September 30, 2013
We continued working on graphing today, and the different ways of displaying your data.  We took some data, and put it into an Excel-type program, and created bar graphs and pie charts form the data.  Here is an instructional video to help someone enter data into an Excel spreadsheet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyE9kfuGEEI
It's interesting because it's possible, and really easy to take the data you entered into a spreadsheet, which on it's own is helpful for keeping data organized and visible, and make a bar graph or a pie chart with it.  I chose this instructional video because I thought the guy was just adorable.  He really loves this stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZKMIRVsMlI
The same instructions apply for other types of graphs, as well.  The program is easily customized, and for me, took less than 30 minutes to enter the data, construct two graphs, and print them off. It was very simple.  Actually, when we started, I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it easily, and I would be the old lady in the class who couldn't figure out those newfangled computer devices, but it was really no big deal, and I could see myself entering classroom data and creating charts for my own use.
By the way, the program I actually used wasn't a Microsoft program, but a FREE Google docs program, and works basically the same way, which is awesome because I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices those Microsoft yahoos charge when I can get all the same stuff for FREE!!