problem solving techniques – SpreadsheetSolving

How many languages do you speak?

[polldaddy poll=6994482]

Over the past several months – or years for that matter – there has been a rush among American parents to teach kids Mandarin. After-school language classes have emerged, immersion programs are gaining popularity, and videos and phone apps focused on languages have sprung up!

A recent Economist article, “Valued-Added Remodeling” (March 16, 2013) even noted that Jack Markell, Delaware’s governor, plans to expand immersion programs, such as those seen in the kindergarten classroom of Mcllvaine Early Childhood Center, where children are taught solely in Mandarin for half of each day.

Now, what’s the connection between our language skills and a spreadsheet? Continue reading “How many languages do you speak?”

Google Spreadsheet 101

Take a spreadsheet tour with us. Here you’ll explore the layout of a typical Google spreadsheet. Along the journey, you’ll discover what menu bar is; how to add and rename worksheets; how to add, delete, and re-size rows and columns; and how to undo an action.

5 Favorite Features of Google Spreadsheets

These are among our favorite features of Google spreadsheets! What are yours?

1. Convenient access anywhere: Whether you’re on your laptop, desktop, Android, iPhone, iPad, etc, you can access your Google spreadsheet. Without worrying about saving and replacing multiple versions, you can view and edit the same spreadsheet across all devices!

Continue reading “5 Favorite Features of Google Spreadsheets”

Should schools adopt B.Y.O.T?

A new trend across schools has emerged: B.Y.O.T for Bring Your Own Technology. Recently, an article in the New York Times describes the debate of whether schools should adopt B.Y.O.T. Are you a fan or a critic of B.Y.O.T? Do the advantages of adopting this policy outweigh the drawbacks, or do they not? How can we think about this? Before you answer our poll, let’s first discover how we can use a spreadsheet to develop a logical framework to better inform our opinion!

[polldaddy poll=6990938]

Continue reading “Should schools adopt B.Y.O.T?”

Employment Patterns by Gender since 1948

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, check out our poll below: what percentage of the work force consisted of women in 1948? Keep in mind that just 28 years prior to 1948, women were first granted the right to vote. How have employment patterns by gender changed over time? Let’s use our spreadsheet problem solving skills to figure this out!

[polldaddy poll=6991261]

Continue reading “Employment Patterns by Gender since 1948”

Pythagoras and SUMSQ

Ever heard of the philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras of the 6th century BC? Perhaps you’ve come across one his most famous theorems during your geometry class. The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, the sum of the legs squared is equal to the hypotenuse squared.

Continue reading “Pythagoras and SUMSQ”

Coin-flipping Life Experiment

© Photographer Dana Rothstein | Agency: Dreamstime.com

What if life’s major choices are to be decided by the flip of a coin? Interestingly, the Freakonomics Experiments project – a collaboration between Freakonomics and the University of Chicago – is enlisting volunteers to do just that to study human behavior of decision-making. Intriguing, right?

An essential feature of this experiment is generating a truly random toin coss. While the Freakonomics Experiments team ensured coin toss randomness by using the Swiss-based Fourmilab’s True Random Number Generator (more info here), we can create our own coin toss using spreadsheets! Really? You bet!

Continue reading “Coin-flipping Life Experiment”

How Analytics & Spreadsheets are changing the NBA

“‘Most teams are using spreadsheets or just using our reports,’ says Brian Kopp, executive vice-president at STATS. ‘The Raptors go a step beyond that, which only a few teams are doing, and their visualizations are the best I’ve seen.'”

This quote is taken from a piece describing how technology, statistics, and analytics are changing basketball.

Full article here.

Movie data analysis – movies turning 20

Have you seen the list of 40 movies turning 20 years old? Coming out in 1993, these movies include Jurassic Park, Robin Hood Men in Tights, Cool Runnings, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Free Willy. (The full list can be found from the link at the bottom of the post). Now you may thinking to yourselves, how could spreadsheets possibly be related to movies? Continue reading “Movie data analysis – movies turning 20”

How do I access spreadsheets?

Whether or not you realize it, you already have access to spreadsheets! Wait a minute: are you saying I don’t need to buy a spreadsheet software program to learn and create spreadsheets?

Absolutely right! Google spreadsheets are free. The 3 things you’ll need are… Continue reading “How do I access spreadsheets?”

Welcome to Spreadsheet Solving

Why care about spreadsheets? How could learning spreadsheets possibly benefit me? Continue reading “Welcome to Spreadsheet Solving”