Blog Watch

Excel for Educators

David Snyder

The use of data to transform teaching and learning is one of the most frequently cited technological advances expected to transform education and increase achievement. But beyond the lofty futurists' rhetoric, what does data look like in the hands of teachers, and how can they make the most of it?

The blog Excel for Educators, with its tagline "Use Data to Tell Your Story," is a good place to begin exploring this question in a realistic, hands-on way. Written by an educator who goes by "The Science Goddess" on Twitter (and also blogs at What It's Like On the Inside), the blog is full of practical tips and advice on how to use and communicate with data, as well as plenty of good-natured sass to help the math go down. One recent post, for example, is titled "Friends Don't Let Friends Use Pie Charts." Another post provides a handy reference diagram to direct users to the best chart to tell their particular data-driven story.

Beyond these broad discussions about properly displaying data, the blog often features practical, specific tips, such as how to improve your Excel grade book and how to mash up school data with Google Maps. With something for every level of data geek, the blog deserves a spot on your regular reading list.

Read more at http://excelforeducators.blogspot.com.

David Snyder is a reference librarian in ASCD's Information Resource Center.

ASCD Express, Vol. 7, No. 9. Copyright 2012 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.