Mindtools for Enhancing Student Learning Stephanie Spies January 29th, 2014 TLED 530 Old Dominion University

The term Mindtool refers to an affordable computer-based application that can be used to efficiently foster meaningful learning (Jonassen, 2000, p. 11) by amplifying and deepening the learners relationship with knowledge. Mindtools encourage active learning which results in constructive mental connections, authentic and intentional. Mindtools help create a school environment that facilitates collaboration, discovery, and reflection. Jonassen lists several Mindtool categories including spreadsheets, databases, semantic networks (also known as concept maps), microworlds, and multimedia/visualization tools. These mindtools should be used by teachers to help students achieve a better comprehension of the subject material while learning important skills that are applicable in realworld situations. Microsoft Excel is an incredibly useful and versatile spreadsheet program that is frequently installed on most computers as part of Microsoft Office. If Microsoft Office is not already installed on your computer, you can purchase the most recent version of Microsoft Office from their website (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/). Most people are familiar with Microsoft Excel but may not realize the extent of the softwares capabilities. Microsoft Excel is most often used to store, organize, and manipulate data. Microsoft Excel could be used as a knowledge construction tool and a cognitive partnership tool. As a knowledge construction tool, Microsoft Excel can help students organize and interpret information in many different ways. Microsoft Excel is very useful for organizing data to create graphs which help students to make connections and provide a visualization of the information. It is also useful as a cognitive partnership tool because it can help eliminate many tedious calculations that need to be done repeatedly. Instead of the student spending copious amounts of time performing calculations, they can spend that time analyses and interpreting the results. Microsoft Excel meets all of the requirements to be considered a good Mindtool. First of all, it is an affordable computer-based software which most people already have access to. As previously discussed,

the program also supports knowledge construction. Next, Microsoft Excel is generalizable as it can be used in a variety of different courses. For example, a History student might organize population trends for the United States throughout history and create a graph to help correlate the effects of historically significant events on population growth and decline. This type of correlation facilitates critical thinking accompanied by skills which are transferable to other classes. A Chemistry student might create a form to help quickly convert degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice versa. Microsoft Excel is simple enough to learn quickly and many people have experience with the programs basic functions. Finally, Microsoft Excel is a simple and powerful formalism that helps learners to organize and represent what they know in a somewhat different way. (Jonassen, 2000, p. 18) Clearly, Microsoft Excel has innumerable educational purposes. It can be particularly useful to help organize and compare data obtained by students during science laboratory experiments. For example, in a Physics lab, students may perform an experiment in which they record the time it takes an individual to walk a predetermined distance. Using this information they can calculate the individuals pace and compare it with all other students in the class. Microsoft Excel can then graph the collected data. Students may notice a trend that the taller students generally have a quicker pace compared to shorter students. The class can input and graph data regarding height to see if there is a mathematical correlation between height and pace. More advanced users of Microsoft Excel can use the program to simulate trajectory of a projectile free falling object from a certain height. Microsoft Excel has endless possibilities and should be a regularly used Mindtool in every classroom.

References

Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as Mindtools for Schools. Ohio. Prentice Hall. Retrieved from https://www.blackboard.odu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3899348-dt-content-rid-3331637_2/xid3331637_2