Spanish-American Institute

935 Using Lotus 1-2-3 80 Classes

Prerequisite(s): None

Textbooks: Cathy Vento and Iris Blanc, Learning Lotus I-2-3, DDC Publishing, 1995 (or comparable text).

Course Description: While developing English language skills, this course introduces students to Lotus 1-2-3, including Lotus concepts, features, functions, and applications.

Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able:

to read about Lotus 1-2-3 situations and understand what is being discussed or described;
to read and follow directions when practicing textbook exercises;
to read about simple cases requiring a Lotus solution and to decide how to present useful information in spreadsheet or graph form that addresses the problem;
to ask questions concerning concepts and implementation;
to explain orally and in writing procedures used or results obtained;
to explain to others the content of Lotus spreadsheets, charts, and graphs;
to understand the basics of creating a Lotus spreadsheet or graph;
to understand how to navigate toolbars and use menus to customize Lotus; and
to understand how Lotus 1-2-3 can be applied to problems in daily life, in different fields, and in real world situations. .

Instructional Methods: Classes include language development and critical thinking sessions followed by hands-on practice and drills. Students will complete periodic summary exercises that require application of all skills learned to date. Each student will create a portfolio of finished output.

Grading: The final grade is based on the following:

Class Participation	25%
Assignments	50%
Exams	25%
Total	100%

The grading scale is: A=90-100%, B+=85-89%, B=80-84%, C+=75-79%, C=70-74%, D=65-69%, F=60-64%.

Course Outline:

Week	Topics	Assignments and Tests
1-2	Mapping the text and course: introduction to the course and the book, including learning aids Lotus basics: the Lotus 1-2-3 and Windows screens, Lotus templates, menu items and commands, dialog boxes, setting view preferences, changing screen display, getting help, etc. Exploring the worksheet. Ordinal transition words in giving directions.	Lesson 1 reading. Lesson 1 exercises. Turn any list of 5 or more sequential directions in the text into a paragraph, using numerical transition words: first, second, third, etc.
3-5	Using the worksheet: exploring the worksheet using directional and express keys, labels and values, corrections, saving/closing a file, exiting, printing Using formulas and functions Inserting and moving columns and rows. Advanced functions. More transition words in giving directions. Oral practice interpreting spreadsheets.	Lesson 3-7 reading. Exercises 4-54. Turn any list of 4 or more sequential directions from the chapter into a paragraph, making use of some or all of the following transition words: first, next, then, after, last. In a paragraph or more, describe what the spreadsheet in exercise 23 tells you. In a paragraph or more, explain which country would offer the best price for Heavy Metals Import Company, based on the spreadsheet information.
6-7	Creating and graphs: using titles and legends, printing graphs, graph settings Oral practice interpreting graphs.	Lesson 8 reading. Exercises 54-64. Pick one of the graphs in exercise 58 and explain what it tells you. Develop a spreadsheet that tracks one of your weekly or monthly costs (e.g., for food, for telephone, for electricity, etc.). Then display the results in a graph
8-9	Worksheet enhancements: changing fonts, typestyles, shading/patterns/colors, lines/shadows/boxes, frames and grids, printing/compression and landscape, using graphics, and adding paragraph text. Review for exam, week 8.	Lesson 9 reading. Exercises 65-74. Explain how you enhanced the Sigma and Company's worksheet in exercise 74. Exam, week 8.
10-11	Using simple database functions: creating, sorting, querying, calculating	Lesson 10 reading. Exercises 75-86. Explain how you organized the transaction data for Noah Auto Sales by describing the parts of your spreadsheet for exercise 86.
12-13	Using simple macros: creating, naming, running, stepping/debugging, editing, and hiding	Lesson 11 reading. Exercises 87-90. In a paragraph or more, describe how you updated the OWN worksheet in exercise 89. Summarize the steps you took to prepare a weekly payroll for the Gingerbread Cookie Company.
14-16	Summary applications: using spreadsheets in accounting, economics, finance, marketing, math, sales, and science. Close reading of problems from each discipline. Review for exam, week 16.	Lesson 12 reading. Exercises 91-97. Keep a time log for a week. Develop a spreadsheet that shows how you used your time. Then develop a graph with the same data. Finally, write a paragraph describing areas where you wasted time and areas where you saved time doing something. Exam, week 16.

rev. 2/04, 2/07