Introduction to Excel

Introduction:

Microsoft® Excel® is the spreadsheet application in the MS Office 365® suite of programs. Excel is a tool that can be used in virtually all careers and is valuable in both professional and personal settings. Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to store, organize, and analyze information. While you may believe Excel is only used by certain people to process complicated data, anyone can learn how to take advantage of the program’s powerful features. Whether you need to keep track of the medication inventory for a hospital, create a financial plan for your retirement, build and maintain a household budget and/or a home inventory, Excel enables you to do these activities efficiently and accurately. Ultimately, Microsoft Excel is a perfect example of a highly customizable application. It is easy to learn and simple to use, and at the same time, it is relatively easy to change the way it works for you.

Excel® was released in 1985 and has grown to become arguably the most important computer program in workplaces around the world. IIn business, literally, any function in any industry can benefit from those with strong Excel knowledge, from finance and accounting, marketing, operations, human resource management, quality management, business analytics, retail and sales management. A working knowledge of Excel is vital for most office based professionals today, and stronger Excel skills can open the door to promotion and leadership opportunities.

Week One introduces the fundamental skills necessary to get you started in using Excel. Understanding the basic Excel terminology and application layout, this week will cover the Excel workbook and worksheet, the Excel tabs and ribbons, basic navigation within the application, and entering, editing, and formatting data. Finally, you will get an introduction to Excel functions and formulas which can make you very productive in a short period of time.

Course Competencies:

1. Understand and describe what Excel is and how it is used to work with quantitative data
2. Design, construct, format, and edit workbooks and worksheets for professional use
3. Create and apply formulas and functions to calculate data using appropriate mathematical principles
4. Construct and design charts and tables to effectively visualize and manipulate data
5. Identify and assess the suitable printing and presentation of workbooks and worksheets
6. Utilize data analysis in determining the best possible outcomes of business-related decisions

Learning Objectives:

Each Outcome shows in parenthesis which Course Competency it aligns with.

1. Examine the application of Excel to make decisions using quantitative data (1)
2. Demonstrate an understanding of navigating, opening, closing, and saving workbooks (1)
3. Demonstrate an understanding of navigating worksheets using the ribbon, tabs, and groups (2)
4. Perform the entering, editing, and formatting of data in an Excel worksheet (2)
5. Implement the use of functions to calculate totals from the data (3)
6. Illustrate how to enhance the presentation of data through manipulation of cells, columns, rows, borders, and cell styles (5)
7. Apply appropriate formatting of headers, footers, page layout, margins, in preparation for printing (5)

To-Do List:

1. Week 1 KnowledgePath
2. Week 1 Learning Materials
3. Week 1 Discussion
4. Course Lab Project – Exercise 1

Sources:

Image attribution: Adapted from How to Use Microsoft Excel: The Careers in Practice Series, adapted by The Saylor Foundation without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee, and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.