microsoft excel assignments for college students

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Practice Projects for Excel

microsoft excel assignments for college students

Excel Project C9: Grades and Averages

Instructions for students to “create a spreadsheet that shows all of your classes and automatically averages all of your test grades for each subject and then shows an overall average of your test …

Excel Project C8: Attendance Record

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheets, students create a spreadsheet that automatically adds up all of the Sunday School classes each Sunday, gives an average attendance for …

Excel Project C7: Loan Payment

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a record of loan payments. They format columns to make each payment automatically subtract from the balance …

Excel Project C6: Treasurer’s Report

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a treasurer’s report at an imaginary church. They also format a column to find the total at the bottom. …

Excel Project C5: Parent Directory

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a parent directory with empty spaces for parent contact information. …

Excel Project C4: School Directory

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a school directory with title and four columns of information. …

Excel Project C3: Sign Up Sheet

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a weekly sign up sheet with a title and two columns. …

Excel Project C2: Chapel Schedule

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a weekly chapel schedule including date, speaker, topic, and song leader. …

Excel Project C10: Invoice

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheets, students create an invoice template like the sample shown, entering the formulas for all of the cells so that the numbers total correctly …

Excel Project C1: Bible Memory Chart

In this practice project for Excel and similar spreadsheet programs, students replicate a Bible memory chart. …

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Excel Practice Exercises PDF with Answers

In this article, we will provide you with 11 Excel practice exercises in PDF format with answers. Additionally, you will get an Excel file where you can try to solve these problems yourself. These problems are mostly beginner friendly. However, a little bit of intermediate knowledge is required to solve a few problems. You will need to know about the SUM , AVERAGE , IF , VLOOKUP , INDEX , MATCH , ROUNDUP , UNIQUE , COUNTIF , LEFT , SEARCH , MID , RIGHT , LEN , FIND , SUBSTITUTE , AND , and SUMIF functions and the Data Bars feature of Excel. If you have Excel 2010 or later, you can solve these problems, except for the UNIQUE function, which is only available in Excel 2021 .

Download Practice Files

You can download the PDF and Excel files by filling out this form:

Eleven Practice Exercises with Solutions.pdf [/wpsm_box] [wpsm_box type="download" float="none" textalign="left"] Eleven Practice Exercises.xlsx [/wpsm_box] -->

Problem Overview

There are eleven problems in this PDF file, and the solutions to those problems are given after each problem. Here is a snapshot of the first two problems. The solutions to all problems are given in a separate sheet of Excel file.

Now, the eleven exercise problems are as follows:

Exercise 01. Class Performance Evaluation . You will find these values –
The total number for each student,
Their average on those subjects,
Based on the average score, you will return a GPA. For GPA calculation, less than 60 is B and higher is A .
You need to find the employee salary in the lookup table on the right side.
Exercise 03: Lookup Values (Any Direction) .
Here your task is the same as the second task. However, this time the lookup range is on the right side. Therefore, you cannot use the VLOOKUP function here.
You will need to round the sales generated values in this exercise.
You will need to add the first name and last name.
Your task is to create a Data Bar for the salary values and hide the salary values.
Firstly, you need to find the unique values in a list of names.
Then, you will find how many times that value occurred in that lis
You need to separate the three parts of a name from a given list.
You will need to find the total sales for a particular country.
Your objective is to ensure that users cannot type less than 0 in a column.
Your target is to determine whether a date is between two dates or not.

Here is a screenshot of the solutions to the first two problems. The solutions to these problems are provided in the PDF and Excel files.

Excel Practice Exercises PDF with Answers

Thank you for reading this article. We hope that with these practice exercises in PDF format with answers, you can test your Excel skills. You can find more articles similar to this on the ExcelDemy website. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment below. However, remember that our website implements comment moderation. Therefore, your comment may not be instantly visible. So, have a little bit of patience, and we will solve your query as soon as possible. Keep excelling!

What is ExcelDemy?

Rafiul Haq worked as an Excel and VBA Content Developer in Exceldemy for over two years and published almost 200 articles for the website. He is passionate about exploring new aspects of Excel and VBA. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Production Engineering (MPE) from the Islamic University of Technology. Rafiul furthered his education by obtaining an MBA in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at the University of Dhaka. Apart from creating... Read Full Bio

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Beginning Excel 2019

(25 reviews)

Noreen Brown

Barbara Lave

Julie Romey

Last Update: 2019

Publisher: Open Oregon Educational Resources

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Ashley Hogan, Adjunct Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 3/22/24

This is a great basic Excel text. It also covers the mac users (something I have not found with other texts). read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a great basic Excel text. It also covers the mac users (something I have not found with other texts).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I saw no errors and found that the text is addresses multiple versions of Excel and multiple platforms.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The order of the content makes sense and is easy to navigate. Content can easily be updated as newer versions of the program come out.

Clarity rating: 5

Super easy to read and navigate. I love that there are screenshots of the program as well as text explaining what the read should be looking for.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent terminology and content/layout.

Modularity rating: 5

The headings and subheadings make this text easy to navigate and pull out just what I need for a specific group/class or lesson.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is set up so that the reader gains more understanding and flows as the reader moves through the text. The reader doesn't need to flip between chapters to work through in a logical way.

Interface rating: 4

The interface is nearly perfect. Some of the screenshots are ever so slightly blurry (especially when the reader zooms in), but are discernable.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text focuses on a business mindset and examples are the same (generic employee names and business content).

Overall, a very easy to use and navigate book. I will be using this text for my community education courses as well as Spreadsheet Analysis.

Reviewed by Xinyu Zhang, Teaching Assistant Professor, West Virginia University on 5/5/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book is comprehensive for Excel beginners from non-STEM major. It also includes instructions for Mac user, which is very useful for students using Mac. The examples and practice problems are largely related to financial and career decision making. This book doesn't have any science or engineering examples nor topics used frequently in scientific data analysis via Excel such as x-y scatter chart, logical functions (AND, OR, NOT), nested IF statement, functions like SUMPRODUCT, IFS, MATCH, INDEX, etc.

The accuracy of this book is good. But few figures missed the captions and some figures used very small font sizes thus difficult to verify the information.

The title indicates the book for Excel 2019. I suggest the author clarify the relationship between Excel 2019 and Excel 365 to avoid confusion for beginners since Excel 365 also appear in the texts.

The book is easy to follow.

The terminology is consistent. But there is an inconsistency in the headings. The assessment activities are called "scored assessment" in some chapters and "chapter scored" in other chapters. I suggest a consistent subheading and maybe a more self-explanatory subheading for the assessment activities.

The online version is easy to ready, but the pdf version can be improved . Sometimes the font sizes and spacing are not consistent or appealing for readers.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, good organization. I would suggest covering absolute reference and relative reference together instead of splitting them. I would also suggest covering all the Print topic together instead of splitting into different chapters. Even though your current logic of splitting them makes sense, it makes the "Print" and "Cell reference" topics less easier to be used as independent subunits. The subheadings "Printing" and "Preparing to Print" are not self-explanatory before reading the content.

In the pdf version, font sizes of some figures are too small and the figure styles are not very consistent.

I did not found any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I didn't find anything relevant to this topic.

This is a good book for Excel beginners, particularly suitable for teaching Excel in a general elective course or business major. It would be better to have more practice and assessment problems in each chapter to for instructors to assign them as homework or self-practice activities.

Reviewed by Angel Escalona, Adjunct Professor, Middlesex Community College on 11/21/22

The book is clear and really easy to understand. read more

The book is clear and really easy to understand.

The book is highly accurate, I teach excel in my classes and I will be replacing the current book with this one.

Even though the book is made for excel 2019 It is still highly relevant since excel doesn't change a lot with the years, maybe a few thinks have changed since 2019 but it is still 99% relevant.

The book is clear, concise and detailed.

It is consistent, it maintains its quality through the chapters.

The book is divided into clear and short modules that provide a really clear workflow

Well organized, the chapters are arranged in a way that helps the reader learn in a systematic manner.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is presented in an organized and appealing way. Charts and images are properly labeled.

The text does not contain grammatical errors. Paragraphs are coherent.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

Reviewed by Nkechi Obodozie, Instructor, Eastern New Mexico University on 12/10/21

The book is for Beginners on Excel however will have appreciated if some of the BI tools used commonly at workplaces was covered in the book such as PivotTable. In addition there is no index nor glossary , or teacher's guide though it can be... read more

Yes content is accurate, mostly error-free and unbiased

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Content is relevant and easy to read and implement; basic and fundamental for Excel beginners. Again, in today's business landscape...some BI tools fundamentals in Excel should have been added in the book.

Text is simple, concise and easy to understand for Excel beginners

Consistency is maintained throughout the material. I will employ some of the content in my course content but because some BI are missing I will have to combine this material with another.

The text is sectioned in build-up contents for learning experience. Such a way that the learner builds on graduated blocks of practical exercises on Excel to mastery of the various components of the Excel as the learning progresses

Very logical, clear manner of presentation. I like that the difference between Excel for Mac and Windows were incorporated in the material allowing the student to learn along with either of the tool he or she possesses

Interface is user friendly and easy to navigate

No seen grammatical error

No cultural offensive content observed

I like the book, its simplicity of content as well as the fact that the author took cognizance of the variation between Excel in differnt operating systems. This enables the user to adapt learning to the PC of use, allowing learning across board for all. Some other books stuck to the Excel for Windows without adapting the learning process for MAC users. So this is a plus for this material. Absent the relevant BI tool fundamental in the book, it is a good work from the author

Reviewed by Geethalakshmi Shivanapura Lakshmikanth, Assistant Professor, Emporia State University on 10/18/21

The textbook is comprehensive enough for learners who are learning Excel for the first time, just as the textbook is intended to be. The pictures along the way are a big plus for self- learners and students. The students however need to be reminded that as the version of Excel changes, the pictures of actual pulldown menus or tabs might look different. But, that is common with any textbook that deals with a software tool.

The book's accuracy is good. Some places where Pivot Tables are explained need some work.

It is highly relevant, as Excel is highly multi-disciplinary and the content of this textbook addresses the many facets of application areas with their examples.

It is definitely clear with the pictures and transitions explained clearly in supporting text. A downloadable data set provided with this text with additional examples for exploration beyond the references to the textbook examples would have made it more clear. Also, another improvement suggestion is to add a few points on the pre-requisite knowledge required to read a particular chapter , outcomes from the chapter and suggestions on post-chapter topics for continuity would also improve clarity of flow.

It is definitely consistent as the first chapter flows into the successive ones very consistently with the same kind of explanation aids- Figures, Textual guidance and Pictures of the excel sheet.

The textbook is modular. Some feedback comments in the clarity section might also help with increasing Modularity.

Perfectly arranged!

I do not see any Interface issues. Version adaptability is always expected from readers.

Do not see any errors.

It can be made culturally more inclusive by tuning the examples.

Great recommendation to my students and I highly recommend this to any faculty member looking for an OER textbook for an introductory Excel course.

Reviewed by Maggie Schlerman, Associate Professor of Accounting, Central College on 6/4/21

The concepts covered range from beginner to intermediate and are appropriate for undergraduate coursework. However, the online version does not have an index or glossary, both of which would be helpful for a learner who may be unfamiliar with the terms used in the text. Although there is a search function that acts like an index, it does not take the student directly to the reference (it goes to the top of the section).

Chapters 5 and 6 had a few errors that I suspect happened when updating to Excel 2019. In chapter 5, the screenshots for the pivot table don’t match the correct values while in progress, although the final screenshot does show the correct totals. Also, in chapter 5 the reader is told to place an image in the upper left corner, but the correct screenshot in the text is in the upper right corner. In chapter 6, the text gave some check figures that did not tie out with the totals from the data given. Since the data file for chapter 6 was called ‘Data File-New,’ the check totals likely did not get updated when a new data file was created. None of these would keep me from using this book, but I would point them out to students to decrease their frustration level.

This text will likely need to be continually updated as new versions of Excel are released. However, it appears the authors are doing a great job of continually updating.

Clarity rating: 4

In general, the instructions are clear and straight-forward. There were a few times that extra explanation would have been helpful. For example, the text didn’t explain what TRUE and FALSE means in VLOOKUP instructions until Chapter 5. Before that, the reader was simply told to use one or the other without an explanation. There were several instances in which instructions didn’t match with given data sets and/or screenshots. For example, the reader was asked to update a chart with a title that did not yet exist, and several screenshots included formatting and modified chart elements that weren’t explained. When asked to remove duplicates from a table, the instructions given did not produce the expected result. I had to use a different method to remove the duplicates, so I believe there was an instruction missing.

The text is very consistent in terminology. The textbook is not consistent about using the same method to complete a task. For example, at least four ways to create a footer are introduced. This is ideal, as awareness of multiple methods is important in finding ways to complete unfamiliar tasks.

This could be easily split up into smaller modules and taught in a different order. As other reviewers have noted, modularity is somewhat decreased because many of the skills taught scaffold on each other. In a future version, perhaps including prerequisite skills at the start of each chapter or section might assist with modularity.

I consider the content in chapter 6 to be introductory, so I would include it earlier in the book. However, this is a personal preference.

The table of contents is easy to navigate and the data sets are located within the text exactly when needed.

No grammatical errors noted.

No insensitive/offensive examples noted. Data sets often included names from many ethnicities and backgrounds.

I'm very happy with the quality and organization of the book. Some of my comments are probably pretty nit-picky, but I tried to do this as a student without much Excel experience. I've been the frustrated student trying to self-study before, so I empathize! I plan to incorporate this content into my classes.

Reviewed by Kris Ball, Associate Professor, Kansas City Kansas Community College on 4/14/21

The text is a good, comprehensive review of beginning Excel features, including fundamentals, math, formulas, functions, logical and lookup functions, charts, tables, and working with multiple worksheets. The book contains instructions for Windows... read more

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book incorporates images from Excel 2016 /2019. The icons have been updated in Office 365, so the instructor should keep that in mind as it will appear slightly different for students using Office 365.

The material is up-to-date and the problems are timeless and relevant to students. As noted earlier, the icons used in illustrations match Excel 2016/2019. They are basically in the same locations as Office 365, but they may appear different to the students.

I found the text to be straight-forward and clear, and the instructions were precise and accurate. The reading level is appropriate for high school or post-secondary students.

The chapters follow a consistent format and are easy to follow. Instructions are presented for both Windows and Mac users without feeling too bulky.

Chapters are further subdivided into sections which are easy to follow and allow for multiple starting and stopping points. The material is organized with all relevant content contained in a section, without the need to refer to other parts of the book.

The text follows a logical and direct pathway, with appropriate material grouped together. The earliest chapters explain the ribbon tasks from left to right, and offers tips on all functions.

The text is not overloaded with excess material--it presents information in a direct manner, without excess data to confuse the lessons.

No grammatical errors were detected.

No culturally insensitive or offensive material were evident. The student and employee names could have been more diverse.

This would be a good text for students with no Excel experience. It is easy to follow and filled with appropriate activities for gaining knowledge and skills in beginning Excel.

Reviewed by Mary Lebens, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University on 3/9/21, updated 6/1/21

This book is a fairly comprehensive overview of Excel for beginning students. I would like to see an expansion of the functions and formulas to include a few more commonly used functions and formulas. It would also be helpful to include a chapter... read more

The step-by-step procedures for using Excel and the practice labs at the end of the chapter were highly accurate. I used this text in my course with thirty students, and usually students discover quite a few errors that I've missed in textbooks. This was not the case with Beginning Excel, however. No students reported errors, which was amazing.

The authors have clearly made an effort to update this textbook to keep is relevant as new releases of Excel occur. Software textbooks are challenging to keep relevant, and the authors have done an excellent job of revising this textbook for the new version of Excel 2019.

This textbook describes how to use Excel in a very readable style. The chapters are short and to-the-point. This book is free of the unnecessary fluff that pads a lot of the expensive textbooks on Microsoft Office. The technical terminology used is appropriate for beginning students.

The book is highly consistent in terms of how the Excel terminology is used. The framework is consistent throughout the book. For example, a small icon is used throughout the book to indicate special steps for Mac users. The Excel screenshots are presented in a consistent manner which makes it easier to complete the labs.

The text is well-organized into smaller modules to make it easier for students to digest. The blocks of text are concise, clearly labeled, and illustrated with screenshots from Excel to help students understand the concepts described in the text.

The topics in the textbook are presented in a logical fashion within the chapters. I would recommend covering workbooks with multiple worksheets earlier in the text than the final chapter, since this topic is easier than pivot tables, formulas, and functions, which are covered early in the book. However, since this book is an eBook, I found it easier to assign chapters "out-of-order" for my students since I could include links to the chapters in the course schedule.

The interface for the textbook works well, and seems to be completely free of navigation issues. The Table of Contents on the left side of the screen contains convenient links to the chapters and sub-chapters, making it easy to navigate the textbook.

I did not find an grammatical errors in this textbook. Overall, the book seems to be proofread thoroughly and free of any significant typos. This is important for a software textbook, since small mistakes in the labs can make it difficult for students to complete their work.

There was nothing in the textbook that seemed culturally insensitive or offensive. Since it is a software-based book, there isn't a discussion of social issues, such as race or ethnicity, in this textbook. The spreadsheets that are provided use real-life data examples that students from a variety of backgrounds may find familiar, like calculating a monthly budget or a car payment.

I used this textbook to provide review material for students in a beginning data analytics course, so that they could brush up their Excel skills prior to attempting more challenging data analysis assignments. The book worked very well in that context. Students had positive feedback about this textbook and appreciated being able to access the textbook for free.

Reviewed by Robin Gilcrist, Associate Professor, University of Alaska, Southeast on 11/18/20, updated 12/16/20

The text covers to each topic thoroughly and with tips for PC and Mac users. The glossary is helpful for getting to specific content quickly. Each chapter builds on the prior chapter, providing an excellent sequence for learning the program. This... read more

To the best of knowledge, the book is accurate and unbiased.

The only reason to give this book a 4 rating in relevance has nothing to do with the content but more with the changes that occur as programs are updated. This is always a problem when teaching software programs. Although Excel has not change significantly over the years this is a 2019 version that will need to be updated as the program is updated.

The authors have done a great job of using text and screen capture to add clarity and provide accurate information. I appreciate this style of guidance and so do my students. This is as close to using a video tutorial as you can get with a text book. The only jargon used in the text is that which is directly related to the program and this is carefully explained at each occurance

Very consistent layout from chapter to chapter. The terminology is also consistent, as far as I could tell from the overview I completed.

The modules are easy to follow and are in a sensible order for the learner. Each chapter has good written descriptions augmented with screen captures that provide scaffolding of skills as the learner goes from one chapter to the next. It will be an excellent resource for any course that requires the use of Excel since each chapter can basically stand alone.

The book is organized in a logical order. The text is easy to read, clear and concise, and uses screen captures to illustrate the skills being introduced. The combination of text and illustration allow for easy searching for specific commands or functions.

I found no issues with the navigation, or distortion of images and charts. There are no distracting images or text that would cause confusion for the reader.

I found no grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally insensitive, however this not the type of text that offers any opinion or views on inclusion.

This text will be an excellent resource for many different disciplines. The construction technology program requires an estimating course for which this text will be very beneficial to beginning students who will need to use excel. Thank you for making this an open resource. I know the students will be grateful for the guidance, and for not having to spend additional funding on yet another textbook.

Reviewed by Micheline Al Harrack, Visiting Faculty, Marymount University on 7/31/20

This textbook covers basic Excel topics relevant for an introductory spreadsheet course. It is well produced. It is designed for students freshly exposed to excel/spreadsheets or needing a review. It can also be incorporated as a reference book in Statistics courses. The six chapters cover the basics of Excel necessary for a student pursuing a Bachelor's degree or for professionals needing to refresh their skills. A table of contents lays out the topics clearly. Definitions and summaries are included in each chapter where relevant. No glossary is present but it does not impact the value or relevance of the book.

The book covers the different topics accurately and concisely. It is cleanly written with no fillers.

This book is still relevant. Even though it references Excel 2016 however, the functionalities are similar in different versions of Excel. If any updates are needed later, they would be easy to incorporate or add. Probably, chapter practices or assessments can be updated after few years or some alternative ones included.

All content is clear and easy to follow and read. Any jargon used is defined and simplified for the readers with visual aids as applicable.

The framework is consistent as well as the design and terminology used.

The textbook cab be easily broken down into smaller topics that can be incorporated into an introductory Excel course or a Statistics Course. It is clearly labeled with the text flowing easily. The Instructor can reorganize the units to fit into their course and subject.

This book is well organized. It starts with an introductory overview chapter, then covers formulas, functions, charts, and tables in subsequent chapters. Each chapter starts with well defined learning objectives, then covers each topic in specific sections with examples and step-by-step tutorials. Shortcuts definitions and instructions are provided within each chapter in the relevant section. Multiple data files are offered for homework/practice. Each chapter ends with a practice exercise and a scored assessment.

The interface is free from errors. Charts, graphs, and tutorials are clear, readable and understandable. The book can benefit from an automatic Table of Contents to facilitate reading and switching between different chapters and sections, instead of scrolling or looking for a page number. However, this is a minor issue.

The book is free from grammatical errors. The style is sharp and clean. It is easy to read and understand. Terminology used is defined in plain English.

The book is culturally relevant. No insensitive content was found within. Examples provided are universal and in no way offensive.

The data files provided are an excellent companion for a hands-on introductory course. While time-saving, they provide well prepared material for in-class use.

Reviewed by Eunju Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/27/20

This book is comprehensive and well-organized with detailed explanations and screenshots. Learning Objectives at the beginning of each section helps readers understand the key topics of the section, and useful tips are additionally provided in each chapter through Integrity Check, Skill Refreshers, and Key Takeaways. Practice exercises at the end of each chapter are well presented with datasets, leading students to check their understanding and review what they learned. All chapters are connected smoothly so that students happen to acquire solid knowledge by the time they finish reading the book. Also, it describes functional differences between different Excel versions, which is very useful for beginners. Overall, this book is recommended for beginner excel classes or students who want to learn Excel without taking classes.

The content is accurate. I have not found any errors throughout the book.

The book is based on Excel 2016, but the content is still applicable to a newer version (Excel 2019). I have not found any issues reviewing this book with a slightly older or newer version of Excel. This book also contains helpful explanations on differences between different versions. However, charts and datasets need to be updated with recent dates and figures.

All examples and explanations are clear and easy to follow.

The content is consistent within and across the chapters. Concepts and applications are clearly explained step by step. All related topics are well organized under the same umbrella.

The book categorizes basic concepts and their practical applications independently as well as organically. All chapters and sections flow well, so students do not need to waste time going back and forth unnecessarily.

Again, the book is well-organized and reads well. Even students who have not been exposed to Excel before can easily learn it with this book.

I have not found any interface issues. The text and figures are presented neatly.

No grammatical errors were found.

I have not found any cultural sensitivity issues in this book.

Overall, this is a well-structured excel book for beginners. Although the book introduces all useful shortcuts throughout, a summary table containing all the shortcuts will be beneficial for students and instructors who do not want to read back and forth when looking up a specific key. Also, there are several alternative ways of completing a task in Excel. For example, I can calculate the sum of a and b by typing “=a+b” or using the sum function. If the book enumerates these alternative ways for a certain goal and further explains differences among the approaches if any, it will enhance readers’ ability to use different approaches flexibly. The inclusion of a glossary will give readers easy access to specific terms.

Reviewed by Jerome Socolof, Associate Professor, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on 5/27/20

This book covers the ins and outs that all but the most advanced users of Excel will need. For a fairly succinct text, it establishes a sound foundational knowledge of the program, including formulas, formatting, conditional formatting, and shortcuts. All of this information is structured such that a new user could conceivably be making conditionally-formatted charts with ease and confidence by the time they are done with the book.

The content was accurate and error-free as best as I can tell.

This text is written for users of Excel 2016, but a newer edition (Excel 2019) has come out since its publication. However, because the design of the program and the core functions don't change too much from one edition to the next, I had no trouble following along and completing all of the exercises as written in Excel 2019. It is conceivable that a future iteration of the program may require an update of the pictures demonstrating where various features are located, but otherwise, this text looks to be relevant for a good long while.

The prose is clear throughout and uses appropriate terminology without being overly jargon-y. The procedures included in the text are both written as step-by-step instructions and demonstrated with well-labeled pictures. The clarity of the text is akin to having a knowledgable and amiable Excel user sitting next to you and helping you figure it out.

Terminology, formatting, and even chapter structure are consistent throughout.

Each chapter is a clearly delineated and sequentially structured topic unto itself, and each is then subdivided into sections that explain and demonstrate concepts relevant to the chapter topic. In the case of these longer sections, they are themselves subdivided so that one could easily pluck a particular function of the program out to share with students and the students would not feel as though they were missing out.

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion that uses previous concepts to build up to new ones. Rather than a reference text, this is built as a teaching text which will build a skill.

The text does not seem to have any interface issues. Navigation is a snap, images rendered well on both a laptop and a phone, and the display is clean and easy to read.

There are no evident grammatical errors.

One would not think that a book on using Excel would be a prime example of cultural sensitivity, but the example names and businesses used throughout reflect a wide array of cultural backgrounds. It is a low-key thing to include, but it is a very important inclusion.

This is an incredibly thorough and well-structured book that can take a new user from 0 to 60 by the end. This would be a great addition to any intro-level finance, accounting, or management survey class so that students have a strong base level of familiarity with Excel before starting in classes for which it is a necessity. Highly recommended!

Reviewed by Nikki (Felecia) May, Assistant Professor, LSUE on 4/29/20

This book is detailed, comprehensive, and teaches concepts in a step-by step manner. All menus and functions are covered in detail. read more

This book is detailed, comprehensive, and teaches concepts in a step-by step manner. All menus and functions are covered in detail.

I found the content to be accurate and error-free.

The content is based on Excel 2016, but still applies to the current version. I completed the tasks using Excel 2019 and didn't have any issues following along. As newer versions of Excel are released, the book would have to be reviewed to make sure there aren't substantial changes.

The step-by-step instructions are very clear. Terms and concepts are simply explained. Illustrations are used extensively and are very helpful.

The book is consistent throughout.

Content is introduced followed by hands-on steps for the user to apply what was discussed. This is done in small sections and is easy to grasp, especially for beginners.

The topics are organized in a logical, clear way. There are downloadable data files for the student to practice each skill. The content and exercises are easy to follow.

Illustrations with labels, tables, text boxes, and main text are displayed well. No interface issues seen.

No errors found.

The examples are nondiscriminatory.

This is a very good book for beginners. Personally, I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts, and this book does a great job of presenting keyboard shortcuts throughout the book. I would like to suggest having an appendix that lists all of the keyboard shortcuts that were presented throughout the book.

Reviewed by Jason Lucas, Associate Director, Radford University on 1/31/20

This book is very comprehensive for all MS Excel basics. It covers basic formatting, formulas, conditional formatting, PivotTables, and even shortcuts. I have used MS Excel and taught MS Excel for over 20 years. This book covers all basics I... read more

All the text appeared accurate but I was unable to check data files and data file names. Some images are unable to be viewed clearly in the book. It is not crucial to the text but impossible to verify accuracy.

This book focuses on MS Excel 2016. It was written in 2017. Currently MS Excel 2019 is available, soon to be something even newer. MS Excel does not change that much year to year so this book is still fairly relevant. It will not be relevant in 5 years but for now it is still well worth utilizing. This is at no fault to the publishers of this book - no books written on an always updating software can be 100% relevant and up-to-date.

The book is quite clear and easy to navigate. Chapters are well defined with terms, figures, and important terms are clearly marked and bold. By the nature of the book it can be somewhat unclear navigating between text and the actual software on a computer but again that is at no fault to the textbook.

The textbook uses the exact same format and terminology definitions throughout. The figures and directions are consistent throughout each chapter. The assignments and tasks are clearly numbered for each chapter. Very easy to follow throughout the textbook.

The text flows easily from chapter to chapter and from section to section in each chapter. The textbook uses scaffolding to build the student's knowledge and skill set from each chapter to chapter and each section to section within each chapter. Many other texts jump too quickly into advanced MS Excel tasks without building a knowledge base. This textbook scaffolds skills at an appropriate pace for a beginner.

The text is organized easily from chapter to chapter and from section to section in each chapter. The textbook uses scaffolding to build the student's knowledge and skill set from each chapter to chapter and each section to section within each chapter. This textbook is well organized for a beginner working through the entire book. It lacks the ability to easily focus on one particular skill. The table of contents does not fully designate all that each chapter covers. This may be difficult to locate a particular skill or task, i.e. PivotTable, without using the appendix to find multiple entries.

Interface rating: 3

The text is perfectly clear and easy to read. Some images are blurred or too dark to see exactly what the student should have on their MS Excel spreadsheet. This contains many charts, graphs, and images. The issue pertains to approximately 10% of the images.

There are no apparent grammatical errors. Multiple images, figures, and charts use abbreviations.

Cultural references do not apply to this textbook on MS Excel. The examples used in the text appear to be from a wide range of gender, race, and ethnicity.

This is a very thorough and comprehensive textbook for beginning MS Excel. The book is easy to follow and scaffolds skills at an appropriate pace for a beginner. The only downside to the book is the quickly dated material. This is the case with all textbooks pertaining to software. I would see no issues using this text for a first and second semester MS Excel course. Unfortunately I could not review the data files for content, clarity or accuracy.

Reviewed by Mindy Bean, Faculty, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/19/18

This book covers the basics of Microsoft Excel 2016. It includes all the basic skills necessary to create most documents in excel. It uses the terminology well so it can be translated precisely. The practical uses of logical and lookup functions,... read more

The book is accurate, the modern take on the assignments that are logical in career application makes it a good addition to any course needing to teach Excel to first-timers.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Microsoft Excel updates on a trend every three years. It usually takes most businesses/schools a few years before they fully adapt to a newer version. This will stay updated for a two years at least, depending on how different the newer version is.

The books purpose is to introduce Microsoft Excel to a first-time user. Students can learn Microsoft Excel from the learn guide with the program, but this text teaches Excel with its most common practical uses. It expands more on each application or function it reviews within its section.

The book uses consistent language that makes it easy to follow.

This is actually one of the only pieces of work I have been able to find where it teaches Microsoft Excel 2016, that makes it easy to divide into sections. A lot of work out there has each assignment build up slowly for at least 10 or more pages. This keeps assignments clear and concise but also using different skills.

The ideal method of any work written for Microsoft Excel 2016 is that it slowly introduces every basic functionality of uses. The text does a nice job of moving through a little quicker to get to the practicality of using the functions.

The visuals are useful in the work, since it can show where to go from time to time. I did have issues scrolling through and having pages go blank. I would have to re-scroll multiple times back and forth to get the page to show up. The pictures when they showed did a nice job of showing exactly where you need to go to understand how to do a certain function.

I did not find any grammatical errors in the book.

There is no culturally insensitive or offensive material in this book. The book is written well to translate.

Reviewed by Fay Gallacher, Senior Advisor, The Open Univeristy on 2/1/18

The book is covering all of the essential areas which a person will need when starting to use Excel. read more

The book is covering all of the essential areas which a person will need when starting to use Excel.

I have not come across any errors within the book.

The content is based on Excel 2016 which is the most current package. The only issue is that this will need to be reviewed each time a new version of MS Office is released.

It is writing in plain language which is easy to understand.

The text remains consistent throughout.

The sections are presented in a logical order and items are easy to find within specific categories.

The structure has been well thought out and laid out in the right way.

No interface issues which I could identify.

Not applicable in the context of Excel.

Very good books and facility to have available.

Reviewed by Beth Bjerregaard, Professor, UNC-Charlotte on 2/1/18

The book is fairly comprehensive for a beginning book. I would not expect it to cover much more. The table of contents clearly describes the topics covered in each chapter. read more

The book is fairly comprehensive for a beginning book. I would not expect it to cover much more. The table of contents clearly describes the topics covered in each chapter.

The book seems accurate. I did not see any issues.

The version of excel is a bit dated and the text focuses on the Windows version of excel. I was still able to work through most of the examples and the information presented is not really version specific, so most of the information should be alright

The book was easy to follow. Things were well explained and the authors provided breakout boxes and screen shots to help the reader follow.

The terminology was consistent and each chapter followed a consistent pattern.

Modularity rating: 4

The text flows easily from section to section. Many of the sections could be assigned independent of the others, however, due to the nature of the material, you will need to understand the beginning chapters before tackling the later chapters.

The text was organized in a logical manner that was easy to follow.

I did not have any difficulties navigating the text. The screenshots were helpful and rendered fine.

I did not find grammatical errors.

There was nothing offensive. Cultural sensitivity is not really relevant.

I think the book would be useful for an introductory class in Excel or for a supplement in a class using Excel. I liked the fact that each of the chapters provided data for the students to follow along with the exercises and had summary practice exercises for students.

Reviewed by Walter Lambert, Adjunct, Metropolitan State University on 2/1/18

This reviewer’s interest in this text is as a detailed self-paced supplement for students studying business and finance. All of the Excel topics related to those studies are included in a sequence and format that would allow students to review established skills and learn new skills using a split computer screen and a learn by example mode. The detailed hyperlinked Table of Contents was more than adequate for finding search topics.

There are too many versions of Excel in daily use to expect a single book to be completely accurate with items such as screen shots and still be practical. The various versions, however, are close enough to each other to allow a student to pick up the necessary skills while accommodating to whichever version of Excel is available. Otherwise, this text is an accurate tutorial for expanding a student’s skill set.

This text is highly relevant to the computational requirements of the business and finance courses of interest to this reviewer. Recent press releases imply that future versions of Excel might be of even greater use. Longevity is another matter. The continual updating of Excel within and between platforms will make this text too outdated in a few years unless periodic updating is maintained.

This text is sufficiently clear by style and detailed content to allow students to master Excel on their own. This is particularly important to students who need to upgrade their Excel skill set in parallel with handling coursework for which Excel is a necessary support.

The nature of the topic imposes a high degree of consistency. The clear, detailed format used for skill building accommodates to the inherent consistency of the subject matter in a useful manner that supports strong self-learning.

Modularity, in terms of self-standing sections and subsections, is limited by the need to learn various sub-skills in sequence. Introductory material needs to be mastered before more advanced topics can be addressed. The result is that early chapters need to be studies in sequence, but later chapters can be rearranged or skipped depending on the needs of the supported course.

The book’s organization follows the logical sequence of skill building in Excel. Therefore, an individual learner should start at the front and work to the back spending time and effort in inverse proportion to existing Excel skill levels. This reviewer tested this strategy and was pleased with the results.

User interface for the reviewed version of this text appears to depend on the user’s computer (Mac or PC), on which version of Excel is available, and on which format is selected for reading the book. This reviewer used the online format rather than the pdf format on a 2008 iMac, for example, because the links to data files worked with the online format but not with the pdf format. Other than that, the user interface for both formats were free of distortions and distractions. This would facilitate using a split screen on which both the text and example exercises could be displayed together. This is a particularly effective method for Excel skill building. Using dual screens is even better.

No spelling or grammar errors were recognized by this reviewer.

This textbook is cultural neutral.

It would be convenient to mention somewhere in the early sections that Mac users might want to set a keyboard preference for using function keys as standard function keys so many of the shortcuts such as stipulating absolute references are easy to do. It might also be helpful to mention that most of the text’s material applies to other popular spreadsheet programs including recent versions of Excel for the Mac, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and Google Sheets, recognizing that differences in screen layout and maybe the availability of some formulas and commands might require a small degree of translation from one application to another by the learner. This reviewer will likely recommend this text to future classes as a convenient Excel review tool.

Reviewed by Veronica Gibson, Assistant Professor, Virginia State University on 6/20/17

Very good outline/table of content layout and coverage of basic skills needed. read more

Very good outline/table of content layout and coverage of basic skills needed.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Unable to check accuracy for Assignments and Test sections for each chapter (was not able to open).

Content is not considered obsolete and could be quickly updated with just changing numbers and wording on Assignments & Test sections for each chapter.

I see no issues with clarity.

I see no issues with consistency.

The text was broken down into appropriate skill sets for the reader to grasp.

I am very pleased with the books' organization/structure/flow.

Images were a little distorted but not to the point of being unreadable.

I did not see any issues with grammar.

I am not aware of any issues with cultural relevance in this text.

I could not open the Assignments and Tests links to check visually and to go through instructions assigned to the assessments. I I would like to see a comprehensive Assignments & Tests (covering all chapters). Overall, I am very pleased with the content, organization, modular breakdown, and the basic skill sets covered.

Reviewed by Paul Ewell, Department Chair , Virginia Wesleyan College on 2/8/17

This is an extremely comprehensive book that provides a significant level of detail guiding the user from the very introductory stages of how to use the software program through more advanced applications. I was particularly appreciative of the level of specific detail that the author used in describing even the most basic of steps. One of the biggest complaints that I've heard from students who use technology textbooks is that authors sometimes assume that students know more than they actually do. This author is clearly not neglected the basics and no minor detail has been left out.

I also particularly like that the author has made the program relevant to a variety of different types of users. This description of Excel is pertinent for students of business who will be using this type of program in their careers but it is also pertinent to students from other majors in that it includes examples such as how to manage personal financial scenarios. Thus, the reach of this textbook goes far beyond just business students.

I was a little disappointed that this book does not include a table of contents nor does it include a glossary. While hyperlinks are included within each chapter that refer the student to other chapters, having a table of contents would help students not only see the broad picture of what the text actually covers but would also provide the opportunity for students to be able to easily access sections that they need to improve on such as in the case where there using the textbook as a reference source.

It is also worthy to note that the book provides a significant number of graphics that actually show students where to click how to click and where certain components are found in the program as well as providing step-by-step instructions on how to perform various steps. The graphics are substantial and frequent and really adds a significant extra dimension to the coverage.

The textbook appears to be very accurate in that the directions provided in each of the assignments appear to be. I can only imagine how much of a challenge that must be given each new edition of the software program. I also found no evidence of any bias although it is difficult to infuse bias into a software manual.

The content in this book is very current and certainly relevant but as I mentioned in the previous section I would hope the author would be able to update as new additions or versions of the software are developed. Much of the material or the processes covered in the book are fairly standard and I believe will not become obsolete at least not in the near future. Generally with the development of new Microsoft programs, minor changes such as the location of the tab or other tool or the addition of minor functionalities seem to be about the norm. I don't suspect it would be very difficult than to update this textbook to reflect those minor changes. The exception, of course, would be if a completely revamped version of the program was developed. I think back to the rollout of Microsoft Vista and how different Vista was from previous operating systems. While most will agree that Vista was not a good product, much of the consternation resulted from the drastic differences that existed with the new rollout.

Again, spreadsheet software, whether it be Excel or a Google worksheet generally maintain standard functionalities so updating a book such as this should be terribly difficult.

I think this book is extremely clear and how it is written and in how the material is laid out. There is an appropriate blend of text, listed instructions and graphics along with appropriate hyperlinks that allow for ease of navigation within the document. I think this is certainly appropriate for an online text book and I think most students would find this to be very user-friendly. Again, as I mentioned in my original narrative beginning of this assessment, one of the things I particularly like about this book is that it is written in a simple and easily understandable or met such that even the most novice of computer users could follow along and master the skills and concepts covered. I think this is a real competitive advantage with this book whether it is being used as a textbook as part of a formal class or if it was being used as a textbook to serve as reference material. Again, adding a table of contents and a glossary and/or Index at the end would make the book complete.

This textbook seems very consistent in how it's formatted and it is difficult to see any variations in either chapter layout, writing style or level of detail from the beginning to the end. The terminology is extremely basic and clear which again makes this textbook ideal for both the novice or the more advanced learner to use as a reference source. I also particularly like the starter files and the links used to access the starter files really blending the chapter material to actual worksheets.

This is a particularly important formatting issue for me because I understand that many students don't necessarily read a textbook from page 1 to the end and given that this textbook has 407 pages I find it highly likely they would do so here. For example, in section 4.41 could easily understand that this section is about using charts or integrating charts with Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint and it is not imperative that one have just finished reading the previous section to be able to refer to the section and very quickly learn how to use charts in this format. Again, that makes the reference capability of this textbook extremely important.

The organizational flow of this textbook is appropriate, especially for an entry-level textbook. It begins with the most basic elements of using Microsoft Excel such as how to open the program or even where to find the program in the start menu. You may be surprised to find the number of students who, when setting down to a computer for the first time, cannot figure out how to open a Microsoft program unless that program specifically has an icon on the desktop. This author starts the very basics in getting students to be able to understand how to even get the program open where to look for it. The text then, at an appropriate pace, develops the students understanding of Excel in a very thorough yet realistic manner. There is little doubt that, again based on the organizational structure of the book, beginning students who have no experience with Excel and maybe even feel very uncomfortable with computers in general, will find the pace appropriate for any level of expertise.

I found no navigational problems. The links, more specifically the hyperlinks, seem to work appropriately and all of the Excel links were present.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

It's really difficult to answer this in terms of cultural relevance technology textbook that is being used to develop the skill set so there is very little cultural relevance that should be evaluated.

In summary, I find this book to be an excellent tool that can be used in either classroom or in a reference setting. When I was trying to decide on which book to review, this book stood out because, at least initially, I noticed the graphics and I noticed a very clear sustained how to format of the chapter sections. It is highly likely that I would use this book in future classes.

Reviewed by Ihab AbuZayda, Assistant Professor, Reynolds Community College on 2/8/17

This textbook is very well-written. It is comprehensive and covers a wide spectrum of important spreadsheet software topics. Nonetheless, there are topics I cover in my class, which are not covered in this textbook (e.g., Excel tables,... read more

I have not found any errors in the content.

The text does a good job explaining spreadsheet software. On the other hand, it uses EXCEL 2010, an older version of EXCEL as we are currently using EXCEL 2016 (as of this writing). This is a typical problem with technical textbooks as technology evolves quickly.

The content is clear, accessible, and easy to follow. I suggest using a sans-serif font throughout the e-book and also additional font colors in the paragraphs to enhance clarity.

The text is of a pleasing level of consistency and conformity.

The text is divided into logical sections that are independent. The e-book's components may be separated and recombined, without presenting much disruption to the reader.

The structure is clear and the organization is well-thought-out.

No interface issues. The navigation is simple and easy to follow. However, many of the figures are outdated.

I have not found any grammatical errors.

Cultural relevance is not applicable in this context and, therefore, cannot be evaluated.

I appreciate the overall quality of this text. The author utilized many means (e.g., screenshots, videos, text) to explain various EXCEL topics. Good job!

I suggest updating the material to show the most recent version of EXCEL, incorporating additional topics, and adding a teacher's reference guide and solution files.

Reviewed by Joni Meisner, Instructor, Portland Community College on 8/21/16

The textbook provides comprehensive coverage of the fundamental skills of Excel, including mathematical computations, logical and lookup computations and presenting data with charts. The scope and sequence of the material is sufficiently detailed and logically organized. The step-by-step instructions are clearly written and easy to follow. The content includes screenshot examples and skill refresher and lesson videos which add value to the overall comprehensiveness of the content. The textbook does not cover working with tables which is a required components of our curriculum. There isn’t a glossary or index in the textbook.

The textbook content is accurate, error free and unbiased.

The textbook uses Windows 7 and Excel 2010 which are not the current versions of either, so modifications would be necessary for some sections of the text. With some modifications along with additional supplemental materials, students could complete the chapters and assignments from this text regardless of the version of Windows or Excel being used.

The text is written in clear, understandable language. Terminology is further clarified through the use of screen shots and in many of the skill refresher and lesson videos

The textbook is consistent in terms of both terminology and framework. Each chapter begins with detailed learning objectives followed by an introduction of the chapter content. Each chapter is embedded with guided practice exercises, ‘Integrity Checks’ which are tips to help students avoid and recognize errors, ‘Key Takeaways,’ which summarize the key components of the lesson, ‘Skill Refresher’ videos which quickly demonstrate smaller components within the lesson, and ‘Video Lessons’ (chapter lecture/demonstrations). Section exercises are included which provide multiple choice questions so students can check their understanding of the content as they progress through the chapter, and end of chapter assignments ranging from easy to difficult are provided so students can apply the skills learned. Hands on chapter tests are also included for each chapter.

The text is divided into smaller reading sections within each chapter which could easily be pulled out and used independently.

Each chapter is built around skills which are presented in a logical and clear order. The topics introduced build on each other moving the student from simple understanding to complex application of the skills being taught.

The text is free from any significant interface issues. The text and images are clear and easy to read. Images are appropriately labeled.

I did not find any grammatical errors in the text.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. The content is based on business/personal business examples that are culturally unbiased.

While requiring some updating, this text covers most of the bases for a beginning Excel class. Due to the abundant use of screen shots and video components, the text may need to be evaluated for accessibility in order to accommodate students who require educational accommodations.

Reviewed by Carrie Pedersen, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

Learning objectives are provided for each section. Review questions are available. Chapter review assignments and chapter tests are provided for evaluation. Comprehensive coverage of the material is provided, but a glossary/index are not.... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The content is straightforward and without bias or opinion. A high number of instructional graphics are provided with clear indication of relevance. Screenshots provide visual reference to display direction to the student as the student completes the instructional steps.

The textbook refers to Windows 7 (currently 2 versions behind - Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10) and Excel 2010 (currently 2 versions behind - Excel 2013 and Excel 2016). Also, many students are now using Office 365 which not only provides cloud service for the software and files, but automatically updates the software to current versions without student effort.

The verbiage used in this text is on par with the technical data provided. The jargon and technical terminology used are vital to the learning the material. However, the instructions are clear and easy to understand. Terms are linked to provide further explanation.

The correct terms are used to describe actions and Excel functions. Steps are clearly relayed and easy to follow. The procedure for completing lessons is consistent throughout the text providing a framework for students to follow and understand.

Lessons are broke into small sections reviewing a specific skill. Students are able to complete the task before moving on. The text has the ability to be separated into sections. Each lesson starts with a new document file as if the student had completed the previous section. Students are able to use either their own file or the one provided. This also provides a checkpoint for the student to compare their work with the data file provided.

Topics are presented in a form that builds based upon the assumed knowledge of the learner. The lessons begin in a simple format with short, precise direction and basic terms. As the chapters progress, assignments become longer and more complex, building on the previous learning. The tasks become more complicated and complex to display a higher level of learning.

The pages are clear and easy to read. The graphics are displayed well with limited use of colors and extraneous material. Each graphic is clickable to display a larger, higher definition display. Pages are uncluttered and easy to scroll through. Printing may be an issue due to the high use of graphics and shading of text. A clickable link to just the assignment directions for printing would be useful for students to complete more complex assignments without the need to "click" back and forth.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The grammar used is easy to understand and accurate. There are various typing errors that do not detract from the meaning of the lesson presented. Sentence structure is at an appropriate level for a college freshman course.

There are few instances of cultural relevance. The lack of cultural integration in the text does not detract from the skills performed by the student. The context is data driven and does not provided opportunity for a great deal of cultural integration.

The entertainment value of the material is fair to low. The directions are simple and easy to follow, but lack a degree of interest. Completing the material for long periods at a time could lead to a lack of focus on the part of the student. The comprehensive nature of the text compensates for this issues and would interest the motivated student.

Reviewed by Diane Shingledecker, Full Time Computer Applications Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

The skills covered in the text are very comprehensive including a lot of screen prints. Unfortunately, we teach tables and working with multiple sheets/files in our Beginning Excel class, and these topics are not included. read more

I have not found any errors in the text. The directions are accurate and error-free.

My concern with the text is that it is written for Excel 2010, and we are already teaching Excel 2013. At first, I thought this was a major drawback; but I worked through parts of the book in Excel 2013, and it worked fine. The only chapter that would not work in it's entirety is the charts chapter since charts changed significantly in 2013. Thinking about it some more, I think we could possibly teach the basics of charts with the chapter and then use other materials to teach the specific features of charts in 2013.

I plan on testing the book with Excel 2016 which I just installed on my laptop. If most of the text will work with this new version, that would mean the book is largely "version-free", and that's what we're looking for!

I think the text is written is accessible language for students. It has a good deal of business concepts in chapters 2 and 3, but they are explained well. The videos that accompany the book are very easy to understand and the technical language is not overdone.

I really like the framework of the text. Every section has Learning Objectives, Skill Refreshers, Key Takeaways, and Multiple Choice Exercises at the end of each section. At the end of each chapter, there are three levels of skills review and a Level 2 test.

The modularity of the text was good. I felt we could take portions of the text and use them without having to use a whole chapter or the whole text. The videos, exercises, and tests could also be pulled out and use as stand alone resources which is a big plus in computer classes.

As stated in question 5, the consistent layout of each section and chapter made the text flow logically.

The video and data file links did not work in the current copy of the book in www.Saylor.org. This would need to be fixed in order for the book to be useable in our classes.

The screen prints were clear and easily read.

The examples in the book were business-oriented vs. people-oriented, so they were not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

I was pleasantly surprised about the possibilities of using this text with its videos and data files in classes taught in various versions of Excel.

Reviewed by Chuck McGill, Teaching Specialist, University of Minnesota on 6/10/15

This book is extremely detailed and comprehensive. It teaches Fundamental Skills, Mathematical Computations, Logical and Lookup Functions, and Presenting Data with Charts in a step-by step fashion and to a detailed level. This level of skill... read more

The book is very accurate and this reviewer found no errors.

The book refers and applies to Excel 2010 on the Windows 7 platform exclusively. It does not refer to other versions, platforms, or operating systems. The relevance and longevity depends on the user’s tolerance for interpreting instructions and graphics that may vary slightly from what is on the user’s screen.

The step-by-step instructions are very clear. Most, though not quite all, terms and jargon are explained. The clearly-labeled screenshots help immensely with the clarity.

The chapters and sections are very consistent, as are the end-of-chapter exercise and test materials.

The 4 chapters are each divided into 4 or 5 clear sections, each with its own objectives and exercises. Each chapter has a sections of exercises and tests at different difficulty levels. These different modules could easily be assigned at different points during a course.

The structure is highly organized. There are downloadable Follow-along Files for the student to practice each skill. The objectives, tips, exercises and tests are all easy to follow.

All screenshots with labels, tables, text boxes, and main text are displayed well.

This reviewer found no grammatical errors.

The personal finance section deals with mortgage payments, but does not assume home ownership in a culturally insensitive way.

The description on the Open Textbook Library site refers to Video Lessons, but this reviewer could not find any or access any through the text book either on PDF or HTML. If they exist, this reviewer could not find them.

Chapter 1 - Fundamental Skills
Chapter 2 - Mathematical Computations
Chapter 3 - Formulas, Functions, Logical and Lookup Functions
Chapter 4 - Presenting Data with Charts
Chapter 5 - Tables
Chapter 6 - Multiple Sheet Files

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This textbook was written for a community college introductory course in spreadsheets utilizing Microsoft Excel. While the figures shown utilize Excel 2019, the textbook was written to be applicable to other versions of Excel as well. The book introduces new users to the basics of spreadsheets and is appropriate for students in any major who have not used Excel before. This textbook includes instructions for Excel for Mac also.

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Excel Exercises

Practice your excel formula skills with exercises that you can do straight from your browser, first time here.

Note: It appears you are using a small screen device (like a phone) to access this page. You may not have the best experience when you do an exercise on such a small device. Instead, you will have a better experience using a laptop or desktop computer. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Making an If cell Contains text function

The excel isnoterror function: making your own formula, fixing text to be exact, practicing and, or, and if, counting blank rows, creating an ifnoterror function, basic iferror exercise, excel exercises to learn practically.

Spreadsheet Center was made to teach people about Microsoft Excel in a practical and easy-to-digest manner. Here you will find Excel exercises for free to learn several basic as well as advanced concepts.

Type of exercises available

We recommend using the beginner’s track for first-time visitors. It familiarizes you with basic concepts and gradually increases the difficulty level. It features several lesson plans with practical spreadsheet experience within the site window. Once you familiarize yourself with Excel, you can come to the Exercise section. Here you will find several exercises to practice different Excel concepts. The type of exercises here have different difficulty levels and also indicate the time required to practice them.

All these Excel exercises for students help them practicing and learning Excel by doing. The time needed for doing a single exercise is short, they take only 1-4 minutes of your time. The best part about these Excel exercises is that you can use a Spreadsheet Editor on the site itself to practice. You do not need to open Excel on your computer and get confused or overwhelmed with other options.

Easy Exercises

More straightforward exercises to boost your confidence and morale. Here are some of the activities available at your disposal that you can quickly practice in this section.

My First Formula : Here, you learn how to use the = (equals) sign to create a formula using cell references.
EXACT function : Work on your skills with a function that checks two text arguments to find if they are precisely the same or not.
IFERROR function : Learn about an often overlooked function that returns a value if an error is present.
COUNT function : An exercise where you count the number of blank rows in a range of cells.
MIN and MAX functions : Find the minimum or maximum values in a range.
CONCATENATE function : Combine two texts to make a new, larger, text.
SUM/AVERAGE functions : You can use these to add or takes an average of a given range of numbers.
SUBSTITUTE function : Excel exercise about a function that replaces occurrences of a specific text in another text.
Create a new ISNOTERROR function : Using the ISERROR function, we create a new is not error function.

Exercise with Medium Difficulty

Excel exercises with medium difficulty take a while to solve. They improve your mastery and skill levels.

TODAY, YEAR, and CONCATENATE functions : Combine three Excel functions to create an up-to-date copyright message.
IFNOTERROR function : A twist on the IFERROR function: show a different value when an error is not present.
IF function with AND and OR : Learn about these three powerful logical Excel functions. And how you can combine them.
CONTAIN function : A function that is missing in Excel: CONTAINS checks if a cell contains a specific text or not.

We’re working hard to ensure that you get the best learning experience here. That’s why we keep updating the site with new content and Excel exercises so that you will find fresh new exercises and activities when you visit.

Why Would You Want To Do Excel Exercises?

There are many types of learners with varied objectives. People would want to do Excel exercises online for several motives:

To practice : The idea of solving Excel exercises online is a game-changer as it helps you practice at your own pace and skill level.
To determine your skill level : Some people experiment with online Excel exercises to check how proficient they are with the software.
To brush up on your skills : Excel exercise for students, teachers, beginners, or any other category of users helps them brush up on their skills.
To update your knowledge : For some people it may have been a while since they last used Excel. A quick scroll through different exercises allows them to find gaps in their knowledge that they can fill in.
For a creative kick : Some people enjoy creatively solving exercises. Such people like to challenge themselves with exercises that are at or above their skill levels.

Who would want to do Excel Exercises?

Students : School, college, or university students are prime candidates for doing Excel exercises online. Excel exercises for students can help them in their studies, project reports, course curriculum, or additional knowledge.
Teachers : Why would a teacher want to do Excel exercises online? Teachers can teach their students properly if they stay up to date and learn different ways of solving the same problem.
Beginners : Excel beginner exercises are quite effective in getting into Excel. As a beginner, you may expect to do a lot of reading and watching videos to learn Excel. But instead, you can also actively practice and build confidence to learn more. That’s what our beginner exercises are all about.
White-collar workers : Some office workers want to learn the software to help with their routine jobs. They would like to do Excel exercises that help solve their work issues, remove repetitive work or improve their productivity.

How should you approach solving them?

There are several approaches to solve Excel exercises, but some of them are truly useful.

Trial and error : A time-tested approach to solve problems. Never be afraid of trying new concepts. At most, you make mistakes, but you get to know something in the process. Try different combinations of possible methods to solve a problem. Build on your mistakes and find the solution by trial and error.
Systematic approach : In this approach, you systematically solve Excel exercises. Start with the easy ones and move up gradually. If you are a beginner, begin with the first lesson, revise what you know, and learn holistically. Try to read the theory before jumping on to practice.
Learning by doing : In this approach, practical experience is much more valuable than theory. You know something quickly when you do it yourself. Also, you don’t forget it easily.
Thinking out-of-the-box : If everything else fails, you may be able to solve an Excel exercise by thinking differently. Who knows, you may invent something new in the process!

Spreadsheet Center was made as a platform to learn by doing. These Excel exercises help you to improve your skills in a practical way. You can enroll in an Excel course or try Excel exercises free here. We’ve got a whole lot of Excel beginner exercises along with more advanced stuff. There is something for everyone here. Whatever you choose to do, we hope you have a lot of fun doing it!

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Excel Gradebook Templates (Points + Percentage)

Top image for the Microsoft Excel gradebook templates, points-based + percentage-based by SpreadsheetClass.com

If you are looking for a Microsoft Excel gradebook that will help you easily record and calculate grades for your students, then you will find exactly what you need on this page!

The Excel gradebook templates will allow you to keep track of your class grades in a very organized and efficient way. Spreadsheets make it fast to enter student attendance which is why when I was an academic coach I used spreadsheets to track my student grades, as well as every other type of student data that I could get my hands on.

This page contains the Excel gradebook templates, which were created specifically to be used in Microsoft Excel. Click here to get the Google Sheets versions of the gradebook templates .

Table of Contents

Points based + percentage based version

There are two different gradebook templates that you can choose from, depending on whether you want to record points, or percentages. The points-based version allows you to enter the points per assignment, and then automatically displays the percentages on a separate tab. With the percentage-based version, you can directly enter the percentages for each assignment.

Points based (with Automatic percentage tab) (.xlsx)

This version of the gradebook template will allow you to enter the points possible & points earned on one tab… and it has an additional tab that will calculate the percentage of each assignment for you.

Percentage based (.xlsx)

This version of the template allows you to record the percentages of each assignment.

Click here to see the attendance templates for Excel .

Excused assignments

In the template you will have the option to mark assignments as "Excused" in the points-based gradebook template. If you have a student that you would like to excuse an assignment for, simply enter the letter "E" into the appropriate cell for that assignment / student, and that assignment will not factor into the calculations.

Gradebook color coding

Both templates have automatic color coding for the average grades of each student (Column B), and the average grades for each assignment (Row 1). This conditional formatting will allow you to easily identify students who are struggling, or assignments that may have been too difficult or too easy.

Points-based gradebook template for Excel

Get the template (.xlsx)

In this template, you can set the "Points Possible" for each assignment, and then record the points that were earned for each student, on each assignment. After entering the points possible and the points earned, the total points earned for each student/ assignment will calculate, and so will the average percentage.

In this template you can excuse a student from any assignment that you want, by entering the letter "E" for the score. That assignment for that student will not factor into the calculations.

You will also be able to see the overall class average at the top.

Instructions:

Enter student names in column A
Enter assignment names in row 4
Enter the points possible for each assignment in row 3
Enter the points earned for each student, on each assignment
Optional- Click the second tab to view assignment percentages

Example of the Excel points based gradebook template

This points-based template also has a second tab that doesn't require any editing, and will automatically calculate the percentage of each individual assignment for you, as shown in the image below.

Example of the percentage per assignment tab on the points based template (Tab 2) for Excel

As you can see in the image above, the second tab of the percentage-based template shows the percentages that are associated with each score you entered in the form of points (on the first tab).

The total number of students in your class / in the template, will display at the top of the sheet.

This template was created by and is owned by Corey Bustos / SpreadsheetClass.com

Percentage based gradebook template for Excel

In this template, you will be able to directly record the percentage that is earned for each assignment. Whether you are calculating the percentages yourself or if you have a learning platform that reports percentages directly, this will allow you to record the percentage based scores for your students.

After entering the percentages earned for each assignment, the average score for each student, each assignment, and for the class overall, will calculate automatically.

Enter assignment names in row 3
Enter the percentage earned for each student, on each assignment

Example of the Excel gradebook template (percentage based version)

The total number of students on the sheet will display at the top of the sheet.

I hope that you enjoy these templates!

Click here to see more Microsoft Excel lessons .

Or check out the Microsoft Excel templates .

Google Sheets Gradebook Templates (Points and Percentage)
Google Sheets Templates for Teachers
Free Microsoft Excel Templates
Attendance tracker templates for Microsoft Excel
24 of the Best Free Google Sheets Templates
Attendance tracker templates for Google Sheets

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My name is Corey, I have been building spreadsheets for companies for over 7 years, I was a data specialist at an online school for 5 years, and I created this website to help people learn how to use spreadsheets.

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Modern Laine

Southern Charm | Modern Flair

Organized Chaos: College Assignment Tracker

January 26, 2016 · College

Every student needs this college assignment tracker!

College assignments are such a headache! That’s why I made a college assignment tracker. This semester, though it feels late in the game as I will graduate this year, I decided to start the semester off right. To do this I created an assignment and readings spreadsheet to track the due dates of all my assignments and what I should be reading each day for each class. I’m going to share how I designed my assignment and reading tracker.

I got the idea for a college assignment tracker from Kirsten at Organized Charm and Dani at Dani Dearest . I think it’s amazing, however I changed it a little to fit my style and to include a reading tracker. As an English Major I read about 200 or more pages a week. Let me show and explain how I made and am using my assignment tracker.

NOTE: Set aside about 2 or 3 hours your first weekend back to school to go through your syllabuses and to set up the assignment spreadsheet.

Trying to find the best way to manage your readings and assignments for college? Learn how to make a college assignment tracker now! Click To Tweet

STEP ONE: Gather Your Syllabuses and Highlighters

The first step in making an assignment or reading tracker is to gather all of your class schedules and syllabuses. Go through each one, highlighting all big assignments like papers or tests. Once you’ve highlighted the important due dates and assignments then you’ve done one of the hardest parts.

STEP TWO: Create and Format your Spreadsheet

Create an Excel spreadsheet. Mine has four columns: Due Date, Class, Assignment and Points. This setup works best for me. I went through each syllabus and added the assignments. Once you made your spreadsheet begin to add your assignments. As I mentioned, I have a separate sheet for Assignments and another for Readings. With so many readings and assignments it felt to overwhelming the other way.

STEP THREE: Organize your Spreadsheet

I recommend adding your assignments or readings by date and then if you have another assignment on the same date or a previous date just click the insert row button. For me this was the easiest way to do it, though Kirsten and Dani both suggest the AZ Sort function. I organize my sheet by month, but you might find it easier to organize by class or even week. For my reading list I added an extra row between each week just so it felt more manageable.

College Assignment and Reading Tracker_Modern Laine

STEP FOUR: Print & Staple

Once you’ve filled in your assignments check the print preview and make sure it all fits width wise on one sheet. You may have to play with font types or sized and the size of the columns until you get it just right. On my Readings sheet I deleted the Completed column because the readings are so long. In the end this worked out better as it is very easy to just highlight completed readings and the page doesn’t look super overwhelming.

You can also use it only on your computer or tablet. Microsoft makes an Excel for the iPad that I find easy to use and there is Google Sheets. These are both great options if you don’t want to print and keep track of your sheets as a hard copy or if you may have to add or change your sheets often.

Here are a few final tips:

Make the time to setup your college assignment tracker. Sure, it is tedious, but 2 or 3 hours at the beginning of the semester is worth it when you think of all the studying, reading and assignments you have to do over the semester. Being prepared now will help you considerably later in the semester.
Actually use your assignment tracker! This is a big point for me, because why go through the trouble of making a tracker if you don’t plan to keep up with it. I can tell you honestly that in the three weeks I’ve been in school this semester I have seen a major improvement in my stress level about assignments and readings.
Don’t go crazy with highlighting or color coding. I considered coloring coding my spreadsheet, but decided it against it because with five classes and five colors the sheets would just become overwhelming and pointless in relieving stress about my assignments. Instead just make sure to mark what course each reading or assignment is for and then use a highlighter when completed or use the strikethrough option if you’re keeping a virtual copy.
Adjust the format to fit your classes and style. There are many ways to set one of these up, just find what works for you. The only thing that matters is that you stick with it. This can’t work unless you make sure to use it. I’ve seeing a great improvement in my stress, time management and grades since creating and using my sheets.
Only put the most necessary information on your tracker. Page numbers and due dates are important. School holidays like Spring or Fall break are important or if you’re on a quarter instead of semester schedule, those dates are important. Sorority, work, club or other types of events? Those are probably best left for your day planner.

Are you going to make a college assignment tracker? Share you experience with me!

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Remote learning with Microsoft 365 for students

Whether you're learning at home for long periods of time or just outside of class, access Microsoft 365 for free, stay connected, and learn in a way that's right for you.

Students at eligible institutions can sign up for Microsoft 365 Education for free. That means access to apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Teams from any web browser. Plus, all the work you create will automatically be saved and backed up in the cloud.

Get started with Microsoft 365 for free

Already have Microsoft 365? Sign in.

Tip: Select Install Microsoft 365 from Microsoft365.com to download Microsoft 365 apps to your desktop device.

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Work together as a class or group

Microsoft Teams is a digital hub that brings conversations, content, and apps together in one place. If your classes are using Teams, you’ll be able to connect with your classmates, ask your educator questions, work on homework, and track the work you've got coming up. Not part of any teams yet? No problem! Create your own to work on group projects and keep in touch from your computer or phone.

Join virtual meetings set up by your educator and even customize your background.

Follow best practices if you have low internet bandwidth.

Download Teams for desktop or mobile | Collaborate in a class | Create a team for group work | Meetings in Teams | Turn on background blur

Stay organized and on top of your assignments

Use Teams to organize your files and group work. View and work on assignments, turn them in, and see your grades without ever leaving Microsoft Teams.

Navigate your assignments | Turn in an assignment | View grades | Teams on mobile

Manage your time while using remote learning tools.

Time management

Manage your schedule to stay on top of everything.

Set out a timetable for your schoolwork each week.

Block out time to read class materials, join class calls, and work offline.

Use a timeline to work toward exams and projects.

Build out a calendar with reminders.

Ask for help and communicate with peers.

Communication

Don't be shy! Ask for help when you need it and stay connected to educators and classmates online.

Check in with your educator during the week.

Ask early when you have questions so your educator has time to respond.

Communicate clearly and respectfully with educators and classmates.

Study habits

Set up a pleasant workspace to study, complete your assignments, and keep a schedule.

Arrange a distraction-free space with the right furniture, lighting, power, and supplies.

Use headphones to help with focus.

Keep passwords and contacts for educators and IT support handy.

Focus on your goals and set yourself up for success.

Turn off emails, messages, and notifications during focused work sessions.

Give yourself short breaks every 30-40 minutes and take a stretching or walking break every hour.

Balance each class and look for ways to develop your tech skills.

Stay curious!

Make use of free academic templates .

Use shortcuts to help with searches, formatting, and more .

Use tools to help with file management, get to know different media types, and Microsoft 365 tools.

Keep notes as you work in a single place .

Organize your work files in one digital drive that you can access anywhere.

Create folders and name them so you can easily find your files.

Follow best practices if you have low internet bandwidth .

Need more help?

Want more options.

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Computer Applications | Microsoft Office | Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)

Microsoft Office Lesson Plans Your Students Will Love

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May 18th, 2022 | 9 min. read

Microsoft Office Lesson Plans Your Students Will Love

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Do you teach middle or high school computer applications classes? If so, it's likely that your standards include requirements on teaching Microsoft Office.

As a computer applications curriculum developer, teachers often ask how we help teach Microsoft Office and prepare students for MOS certification.

While we provide a Microsoft Office curriculum system, our solution may not be the best fit for everyone.

Some teachers are only looking for supplemental resources or tips on improving their existing lessons.

If that's the type of information you're looking for, you're in the right place!

In this article, you'll discover Microsoft Office lesson plans and teaching tips for:

Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Office Specialist Certification

For each of these topics, you'll find a list of recommended resources to help you teach the best Microsoft Office lessons possible.

1. Microsoft Word Lessons & Activities

Microsoft-Word-Projects-e1435676698158-2

Microsoft Word is often the first jumping off point for many computer applications classes. Rather than spend hours creating your own Microsoft Word lesson plans and activities, wouldn't you like some that you can just integrate into your existing curriculum?

That's where this post can help: Microsoft Word Lesson Plans to Wow Your Students

It contains a number of resources that you can use to teach your middle or high school students to use Microsoft Word.

Want more than just Microsoft Word lesson plans to supplement your existing curriculum?

Business&ITCenter21 has lessons, quizzes, and projects to teach your students all about Microsoft Word.

The curriculum begins with Microsoft Word Essentials, which introduces your students to the basics of the application.

Next, you can use the Microsoft Word Fundamentals lessons to give students a more in depth look at formatting content within a Word document.

Once they have mastered the basics, your students can move on to the Microsoft Word Skills Project to put their skills to the test. The project requires learners to start from scratch and fully create a document.

If you want to take it one step further, you can assign the Microsoft Word Business Project, which requires students to create a job description booklet using more advanced skills.

Looking for additional tips? Read this article: How to Teach Microsoft Word in Middle School

2. Microsoft Excel Lesson Plans

Let's face it--Excel isn't the most exciting Microsoft application out there. So what can you do to spice up your Microsoft Excel lesson plans? Make them relevant to your students!

So where can you find engaging, relevant Microsoft Excel lesson ideas?

Start by reviewing these popular Microsoft Excel lesson plan resources:

Excel Tutorials from GCFLearnFree.org
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets Lesson Plan Bundle from Computer Creations
Lessons & Activities Bundle for Microsoft Excel from TechCheck Lessons

Each of these resources can help supplement any teacher's lessons on Microsoft Excel.

But what if you need more than a few extra spreadsheet activities?

Our computer applications curriculum has you covered with Excel, too!

The first module in the sequence is the Microsoft Excel Essentials, which provides an overview of working with spreadsheets, cells, rows, and columns. Students also learn about using basic functions and formulas.

Next, students can work through Microsoft Excel Fundamentals. This module provides an overview of the fundamentals of Microsoft Excel, including relative and absolute cell references, common functions, and formatting.

If you need to cover more advanced skills and features within Excel, you can assign the Microsoft Excel Skills Project or Microsoft Excel Business Project.

3. Microsoft PowerPoint Lesson Plans

PowerPoint is sometimes considered to be overused in schools, both by instructors and students. Because of this, it’s important that your Microsoft PowerPoint lesson plans are right on par (or above and beyond!)

Your PowerPoint lessons should be more than just a How-To. You must make sure that your students understand how a presentation can effectively (and ineffectively) be used.

So how can you teach your students to effectively use Microsoft PowerPoint?

We recommend you start with four topics on Microsoft PowerPoint:

An Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint
The Basics of Building a PowerPoint Presentation
More Features in PowerPoint
Do’s & Don’ts of Effective Presentations

To find teaching tips and activity outlines, read these articles:

Best PowerPoint Lessons for Middle School
4 Best PowerPoint Lesson Plans for High School

Need more structure and resources to teach Microsoft PowerPoint?

In Business&ITCenter21, the Microsoft PowerPoint Essentials module provides an overview of Microsoft PowerPoint essentials, themes, templates, and adding and inserting a variety of items into a presentation.

Then, in the Microsoft PowerPoint Fundamentals module, students learn about creating effective presentations that are interesting, engaging, and functional.

Once your students have the basics down, you can move on to more advanced concepts and features with the Microsoft PowerPoint Skills Project and Microsoft PowerPoint Business Project .

4. Microsoft Access Lesson Plans

where-to-find-microsoft-access-lessons-and-projects

Microsoft Access can be a challenging subject for middle school and high school students. So it’s no surprise that Microsoft Access lesson plans are a challenge for computer applications teachers.

To help you save time, we put together a list of popular Microsoft Access teaching resources :

GCF Learn Free
Tonya Skinner's Website
Teachers Pay Teachers

Each of these websites has a variety of materials to help you teach Microsoft Access skills.

In addition, check out the Microsoft Access Fundamentals module within Business&ITCenter21.

This module provides an overview of database theory as students gain practical experience with Microsoft Access.

5. Microsoft Publisher Lesson Plans

Do you give Microsoft Publisher its fair share of attention? Many computer applications educators avid including Microsoft Publisher lesson plans in their curriculum.

We've found that's often because they don’t know where to find good Microsoft Publisher lessons!

To help you get started, we put together a list of popular Microsoft Publisher lessons and activities:

Tangipahoa Parish School System
Cape May County Technical School District
Council Rock High School South
Rochester Hills Public Library
Instructables
Shawano School District
Microsoft Office Support
Business&ITCenter21

Each of these resources can help you introduce Microsoft Publisher to your students when added to your existing Microsoft Office lesson plans.

But are you looking for a more structured resource on Publisher? If so, check out the Microsoft Publisher Fundamentals module within Business&ITCenter21.

This module provides an overview of the fundamentals of Microsoft Publisher through the creation of a number of desktop publishing documents.

6. Microsoft Office Certification Prep

In our experience, we've found that teachers searching for Microsoft Office lesson plans are often also interested in preparing their students for the Microsoft Office Specialist certification exams.

To help your students prepare for certification, you most likely need more than just a lesson or two. It might be beneficial to also include test prep material to help your students prepare.

For tips on how to best prepare your students for MOS certification, read these articles:

How to Prepare Students for the MOS Word Exam
Steps for Successful Microsoft Excel Test Prep

Start Teaching Microsoft Office Skills Today!

All of the resources and ideas listed on this page can help you put together a great Microsoft Office curriculum.

However, if you're like most computer applications teachers you don't have much time to spare for piecing together a hodgepodge of lessons and activities.

If you need a more robust Microsoft Office solution that helps you teach all of the Microsoft Office applications, consider looking into a full curriculum.

There are many Microsoft Office curriculum options available so it can feel overwhelming to decide which one is right for you.

WORD & 1DER

Jul 26, 2022

5 Easy Steps to Do the Famous Excel Assignment Sheet

Updated: May 22, 2023

Keeping up with the college schedule can be hard, especially when your university, like mine, works on a quarter system.

At the beginning of my first year, I thought using a calendar/agenda and pen would work just as great as it did in high school, but I quickly realized that most professors give out all assignments at the beginning of the term and don't remind you before the deadline. I was overwhelmed with so many assignments that I barely had time to study; everything was pilling up.

One of my roommates said that she stayed organized with a color-coded excel sheet for all assignments of the term. I later noticed that it was a trend for people to use this method, however, when I asked my friends about it, most of them wanted to do it but didn't know how to.

I had to learn how to do it myself and ended up using it for my entire freshman year. So far, it has worked wonderfully, so I figured I would share how to do it so everyone can give it a try.

Step 1. Color Coding

In this 1st step, you will decide which colors you'll be using for each subject.

Here, for example, I have my six classes abbreviated, and I colored each one differently: Linguistics is orange, Techniques of Speaking is blue and so on...

Step 2. Writing Down the Assignments

Every university has their own system regarding how assignments are given out, for example, Drexel University uses a syllabus system. Each professor will hand out a syllabus for their class at the beginning of the year, where inside, the student can find all the deadlines and assignments for the term.

Write down all the details of each assignment in the excel sheet. Add the class name, the # of the week in which it is due, the complete due date, the name of the assignment, and the status (blank or done) **more on this later.

Repeat this step for each class.

Step 3. Adding Color

This step is very simple. Select all the cells for each subject and add the color you decided on for that class. Here is how mine looks so far:

Step 4. Organizing by Due Date

To organize our sheet by due date, we must sort *custom sort* the entire chart.

Select the entire chart, every column and every line. All the assignments, no matter the class.

Right click and select *sort* - *custom sort*.

Clicking on *custom sort* must have opened the sort window.

There, you'll see a list that says column, sort by. column A. You must click on the list and change the column to the column in which your due dates are listed on.

For example: my due dates are on column D, so I change the list that says "column A" to "column D."

Next, there's a list that says sort on, values. This will remain the same so leave it at "values."

The last list says order, oldest to newest. This will also remain the same. **If yours says something different, simply click on the list and a drop down menu will pop up where you can select the option "oldest to newest."

When your "sort" window looks like this, click on *ok* to make the changes. It will organize your assignments by due date and not by class.

Step 5. Using It

The final step is to use your excel sheet, and every time you have completed an assignment, on the column status write the word "done."

"done" means you have finished the assignment.

Then, once you have turned in the assignment, you can cross off the entire line.

How to cross something of:

Shortcut in Windows computer: select the cells you want to cross off, then click Ctrl + 5.

Shortcut in Mac computer: select the cells you want to cross off, then click Command + Shift + X.

Normal way in any computer: select the cells you want to cross off, then click on the bottom right corner of the "font" section.

Once the "format cells" window has opened on the "font" section, select the *strikethrough* option under "effects."

Then click on *ok* to make the changes.

After a while of using your chart, it will start looking like this.

Make sure to add any new assignments to the chart by simply inserting a new line, changing its color and organizing it by due date. Simply repeat the 5 steps.

I hope this was helpful to keep up with your college schedule. Thank me later ;)

I appreciate your feedback. If you have any questions, concerns, and/or comments, please write them below in the comments section and I will make sure to reply to as many as I can. Have a wonderful day.

From Mexico to The US for College

College Packing List-the one I used

Is There Such a Thing as an Uncomplicated College Abroad Application? With This Guide, There Is

Thanks for sharing valuable insights! Your input was really helpful. I appreciate your effort and knowledge. Our top-notch Excel assignment help services are here to unlock your full potential. Whether you're struggling with complex functions or need help with data analysis, our expert team offers personalized support. Get the assistance you need to excel in your Microsoft Excel assignments and succeed academically.

Excel Daily

The 4 Best Uses of Microsoft Excel to Improve Student's Daily Life

Here are 4 best microsoft excel uses for students to improve life efficiencies..

Have you ever wondered how you can make the most out of your life? I have, but that is not what I will be giving advice today about. Today, I wish to share more about how Microsoft Excel improves my daily life as a student. Believe it or not, as college students, we can use Microsoft Excel in our daily life, and it actually also does contribute to us improving our lives.

In the following part of the blog, I will be explaining the four best uses of Microsoft Excel especially for college students to improve their life efficiencies.

Time Management

Time is gold, and nobody likes to waste time (even though we still inevitably will). Because of that, a lot of us may be motivated to use our time effectively and efficiently as time waits for no men. We may be sitting down and thinking about what is best for us to do during every hour of our lives. The good news is, for those who like to keep a daily or even monthly planner, Microsoft Excel can be a great place to go to.

Microsoft Excel has a variety of templates to help you create daily planners or time management trackers. You can lay out your tasks, priorities, and deadlines to help you keep track of time. Especially as students, it may benefit us to lay out our class and work schedules and plan for leisure activities or assignments accordingly during our time available. This will help us feel satisfied with life as we are able to cherish every precious moment in life.

Goal Planning & Tracking

In the process of managing your time, you may also think of the possibilities of setting goals and plans to be achieved during a certain amount of period. With Microsoft Excel, you can create task-driven goal sheets to drive productivity. Just as stated by MakeUseOf.com ( https://www.makeuseof.com/best-uses-of-excel/ ), by creating and defining milestones, you can track progress against your goals and map the progress against each aspect with relative ease. You can also utilize charts to visualize your progress and achievements. I am sure that can help motivate you a little more with achieving your goals.

Budget Management & Finance Tracking

One of the biggest uses of Microsoft Excel for students is for budget management or finance tracking. Students who are disciplined or want to be disciplined with their spending and funds can utilize Excel to help them achieve financial goals. This is because you can use various built-in accounting and math-related functions to keep track of your finances, budgets, and accounts. For example, you can list all of your income and expenses, categorize them, and set spending and saving goals.

Besides, as a college student, it is normal for people our age to consider buying a car or saving up to buy a house in the future. With Microsoft Excel, you can actually make a loan amortization table to calculate how much money you will need to be paying each month over a certain period of time if you are planning to take out a loan. You can calculate how much interest you would end up paying based on the rate. On the flip side, you can calculate with the interest rate how much money you can end up saving if you are to save your money in a bank account over a period of time. This is helpful because it helps you to look at the bigger picture and make a better financial decision. You can refer to Microsoft Word’s explanation of how to do those calculations. ( https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/using-excel-formulas-to-figure-out-payments-and-savings-11cb708f-c137-4ef8-bcf3-5137aaeb4b20 )

Oftentimes, you will find that saving money will be a better option than taking out a loan. After all, as the Greek proverb goes:

One minute of patience, ten years of peace.

Data Analysis & Visualization

Last but not least, with all the tools and functionalities of Excel, you can use Microsoft Excel to analyze and visualize data. No matter a college student, company employee, or business owner, you will face a time when you will have to deal with a large amount of data. Knowing how to use Microsoft Excel will give you a significant advantage because you will know better how to deliver insights after conducting data analysis and presenting with data visualization.

Besides, if you know how to analyze and visualize data, it will help you in class assignments and presentations more effectively convey meaning. Especially students studying accounting and business, specifically will need to be better equipped with Microsoft Excel knowledge because Microsoft Excel can help them analyze the meaning certain data is conveying. They can also rely on the tools to accurately calculate financial data. They just need to make sure they are building the formulas correctly.

Below is an infographic that briefly summarizes the four main uses I covered in this blog post. My content is inspired by Makeuseof.com ( https://www.makeuseof.com/best-uses-of-excel/ ).

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Excel Template-Student Assignment Planner

I am using the "Student Assignment Planner1" template to create a calendar of events. I love the template but would like for the calendar to list the description of the assignment on the calendar instead of just saying "Assignment Due!", but I'm not sure how to accurately look up and return the assignment description.

Here is the formula that I'm looking to update on the "Month View" Worksheet:

=IF(LEN(B6)=0,"",IF(COUNTIF(Assignments[DUE DATE],DATE(MoYear,@MoMonthNum,B6))>0, "Assignment due!" ,""))

Thanks in advance for any help!

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Replies (2) .

Microsoft Agent |

I understand you wanted to change the formula, so it shows more details than just showing “ Assignment due!”.

Based on your post, I tried searching for a solution and found some posts with similar requirement, please check the links for reference:

Complicated formula -help appreciated

student assignment planner help

Editing a Weekly Assignment Template

I am trying to use the student assignment planner template…

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