Application of Excel

Hello again,

I really enjoyed the time spent with Excel this semester. I am confident that I can successfully use Excel for most common necessities. I will provide an example in which I was unable to help a project group because of my issues with Excel. This fall semester in Biology, I was asked to collect and present data on Alligators. The data included information such as body length, tooth size, and other reasonable measurements. I was so poorly educated with Excel that the only thing I could do was create a table. A generic, no special fonts, no background color, table. I ended up having a group-mate help me use Excel to turn the data into a professional grade presentation. It would be obvious to note that my group-mate tested out of the Computer Skills requirement during New Student Orientation.

But after the exercises and assessments regarding Excel I received much more education about the program than I had ever received before, and can confidently assert that I will no longer be handicapped in terms of tables, charts, and the like.

Still though, I learned much more about Excel than simply tables and charts. I now know how to balance a checkbook (a handy piece of knowledge) and calculate many things by using the programs "Functions". Excel is used by so many people for so many things its incredible! While on a flight back to San Antonio from North Carolina at the end of Spring Break, I looked up the aisle of the plane and noticed a man had his computer open and was using Excel! I could not exactly see what he was working on (probably better that way) but I could tell that he was using background colors to indicate important cells in a table. It's cool and exciting to see people applying education to daily life.

Excel can be used for so many different things that it is easy to understand its popularity and success. I look forward to using my knowledge too!

It's always a pleasure,

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu