What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?

This week I learned that there is a lot of overlapping in life, specifically in the area of teaching. Even though we may be certified in one, two, three or any number of areas, we are responsible for teaching much more than that. This came into play this week when we began learning about using Excel. The last time I used Excel was for a finite math class I had to take in order to apply to graduate school. I can honestly say I have no memory of what I had to do or how to do it. My brother helped me then, and he's going to help me now. As an accountant he uses Excel every single day. He can do some crazy things with little to no effort, and I want to learn how to do that.

This week I learned I can use Excel for keeping grades, lesson plans, and grading rubrics, but more importantly, my students can use it in the classroom. I specifically looked at how students can use spreadsheets to solve algebraic problems. At the prison a lot of my students require math credits. Most need algebra, so I find myself teaching the same concepts a number of different times. With spreadsheets students can put in formulas in order to quickly plug in different numbers to see the relationships between the numbers along with a better view of the mathematical concepts. I must begin to learn to love Excel. Right now I still fear it.