Spreadsheets for beginners

Teaching Pre K-8, Jan 1995 by Allen, Denise

Spreadsheets for beginners. For youngsters 10 and up, Davidson & Associates, Inc. has created an animated spreadsheet program, The Cruncher, that's fun and easy to use. Students (and teachers) can learn how to create a spreadsheet with the step-by-step tutorials. (That's how I learned!)

By the time they complete any of the 10 project templates provided, students will know what a spreadsheet is and how it's used. To master fundamentals, students use real world examples, such as baseball statistics, family budgeting and saving for a Walkman".

The tutorials progress from basic operations to advanced features as students learn everything from charting and graphing to complex cell calculations. Beginners will appreciate these features: notebook, library of illustrations, animations, sounds, show function (step-by-step breakdown) and text-to-speech help. Comic characters and sound effects liven up the program. With The Cruncher, there's nothing tedious about learning this math skill!