Spreadsheets and databases can be great tools to be used in the classroom. Because I teach science I find the use to be of great value when performing experiments and for teaching the scientific method. According to the website, http://sarahputnam.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/relative-advantage-of-spreadsheets-and-databases/ there are many ways in which spreadsheets can be used in the classroom. As discussed, spreadsheets allow for a more organized manner of keeping material. Spreadsheets and databases differ in the size that they each hold. For smaller projects, spreadsheets should be used and for databases, a larger approach can be considered.
There are many advantages to using one or the other. In the science classroom, it does seem that students finish their work quicker, they are better at interpreting the data they collect and their ideas can be better organized by the use of a spreadsheet. For many of my laboratory assignments, the students are required to fill in a spreadsheet with their data and are then required to categorically explain the reason something occured or be able to explain their results by using the data they have collected.
In my search for information about using one of these tools in the classroom, I found a lesson plan that is very interesting and falls in line with the subject I teach. The following is the lesson plan I found. I will use it in the future. This lesson plan will be changed a bit to reflect the common core of my state and the grade level in which I teach but it may be exactly what someone needs for a younger group of students.
http://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/education/documents/packing%20for%20antarctica_lessonplan_mk.pdf
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