for me to be organized early on as I begin creating lesson plans and collecting images to teach in the Fall! I am definitely going to look into how much the Mac version of Microsoft Access would cost.

My concern, after reviewing many websites, is that I may not be able integrate databases and spreadsheets into my curriculum for students. Not many sites at all that addressed activities for the students to utilize spreadsheets and databases in the arts. I did come across a site, Technology Curriculum Integration Ideas, that categorized various types of productivity software activities by subject, and it even included Art. The only problem was that there were only 3 options under Art/Spreadsheets and Databases. Two were the same and the third was the contact information to send ideas to. It seemed that core subjects can more commonly integrate spreadsheets and databases throughout the curriculum than the arts can. This was very disappointing, until I began to study the other subjects and how they were utilizing spreadsheets and databases. It was very interesting and that many lessons or activities that were developed for other subject areas could easily be adjusted to fit the arts!