This ”How to Use Google Charts” blog post is part of the series of posts on How to Use Google Spreadsheet to Engage Your Students. To access these features in Google you need to have a free Google account. You can watch the video found in this post to see the step by step process of signing up for an account.
Use Google charts to engage your students
Like most spreadsheet programs Google has your standard graphing and charting features. When you create a new Google Spreadsheet the first thing you will notice is that the layout is like the 2003 version of Microsoft Excel which many teachers love.
Google Spreadsheet operates the same as any other spreadsheet program. You can manipulate cells and then graph those details. You can also use the spreadsheet to perform calculations and other functions. There is a great list of all the functions available in Google Spreadsheets on the Google support website. The support site lists the function, how to use it as well as a ‘learn more’ feature to take your knowledge further.
Don’t forget we showed in this blog post how to use your Google Spreadsheet as a dynamic link back to the web, allowing you to quickly find information for your lesson plans.
Why use Google Charts over other charting programs?
1. Many of the Google charts are able to be manipulated from inside the graph
One of the foundational principles of student engagement is immediate feedback. What I love about Google Charts is that the students can manipulate the data from within the graph. You will often find your students playing with the graph to ‘see what happens when I do this…’
2. Google charts have motion capability
Instead of just having a line or a colour on the page, Google charts have the capability of showing change over time as a moving graph. The students LOVEthis feature.
Below is a short video that demonstrates how these Google charts are animated.
3. Some of the Google charts use pictures instead of just lines on a page.
2 examples of the Google Chart titled Bars of Stuff
The picture to the left demonstrates the Google chart called ‘bars of stuff’.
You can see how you can insert a picture rather than just a line.
To insert a Google chart you need to follow the same instructions as to inserting a gadget. You click on insert then gadget. From here you will get a list of graphs, gadgets and Google charts to choose from.
I am not sure why anyone would want to continue using other spreadsheet programs when Google Spreadsheet is such a versatile program that you can use to:
- Collaborate in real time
- Gather resources from the internet
- Insert gadgets and charts
0 comments:
Post a Comment