IC3/Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application program for organization and analysis of data in tabular form.

This lesson introduces spreadsheets and helps learners prepare for the IC3 Key Applications certification exam.

Objectives and Skills
Objectives and skills for the spreadsheets portion of IC3 certification include:

Objectives
 * Be able to modify worksheet data, structure and formatting
 * Be able to sort data, manipulate data using formulas and functions, and create simple charts

Skills
 * Layout: Insert/delete, cell sizes, alignment, navigation, merging cells
 * Data Management: Filter and sort, formulas and functions, number format, cell format, charts, graphs

Readings

 * 1)  Spreadsheet
 * 2)  Microsoft Excel
 * 3)  Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
 * 4)  LibreOffice
 * 5)  Chart
 * 6)  Histogram
 * 7)  Microsoft Office XML Formats
 * 8)  The Computer Revolution/Software/Spreadsheet
 * 9)  List of spreadsheet software

Multimedia

 * 1) YouTube: Microsoft Excel Basics
 * 2) YouTube: Microsoft Excel: How to Copy, Move and Delete Cells
 * 3) YouTube: How To Use Microsoft Excel-Help With Formulas Functions
 * 4) YouTube: Tour Of Excel: Formulas, Formatting, Sort, Filter, PivotTables, Charts, Keyboards
 * 5) YouTube: 10 Must Know Microsft Excel Tips and Tricks
 * 6) YouTube: How To Use Shortcuts For Microsoft Excel
 * 7) YouTube: Add,Remove,Find and Edit Comments in Excel
 * 8) YouTube: Excel Beginner Tutorial 1 - Spreadsheet Basics
 * 9) Excel Tutorial for Beginners #1 - Overview

Activities

 * 1) Complete one or more of the following tutorials:
 * 2) * Google Spreadsheets Tutorial
 * 3) * Excel Training
 * 4) * Training courses for Excel 2010
 * 5) * Training courses for Excel 2013
 * 6) * Microsoft Excel 2016
 * 7) * Excel Formulas
 * 8) * Excel Tips
 * 9) * LibreOffice Calc
 * 10) Practice various spreadsheet concepts in Microsoft Excel:
 * 11) * http://web.utk.edu/~dhouston/excel/exercise.html
 * 12) * http://www.atticacsd.org/webpages/scusmano/computer.cfm?subpage=733572
 * 13) * http://www.excel-easy.com/
 * 14) * http://www.allthetests.com/quiz26/quiz/1233171294/Spreadsheet-Quiz

Lesson Summary

 * Spreadsheets are developed as computerized simulations of paper accounting worksheets.
 * Spreadsheets are useful for "what-if" analysis since many cases can be rapidly investigated without manual recalculation. Modern spreadsheet software can have multiple interacting sheets, and can display data either as text and numerals, or in graphical form.
 * In addition to performing basic arithmetic and mathematical functions, modern spreadsheets provide built-in functions for common financial and statistical operations.
 * A spreadsheet consists of a table of cells arranged into rows and columns and referred to by the X and Y locations. X locations, the columns, are normally represented by letters, "A", "B", "C", etc., while rows are normally represented by numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc.
 * The key feature of spreadsheets is the ability for a formula to refer to the contents of other cells, which may in turn be the result of a formula. To make such a formula, one simply replaces a number with a cell reference.
 * The ability to chain formulas together is what gives a spreadsheet its power. Many problems can be broken down into a series of individual mathematical steps, and these can be assigned to individual formulas in cells. Some of these formulas can apply to ranges as well, like the  function that adds up all the numbers within a range.
 * Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms.

Key Terms

 * algorithm
 * A set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process.


 * bar chart
 * A chart that presents grouped data with rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent.


 * cell
 * A unit in a database table or spreadsheet, formed by the intersection of a row and a column.


 * cell range
 * A group or block of cells in a worksheet that have been selected or highlighted.


 * cell reference
 * A string identifying a particular cell in a spreadsheet, possibly relative to the cell containing the reference.


 * chart
 * Visual representations of worksheet data.


 * circular reference
 * When the formula in one cell refers—directly, or indirectly through a chain of cell references—to another cell that refers back to the first cell.


 * column
 * A vertical series of cells in a chart, table, or spreadsheet.


 * dynamic data exchange
 * A method of interprocess communication under Microsoft Windows or OS/2. It allows one program to subscribe to items made available by another program, for example a cell in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and be notified whenever that item changes.


 * encryption
 * The process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it.


 * end-user
 * A person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product.


 * end-user development (EUD)/end-user programming (EUP)
 * Activities and tools that allow end-users – people who are not professional software developers – to program computers.


 * expression
 * A combination of values and symbols used to produce a new value.


 * Excel
 * A spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications.


 * Extensible Markup Language (XML)
 * Markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.


 * formula
 * Any equation entered into a cell on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.


 * function
 * A standard routine used to perform common tasks. It represents a complex formula that uses reserved words e.g. VLOOKUP, IF.


 * histogram
 * A graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data.


 * LibreOffice Calc
 * The spreadsheet component of the open-source LibreOffice software package.


 * line chart
 * A type of chart which displays information as a series of data points called 'markers' connected by straight line segments.


 * logical spreadsheet
 * A spreadsheet in which formulas take the form of logical constraints rather than function definitions.


 * macro
 * A rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to a replacement output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure.


 * macro recorder
 * A piece of software that records user actions for playback at a later time.


 * Microsoft Query
 * A visual method of creating database queries using examples based on a text string, the name of a document or a list of documents.


 * object linking and embedding (OLE)
 * Proprietary technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects.


 * open database connectivity (ODBC)
 * Standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS).


 * pie chart
 * A circular statistical graphic, which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion.


 * pivot table
 * A data summarization tool found in data visualization programs such as spreadsheets or business intelligence software.


 * rainbow table
 * A precomputed table for reversing cryptographic hash functions, usually for cracking password hashes.


 * reference
 * A value that enables a program to indirectly access a particular datum, such as a variable or a record, in the computer's memory or in some other storage device. The reference is said to refer to the datum, and accessing the datum is called dereferencing the reference.


 * row
 * A series of data banks laid out in a horizontal fashion in a table or spreadsheet.


 * sheets
 * In the earliest spreadsheets, cells were a simple two-dimensional grid. Over time, the model has expanded to include a third dimension, and in some cases a series of named grids, called sheets. The most advanced examples allow inversion and rotation operations which can slice and project the data set in various ways.


 * spreadsheet
 * An interactive computer application for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form.


 * subroutine
 * A sequence of program instructions that perform a specific task, packaged as a unit. This unit can then be used in programs wherever that particular task should be performed.


 * time series
 * A series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order.


 * values
 * Numbers entered into spreadsheet cells


 * Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
 * An implementation of Microsoft's discontinued event-driven programming language, Visual Basic 6, and its associated integrated development environment (IDE).


 * workbook
 * A spreadsheet file that contains one or more worksheets.


 * worksheet
 * A single spreadsheet that contains cells organized by rows and columns.

Assessments

 * /Quiz/
 * Flashcards: Quizlet: Spreadsheets
 * Quiz: Quizlet: Spreadsheets
 * Quiz: Quizlet: Spreadsheets
 * Flashcards: Quizlet: Excel Spreadsheet Vocabulary
 * Quiz: Quizlet: Excel Spreadsheet Vocabulary
 * Quiz: GCFLearnFree: Excel 2016