Spreadsheets

I reviewed and evaluated the War Lords of Japan spreadsheet for an assignment for EdTech 202. The spreadsheet can be found here.

The spreadsheet seeks to show a relationship between weather and geology and to help solve a word problem.

I found the spreadsheet far too complicated for even me to easily understand, so I don't believe 5th graders would be able to digest it. It lacks clear descriptions and direction. The pointy charts that are used instead of bar charts also are poorly chosen. It is very difficult to understand the relationship the numbers above it have to the actual "bar graph." I would change this to a typical bar graph that has lines for the children to follow across.

I would also ask at least one of two questions that would help the students apply what was covered in the spreadsheet. For example, I would ask on the spreadsheet, "What disaster occurred most often?" This would help prove they were able to understand the graph.