Course Description
Course Details
Do you manage large sets of numbers, names, dates, or other pieces of information? If so, then you need to create worksheets to manage, store, organize, and even analyze this information. Excel, Microsoft’s powerful spreadsheet software, is the most widely-used program to handle this task. In fact, most workplaces require that new employees have a basic level of understanding of Microsoft Excel. If you want to learn the 2019 version of Microsoft Excel, this course will introduce you to the program’s basic functions and uses. Through hands-on lessons, you will learn numerous shortcuts to quickly and efficiently set up worksheets. You will also learn how to use the function wizard to calculate statistics, future values, and more. In addition, you will get tips on sorting and analyzing data, creating three-dimensional workbooks, and automating frequently-repeated tasks with macros and buttons. By the time you're done, you will know how to use this vital Office 2019 tool.
How It Works
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time. In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning. Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam. The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from WatSPEED is available within four weeks of successful completion of each course and can be accessed in your student portal. Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.
Requirements
Requirements: Hardware Requirements: This course must be taken on a PC. A Mac is not compatible. Software Requirements: PC: Windows 10 or later operating systems. Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge is also compatible. Microsoft Excel, a subscription to Office 365, or Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019 (not included in enrollment). Adobe Flash Player. Click here to download the Flash Player. Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the Acrobat Reader. Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Other: Email capabilities and access to a personal email account. Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites to take this course. Instructional Material Requirements: The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.
Syllabus
Lesson 1 - Excel Basics. In our first lesson, you'll develop a solid understanding of the Excel interface. You'll become fluent in the secret language spoken only by Excel users, you'll discover the best way to correct just about any mistake you might make in Excel, and you'll find yourself gliding effortlessly from cell to cell, leaving behind expertly written labels, numbers, and formulas.
Lesson 2 - Creating a Worksheet. In this lesson, you'll learn five simple steps you should always follow to ensure that your worksheets are always well-planned, well-constructed, and beautifully formatted.
Lesson 3 - Time-Savers. Our third lesson will teach you the tricks of the Excel masters: a wide variety of useful shortcuts guaranteed to save you time, energy, and frustration. We'll also spend some time working with the Quick Analysis and Flash Fill tools. By the time you finish this lesson, you'll really start to feel like an Excel pro.
Lesson 4 - Relative, Absolute, Mixed, and Circular References. Do you know the difference between a relative reference, an absolute reference, a mixed reference, and a circular reference? You will after this lesson. Today, we focus on writing sophisticated formulas that can help ease us through some rather sticky scenarios.
Lesson 5 - 3-Dimensional Workbooks. With enough practice, most Excel users quickly become adept at organizing their worksheets across two dimensions: rows and columns. But only a select few will learn how to take their worksheets into the third dimension. Today, you'll join that exclusive group. Prepare to have your socks knocked off as you gain hands-on experience in the construction of three-dimensional workbooks.
Lesson 6 - Sorting, Subtotaling, and Filtering. No Excel course would be complete without a discussion of Excel's amazing data-crunching capabilities. Today, you'll not only learn how to build a table in Excel, you'll also learn how to subtotal, sort, and filter.
Lesson 7 - Charting Basics. In this lesson, we'll explore the exciting world of charts. You'll build your first graph today, and you'll learn how easy it is to adjust the chart type, labels, titles, colors, and many other aspects of your chart.
Lesson 8 - Advanced Charting Techniques. Today, you'll dig deep into Excel's charting capabilities. You'll explore everything from bar charts and line charts to more prosaic graphs like the pie chart and 3-D charts. You'll find out how to personalize your charts with photographs, text labels, and drawings. You'll also discover the best ways to format your chart for print or otherwise display the truly impressive charts that you'll be creating.
Lesson 9 - Intro to Excel's Statistical Functions. Excel includes many powerful functions that can automatically perform some very complicated tasks for you. In today's lesson, you'll learn some very interesting ways to put these functions to work for you. You'll find out how to ask Excel to magically derive averages, modes, maximums, minimums, and other useful statistics from nothing more than a column or two of numbers.
Lesson 10 - Financial Functions. We'll continue our exploration of Excel functions with an in-depth look at Excel's handy financial functions today. By the time this lesson is over, you'll be able to figure out how much money you'll have when you retire, when your kids reach college, or just before your next vacation. You'll be able to calculate the monthly payment on just about any type of loan, and you'll know how to figure out how long it will take to pay off your credit cards. You'll even create an amortization table of your very own, just like the one lenders use to track a loan's payoff amount over time.
Lesson 11 - Worksheet Automation. Students often rank this lesson as one of their favorites. Today, you'll find out how to automate just about any task you find tedious or time-consuming. You'll discover how to move your most frequently used commands from their present, obscure locations to a much more convenient place: the toolbar that's always perched at the very top of your screen. You'll also learn how you can use macros to reduce just about any complex task to a single keystroke.
Lesson 12- Mastering Excel's IF Function. I think you'll be intrigued by our final lesson, in which you'll learn how to use Excel to aid you in decision making. We'll use a special function in Excel that allows it to make comparisons and use those comparisons as the basis for important decisions.
