A spreadsheet is used as the main window for viewing and editing student grades. The spreadsheet is made up of the following parts:
Title Bar
The name of the current subject is always displayed in the window’s title bar. When you select a different subject, the title bar is updated along with all information in the spreadsheet.
General Information
The window will always display the teacher, class, room, and subject. Additionally, when one of the grade cells is selected, the student’s name and assignment information is displayed in bold.
Column Headings
A heading is placed above each column. Since assignment descriptions are too wide to place above a column, the assignment’s number (given in the order they are created) is used. An assignment key report is available for cross referencing. For a quick reference, select any cell in the column and the assignment’s information will be displayed in the General Information area.
Name Cells
Student names may be edited by clicking on the cell to be changed. The change takes effect when you press the return key or when you click anywhere outside of the cell. The student’s last name must be given first, followed by a comma, followed by the first name.
Grade Cells
A grade may be entered or changed by clicking on the cell and entering the new information. When you select a cell, the name of the student and information about the assignment will be displayed in the General Info area. The assignment information includes the assignment date, description, and the grading method to be used (points, letter, pass/fail, or check mark). If points grading is used then the maximum point value of the assignment is given. The change takes effect when you press the return key or click anywhere outside of the cell. If the return key is pressed, the next cell in the column will be selected unless it is the last cell.
Scroll Bars
When there are more students than can be displayed in the spreadsheet, the vertical scroll bar becomes active. Likewise, as the number of assignments grows, the horizontal scroll bar becomes active. Note that the student name column is always visible. The horizontal scroll bar will only scroll the assignments section of the spreadsheet.
No checking is done to insure that a student’s name is not entered more than once in the spreadsheet. As for grades, they must conform to the method selected for the assignment or the program will not accept the entry. When a grade is not accepted, the program will inform you and then change the cell back to its previous contents. You can then try again.
Notice that the assignments are given in reverse order in the spreadsheet. This was done to place new assignments next to the student names for easy reference. When the spreadsheet is printed the assignments will be given in ascending order. By the way, before you print the spreadsheet you may want to select ‘Page Setup’ from the ‘File’ menu and change the page layout to be landscape instead of portrait. I think it looks better that way. But it’s up to you. As many pages as are necessary will be printed to show all students and all assignments. The assignment key will also be printed following the spreadsheet.
You can navigate through the spreadsheet by:
◊ clicking on cells,
◊ pressing the return key to advance down a column,
◊ using the scroll bars, or
◊ using the arrow keys.
The arrow keys only work after you have selected a cell with the mouse. If the cell is a student’s name, then only the up and down arrow keys may be used. If the cell is in an assignment column, then all four arrow keys may be used. In all cases, when along one of the borders of the spreadsheet the arrow key will scroll the spread sheet by one column or row. (Notice how the student name and assignment information in the General Info area changes as you move among the cells!)
